Are all mixed file cases willful FCRA violations?
In our view, punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act are appropriate in all mixed file cases. To recap from some of our prior blog posts, a mixed file (a/k/a a mIxed credit file) happens — as the name suggests — when a consumer reporting agency (a/k/a a credit bureau or CRA) mixes personal […]
Mixed Files by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires consumer reporting agencies (a/k/a credit bureaus or CRAs) to maintain reasonable procedures to assure the “maximum possible accuracy” of the information the CRAs report about you. Unfortunately, procedures followed by credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are often less than what is reasonable to assure maximum possible […]
Credit Card Disputes and the FCRA
What happens when you have fraudulent credit card charges and your credit card issuer does not believe you? The short answer is this: you pursue your rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). At Sherman & Ticchio, we are frequently contacted by consumers who have unauthorized/fraudulent charges on their credit reports and credit […]
Damages for Violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a fee-shifting statute. This means that, should you prevail in a lawsuit against creditors and/or consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) like Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union, the Court will award you damages (discussed more fully below), including your costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. So what are reasonable attorney’s fees? […]
New York Credit Report Lawyers – Sherman & Ticchio
Disputes and lawsuits: do you need a credit lawyer? Many consumers dispute inaccurate information to Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion. What these consumers don’t realize is that the dispute process is a lose-lose. Essentially, there are two possible outcomes to a dispute: either the credit bureau verifies that the information is accurate or deletes the […]
Should I dispute unauthorized hard inquiries?
You should dispute hard inquiries that are not associated with applications for credit that you made because hard inquiries bring down your credit score and unauthorized inquiries could indicate that you are a victim of identity theft. What is a hard inquiry? A hard inquiry is a record in your credit file (that appears on […]
Reinsertion in your credit file of previously deleted information
“Reinsertion” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) means that a credit bureau has started to again report inaccurate information that was previously disputed by a consumer and removed or suppressed by a credit bureau — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, and others — from the consumer’s credit file. Reinsertion often happens when a disputed/deleted account […]
What is the Purpose of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted to protect consumers because Congress recognized, as early as 1970, that an individual’s right to accurate credit reporting is vitally important. Consider the following statement from the Congressional Record: “The purpose of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is to protect an individual from inaccurate or arbitrary information […]
Can you sue after a credit dispute?
When you dispute an inaccurate debt on your credit reports to one or more credit bureaus (like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires credit bureaus and the creditor that supplied the inaccurate information to the credit bureaus (called a furnisher under the FCRA) to take action. Specifically, the Fair Credit […]
Millions of Mixed Credit Files. Could One belong to You?
Yes, there are millions of Americans, perhaps six million or more, whose credit files are mixed and merged. It is a massive problem, one in which personal information and account data from your credit file may be mixed with those same types of information that in fact belong to one or more other consumers. It […]
Accurate credit reports? It is time to find out.
Savings? Check. Investment Portfolio? Check. Accurate credit reports? It is time to find out. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports that it received and addressed more than 200,000 consumer complaints related to incorrect information on credit reports and/or complaints about issues with investigations and business practices by credit reporting agencies (i.e., Equifax, Experian, and […]
Fraudulent charges on your credit card? Now what?
Most credit card issuers tell you that they offer extraordinary fraud protection and that you will never be held responsible for unauthorized charges to your account. In real life, it often doesn’t work out that way. At Sherman & Ticchio, we speak to consumers all the time who are victims of identity theft and find […]