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Trans Union

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The liars at Trans Union - time for my published FTC complaint

Trans Union attorney Tiffany Cox with Strasburger IGNORED my 8/25/09 email about numerous issues including the INCOMPLETE Trans Union credit reports at TrueCredit.  Most important, it appears that you can NOT obtain your COMPLETE Trans Union credit report unless you dispute.  The investigation results contain the scheduled deletion dates and ALL inquiries including soft account review inquiries and promos.

I just logged into TrueCredit and the advertisements and constant questions about personal information that are NONE of their business are so incredibly offensive.  They’re SELLING the info you provide to marketers and of course they’ll inundate you with obnoxious ads for the worst products while at the TrueCredit site.

Since attorney Tiffany Cox and Trans Union ignore me, I decided “chat with a virtual agent.” Here’s the transcript:

Jenny Says: Just type ‘HI’ or ‘Hello’ in the space below to let me know you are there.

You: Hi

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: This TrueCredit exclusive offer is available through this chat. CLICK HERE to take advantage of this deal.

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: Hi, thanks for chatting with me… to return to truecredit.com and sign up for 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring for only $14.95/month CLICK HERE

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: Would you like to find out more about this offer?

You: no

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

Jenny Says: You can’t erase the past, but you can definitely work on improving the future. Improving your credit is doable with bit of knowledge and patience. CLICK HERE for more information.

You: are you a real person?

Jenny Says: By checking all three of your credit reports, you can make sure you are maintaining a healthy credit profile.

Jenny Says: My name is Jenny and I’m a live virtual agent.

You: what is a “virtual” agent?

Jenny Says: Don’t pass this opportunity up; remember we would like to offer you monitoring of all three of your credit reports and scores for just $14.95! There’s no obligation and you can cancel any time. CLICK HERE to take advantage of this deal!

You: are you a living human being?

Jenny Says: I’m actually a virtual agent.  I’m here to help you with your credit. Virtual is a computer simulation of a real chat

Jenny Says: My name is Jenny and I’m a live virtual agent.

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports?

You: Can you tell me whether the TrueCredit reports are complete credit reports

Jenny Says: With 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring you will have the ability to get immediate access to all three of your credit reports AND credit scores that can be updated every 30 days. ...

Unbelievable.

Trans Union uses http://www.upsellit.com/—“automated chat agents”

How STUPID are Americans?

THAT stupid!

You know that Trans Union wouldn’t pay upsellit if this crap didn’t work.

And that the FTC lets Trans Union get away with these lies and invasion of privacy is just amazing.  In the 90s, the FTC continually sued Trans Union y with tketing.  Now, Trans Union gets away with these blatant lies and the FTC does NOTHING.

See http://credit-reporting-collection-ftc-complaints.info/ for other complaints the FTC entirely IGNORED.

Obama is the EXACT SAME CROOK as Bush. 

Be afraid, be very afraid.

And STOP paying your credit cards if you’re (nearly) judgment proof or you are a true patriot and willing to put up a fight.

STOP acting like a hamster running on a wheel in the cage.  We do NOT have to pay the banks, we do NOT have to pay for credit reports, we do NOT have to pay income tax and we do NOT have to finance this corrupt system.  There ARE alternatives. You have CHOICES.

Choose wisely.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Updated 11/4/08: Oral arguments re. Trans Union motion to dismiss

Judge Teilborg makes me drive 500 miles for my 10 minutes of oral arguments in Phoenix court.

What about the horses?

I left around 6 am, was almost in Phoenix around 10:30 and was just thinking that I should stop by Target to see if my Target Guest card still works and to try to get some seeds from the many beautiful plants along the road.  Got to a red light, went to shift down and the clutch cable broke. 

Fortunately, I was in the right lane and I could just coast off the road to assess the situation.

After the initial panic, thinking “I’m so screwed, how am I going to pay for hotel, towing and repair?”, I decided to see how it goes without clutch.  Obviously NOT in downtown Phoenix, but to try to get home.  Since I had my dog with me, there was no way that I could just leave the truck and try to somehow get to the courthouse.

There wasn’t much traffic, I managed to get going by starting while in 2nd gear, found a place to make a u-turn (not easy with a crew cab dually) and somehow managed to shift into 5th gear and get back to Wickenburg.

Wickenburg has only one light, but it’s often stop and go.  Traffic wasn’t too bad and then I pulled over, got the court’s number and let them know that I couldn’t make it.  Judge Teilborg fortunately made an exception and allowed me to call in for the hearing.  I had over an hour to find a landline or a place away from the highway noise and with some shade. 

I tried a Super 8 motel, but they wanted to charge the full $70 room rate for half an hour.  Interestingly, someone had left their receipt on the counter and they paid only a little over $30 per day.  I decided to look for a quiet place in the shade to park.

It was tough, but eventually I found the apparently only shady parking.  The Fed Ex driver was there for lunch and when he left a big truck pulled up.

That’s the place with the horses, very scenic.

TU attorney Bradley was his usual obnoxious self.

The lies just flow right out of his mouth.  There really should be a rule that prohibits lawyers from lying.  $50 for every lie and I’d be rich.

He claimed that every one of my cases was thrown out of court as this one will be.  Reality check:  TU was dismissed the first time I sued it because I served it late and the second time because judge Wake decided that the claims weren’t related to my Focus claims.  My claims against TU have NEVER been dismissed. 

He also suggested that I should be blogging and lobbying Congress.  Yeah, right.  It takes many millions of dollars to lobby Congress, which is why the CRAs get what they want and the laws get weaker and weaker.  They HAVE the millions to bribe legislators.  I don’t.

I had only 10 minutes for my arguments and no watch.  It was weird in the truck with my crummy cell phone.  Thank God I remembered to charge it yesterday and to take it along.  I haven’t used it since my nephew left in July.

I don’t understand the purpose of oral arguments—aside from lawyers being able to bill mega bucks to their clients and me having to waste mega bucks driving to Phoenix.  I had absolutely NO time to consider my response to his arguments and lies.  It’s incredibly pointless.

So the judge took our arguments under advisement and I got to drive home.  I couldn’t shift into 5th gear.  Finally decided to drive to the top of a hill in 3rd, turn off the truck, shift into 5th and then start it.  It worked.  Barely.  No more stops till Kingman.

Did have to pick up my mail and get some lumber (one stop) and get some groceries and fuel.  The poor truck.  I ran the only stop sign on the way home and then I only had to stop one more time once I got on the dirt road to shift down. 

I’m very glad I made it home.  I’ve never replaced a clutch cable and I doubt I have the required tools.  The radiator is leaking too, but it’s only a small leak.  I’m still hoping that the aluminum stop leak stuff works eventually.  One of the shocks busted years ago (dirt roads).  It’s a miracle the truck still runs. My nephew changed the oil in summer and that’s the extent of maintenance in recent years. 

Fortunately, I have a few thousand gallons of water in my tanks, I doubt I can haul water without clutch.

Update 11/4/08:

A client provided online support and it turns out that my clutch doesn’t have a clutch cable, it’s a hydraulic clutch.  I checked the reservoir, it’s empty.  Added brake fluid and it ran right through.  There’s no hose attached to the reservoir.  Have to see if I can find the hose tomorrow in daylight.  I’m hopefully that I can fix this myself. 

It just goes to show that if I occasionally checked the fluids in my truck, I would have known that I have a hydraulic clutch.  For some reason I only check oil and water (because I know there’s leaks.)

Just like most people still think that good credit means paying your bills on time, I thought cars have clutch cables like 30 years ago. 

So much to learn ...

UPDATE:  The next day I saw that the hose had fallen off the clutch reservoir.  I put it back on, pushed in the pin that holds it in place, filled the reservoir and my client faxed me the drawing of how to bleed the clutch.  Fixed!

Not only did I save the cost of paying a mechanic, possibly towing and/or having to rent a car, but I saved a lot of TIME. 

And there’s nothing like knowing that you’re capable of accomplishing things yourself.  Sure, I won’t be rebuilding my engine and I’d PREFER to be able to just make a phone call and have “someone else” take care of it, but it’s never that easy.  And that “someone” will want to get paid.

Trado isn’t just about money, trade and jobs, but also about members assisting each other with all kinds of DYI projects, possibly for a fee for extensive help.

Friday, August 08, 2008

8/4/08: PROOF that Trans Union’s greed contributed to credit crisis

Of course I’m talking about my response to the TU motion to dismiss.

I included many exhibits, including the TU and NCO discovery responses.

They didn’t even try to claim that they investigated my notice of Dana Capital’s account breach or deliberate sale of consumer credit reports to unlicensed brokers engaging in illegal marketing and false mortgage advertising.

Fair Isaac, the CRAs and resellers like NCO are substantial contributors to the current credit crisis. 

They made the biggest financial crisis in history possible.  And it’s not only the willful sale of credit reports to known criminals, but the CRAs maliciously refused to provide complete and accurate credit reports and many people were forced into subprime loans because of the resulting low FICO scores.

If I was a bank with subprime losses, I’d be suing the credit bureaus and Fair Isaac.

Many home owners would NOT be in foreclosure if they had qualified for the low fixed rates because their credit reports were complete and accurate.

MY EXHIBITS

1) 6/22/08 Trans Union Responses to Baker’s Requests for Admissions

2) 6/22/08 Trans Union Responses to Baker’s Interrogatories

3) 6/22/08 Trans Union Responses to Baker’s Requests for Production of Documents

4) Trans Union communications TU 0005 – TU 0008

5) 5/21/04 Trans Union letter re. files A and B to attorney Lewis TU 0038 – TU 0039

6) 2/12/05 Baker’s request for termination NCO and Dana Capital TU 0070 – TU 0090

7) 8/22/05 Baker’s Trans Union dispute of unrated accounts (PrivacyGuard) TU 0144

8) 8/25/05 Trans Union report p. 5, NCO and First USA (Chase) inquiries TU 0153

9) 9/10/05 Trans Union deletion of positive Capital One account TU 0164 - TU 0165

10) 5/1/05 Baker’s request to remove fraud alert TU 0192 – TU 0195

11) 5/20/08 Trans Union credit report TU 0197 – TU 0205

12) 2/8/08 Trans Union Investigation Results deleting NCO inquiry

13) 5/27/08 NCO responses to Baker’s discovery requests

14) 8/2/08 TrueCredit website terms

15) Baker’s blog posts about Trans Union’s repeated failure to report a client’s discharged
Capital One account with the Date Closed.

16) myFICO order screen with Trans Union “locked.”

17) FTC Comments on FCRA

18) Trinity junk fax and Mutual Benefit loan approval at 1%

19) Trans Union 3/10/08 reporting of the client’s Capital One account without the date
closed.

20) Trans Union 3/15/06 letter acknowledging receipt of Baker’s dispute on behalf of
client.

-----------------------------------------------

Everything is posted at CreditCourt.

Wish I had time to put it all on the new TU site with idiot-proof explanations.  Until I got their discovery responses, my claims were only allegations. 

Now I have the proof. 

And that’s what I needed for the book. 

What the judge decides is rather irrelevant.  I pointed out that their admissions are deemed admitted as they responded late.  Instead of providing a declaration with sworn statements, I decided to certify my entire 15-page response. 

Still, I know what to expect and it no longer matters.  I’ll be surprised if TU isn’t dismissed.

“The truth is out there ...”

I haven’t said that in a long time.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Trans Union motion to dismiss and email with attorney Donald Bradley, Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP

I posted the TU motion to dismiss:

6/26/08 TU Motion to Dismiss

I haven’t had time yet to scan and redact their discovery responses, but I got essentially NOTHING but objections.

Here’s the email correspondence with TU attorney Donald Bradley:

Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 1:55 PM
To: Bradley, Donald
Subject: Baker v. Trans Union - discovery issues, extension

Mr. Bradley,

I’d like to know whether you’ll agree to an extension to respond to your motion to dismiss until after I have substantive Trans Union discovery responses and we need to schedule a telephone call to discuss the objections and whatever issues.

I’m available this week after 1 PM, please let me know what works for you,

Christine Baker

Attorney Bradley then gave me legal advice:

Ms. Baker, I usually am agreeable to reasonable extensions, but here I have a hard time understanding the reason for your request.  Trans Union’s motion to dismiss is a pleading motion.  Therefore, discovery has no bearing on the issues the judge is deciding.  In fact, if you were to submit any materials from discovery in an opposition, the judge would disregard them. 

That said, I am willing to discuss your request further.  I also am available generally in the afternoons this week to discuss discovery issues.  Please let me know if and when you would like to talk.

Donald E Bradley
Attorney

Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP
650 Town Center Drive, Suite 1200
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

My response:

Mr. Bradley,

Please let me know if I can call you tomorrow at 1 PM regarding the discovery issues and whether you’ll agree to an extension until 7/25.  If I don’t have substantive discovery responses by then, I will let the court decide whether discovery is relevant to your motion to dismiss.

I haven’t time to deal with discovery and litigation issues since my nephew is visiting until the 17th to help build my house.

Christine Baker

Attorney Bradley declined my request for extension:

I will be available at 1 pm tomorrow.  At this point, I cannot grant your extension request, though we can certainly discuss it further tomorrow if you like.

Donald E Bradley
Attorney
Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP

It is AMAZING what scum I’m dealing with.  He’s right there with Focus lawyer Cynthya Fulton.

The Trans Union liars have screwed me so many times, I’ve learned a lot and I will obviously request my extension and I’ve NEVER had a judge decline it.  After all, that’s grounds for appeal and they all know that I’ll appeal.

And if discovery can’t be considered to decide a motion to dismiss, what the hell is it for?  My requests for admissions to Trans Union should be deemed admitted since they failed to answer within 30 days.

Unless TU starts to cooperate, discovery and the bad faith TU objections will be a large part of my objection to the motion to dismiss and I might have to file a motion to compel.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

6/16/08 amended complaint:  Trans Union tortuous interference with my business

Last night I filed my amended complaint with my NEW claim:

TORTUOUS INTERFERENCE WITH CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS

86) Baker contracts with consumers to analyze their credit reports and FICO credit scores, draft disputes to credit bureaus and/or to recommend specific actions to improve FICO credit scores.

87) Trans Union was aware of Baker’s contractual relations with her clients at all times relevant hereto.

88) Baker’s clients expect that their FICO credit scores will increase after they send their factual disputes to Trans Union according to Baker’s instructions or after Baker directly contacts Trans Union on behalf of her clients.

89) Trans Union at all times knew that it is required by law to correct disputed consumer credit data.

90) TransUnion knowingly, intentionally and maliciously failed to correct the disputed data on numerous occasions in violation of the FCRA.

91) TransUnion knowingly, intentionally and maliciously interfered with Baker’s contractual relations with her clients.

92) As a proximate result of the foregoing intentional interference by TransUnion, Baker has suffered and will continue to suffer financial damages, emotional distress and mental anguish.

93) The actions of Trans Union were malicious, reckless and/or oppressive and were undertaken to injure Baker and her clients. Accordingly, Trans Union is liable to Baker for punitive and exemplary damages in an amount proven at trial.

My proposed amended complaint, the TU objection, my response, the judge Teilberg’s order and the new amended complaint.

I already scanned the TU discovery responses, will post those later.  As usually, they did NOT provide a single substantive answer.  Don’t I wish I could depose them, but the $350 in litigation donations won’t even pay for the transportation to get to the depositions, not to mention the thousands of dollars required to pay for the court reporter, transcripts, hotel, etc.

I don’t know what to do next.

Hope for them to throw me a few bucks for a settlement? 

Waste endless hours on more written discovery that won’t get me anywhere? 

Maybe I’ll file a motion for summary judgment. They didn’t respond to my requests for admission within 30 days.

At least I got to say how it is.  Since I’m the only credit professional in the country, there won’t be any big suits to build on this as with Cap One and their refusal to report the credit limits.

BTW, my client just got her new myFICO TU report, Trans Union CONTINUED to report without the date closed despite this litigation. 

The credit bureaus have absolute power. 

The corporations and their scumbag management and lawyers can do whatever they want, destroy lives and kill human beings without any repercussions. 

Also from my complaint:

IV. INTRODUCTION

13) This Complaint is about the fact that thousands of consumers are in foreclosure (the subprime crisis) because credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”) willfully disregard the FCRA requirement to provide consumer credit reports only to persons with a permissible purpose and the regulators refuse to investigate complaints of illegal activities and false mortgage advertising.

14) The CRAs’ motives are obvious, they get paid for every consumer credit report provided to lenders and profits are far more important to CRAs than protecting consumers’ personal and financial data and complying with the FCRA.

15) The CRAs and reseller NCO ignored Baker’s written and well documented complaints in 2004 and 2005 about mortgage banker Dana Capital’s illegal activities, including obtaining Baker’s consumer credit report for unlicensed marketers in 2004.

16) When Baker applied with “Trinity Financial” for a mortgage in 3/07, she was shocked to see that again Dana Capital’s account was utilized to obtain her credit reports from reseller NCO – Baker did NOT apply for anything with Dana Capital.

17) The California and Arizona mortgage licensing departments also had failed to act on Baker’s complaints and allowed Dana Capital to continue to establish often unlicensed branches for the purpose of engaging in illegal telephone and fax advertising of mortgages with entirely false terms.

18) Regulators with the mandate to protect consumers instead protected mortgage companies engaging in false advertising of interest rates as low as 1%, as Baker documented at her website http://creditsuit.org/credit.php?/blog/comments/housing_sales_slowdown_californians_house_poor_mortgage_fraud_rampant/.

19) Baker suspects that the licensing agencies decided to ignore complaints to sustain economic growth, as much of the cash obtained from refinances was used to pay
off credit cards and to purchase more products the borrowers could not afford.

20) No amount of money can adequately compensate the people who lost their homes, end up divorced, depressed and/or ill due to financial problems and some no doubt
die because the economy and corporate profits are more important than compliance with consumer protection laws.

21) Because Baker does not have the legal skills and cash to sue the government, she plans to write a book about her credit work, research and litigation and the corruption throughout American government and business, hopefully encouraging more qualified people or organizations to seek justice and to put the responsible persons into prison.

Judge Teilborg denied the TU motion to strike this part of my complaint and the 12(c) motion for judgment as moot, since I was amending the complaint.  So now TU can file their motions again and I’ll have to waste my time responding again.

Is it time I let it go, write my book, remove myself from this agony and do something more enjoyable?

As much as I’d like to make a difference for all, it’s rather obvious that I’m not a lawyer, I’m not superwoman, NO politician gives a damn, NOBODY else is DOING anything to put the credit bureaus in their place and very few people are sending donations.

My grapes and potatoes are looking good and being 50 years old, I’m looking forward to more rewarding activities and PAID work.

Helping people NOT pay their credit cards is very rewarding. There’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with not paying as promised.

It’s by far the easiest way to find justice in America.  We have absolutely NO moral obligation to pay the bankers, if anything, we have a moral obligation NOT to pay.