Dispute factually, review your Equifax investigation results carefully, then sue!
From my review of a client’s Equifax dispute results [replaced names with “xxx"]:
1) XXX—this collection has been disputed with XXX and it failed to validate the alleged debt. Please immediately delete this collection.
“We have researched your concerns and our conclusions are:
The disputed items xxx, xxx”
It’s still reported with the furnisher dispute notation as previously, slightly higher balance.
2) XXX—please delete all late payments after the account was charged off in 2001.
“We have researched your concerns and our conclusions are:
The disputed items xxx, xxx”
Apparently Equifax did not forward the dispute to XXX, still reports the lates to 10/06.
This is the reason for score factor:
The time since your most recent past due payment or derogatory indicator is too recent
There is evidence of a late payment on your file as recent as 3 months ago.
3) XXX, BOTH accounts—please delete all undated late payments.
account xxxxx “Equifax verified that the account belongs to you”
The other account was deleted.
4) XXX—please report the correct credit limit of $500.
“Equifax verified that the item belongs to you.”
You can only wonder what drugs the idiots at Equifax are on. They get disputes for 5 accounts and screw up ALL of them. Apparently Equifax ROUTINELY relays factual disputes of OBVIOUSLY incorrect data to the data furnisher as “not my account” disputes.
This explains why so often disputes result in DELETION instead of correction, lowering the credit scores by shortening account history.
“We have researched your concerns and our conclusions are:
The disputed items xxx, xxx”
I just replaced the initials of the furnishers with the “xxx”, but other than that, it’s EXACTLY what Equifax had on the dispute results.
Don’t I wish I was a lawyer licensed in Cal. so I could sue Equifax and depose them.
I’d sure like to see their explanation for this extraordinary incompetence.
Posted by Christine on 01/12/2007 at 11:26 PM
2004 Suit (credit limits, credit reporting - on appeal) • Equifax - countless violations • (11) Comments • Permalink
How do you get a detailed response like this? I have documentation from creditors telling Equifax to Update a trade line to a more favorable rating and two additional letters from creditors indicating trade lines should be deleted.
Have been sending monthly since June of 2005. No response from Equifax.
Trans Union indicated I was labeled as a “troublemaker” for being too persistent and will not acknowledge any documentation submitted by me. I was also forced to subscribe to a monthly service just to obtain a credit report based upon the “flagging” of my social.
Experian sends a stock letter stating I should go to the creditor and get supporting documentation to update the trade lines in question along with solicitations for fee based services.
Every Equifax dispute result comes with those detailed notes, mostly completely bizarre.
“Have been sending monthly since June of 2005. No response from Equifax.”
Who sent what? The creditors or you?
Why don’t you sue Equifax?
And on second thought, why limit yourself to suing Equifax? Why don’t you sue TU and Experian too?
I wish I had the money to put up front to sue all three of them. Local attorneys all feel there is a strong case, however, they all require a minimum retainer of $5K per issue, for a total of $35,000 to sue all three credit reporting agencies as well as the four remaining creditors who are listed on the CRA’s inappropeiately.
That’s why I am researching cases involving the CRA’s on-line and I am going to try to handle it myself. I just can’t afford all the legal fees up front.
I have already lost so much because of this mess and the damage is still happening years later because of the inaccuracies.
I have been sending letters and copies of letters addressed to me from the creditors confirming they have instructed the CRA’s to delete or favorably update the tradeline.
Equifax disregards all requests and will no longer send anything in response to my disputes.
Experian sends a response requesting I contact the creditor and supply evidence the trade line should be deleted (obviously they didn’t look at my dispute or the attachments).
Trans Union actually told me I was on a “trouble maker list and they will not investigate or respond to any letters unless I do sue them. They have claimed to report me to the FBI and have disclosed personal information to co-workers allegedly investigating my character, and a lot of other bizzarre activity.
Thanks for the feedback, I really like that intial response you wrote. Extremely powerful!
Jennifer, it sure is disturbing that the lawyers think that you have a “strong case”, but want such a large retainer.
If you’re serious about suing, you should definitely subscribe to CreditFactors. There are so many resources. And it’s really not that hard.
“Trans Union actually told me I was on a “trouble maker list and they will not investigate or respond to any letters unless I do sue them. They have claimed to report me to the FBI ...”
NOBODY is going to believe that unless you record it and make it available for download. I’m not saying you’re lying, but it’s just so ridiculous.
I hear what you were saying about ridiculous. I actually have it in writing.
I transposed all of the letters and responses (other than the stock letters - it will take YEARS to scan all that data) to CD format and have the interest of a few government folks that are pushing for reform.
Also have found an attorney who was also disgusted with the high retainers and waiting to hear back.
What I find though, is not a lot of hope. Unless you have the money to fight the Cosa Nostra of these CRA’s and their ilk, I have given up on true justice a long time ago.
Jennifer, did you see my posting last night about the TU court filings?
The corruption is so widespread and the justice system is 100% dysfunctional. Justice is the last thing you can expect in an American court.
The few clients who get attorneys to file lawsuits get so little, the lawyers get a few thousand in legal fees and the CRAs continue to ignore the FCRA.
YOU have to waste endless hours dealing with countless documents, organizing, filing, making copies and guess what:
YOUR time is WORTHLESS in the courts. ONLY your attorney’s time is valuable, you’re a slave. You work hundreds of hours and you get paid NOTHING.
For a few bucks you can sue them in Small Claims Court—and it is just as powerful as a civil suit for getting your records corrected. Claim damages up to the limit in your state for small claims because of higher interested you are forced to pay, being turned down for additional credit, etc. because of their refusal to correct your credit records.
You can have your day in court, and if you win you will have a judgement against Equifax that they will not be able to ignore.
Well, this is the typical advice you’ll find totally FREE all over the internet at the credit forums. Unfortunately, there are some serious problems with this legal advice.
First of all, in many small claims courts the CRA can file a motion to move the case to the regular civil division and serve their discovery requests on you simultaneously, and then you look very STUPID.
Most people would dismiss like I did when TU did exactly that 7 years ago. Just like Michael, I had made the incorrect assumption that all small claims courts are the same and I learned the hard way.
2nd, I don’t know of a small claims court that allows you to conduct discovery.
3rd, in many small claims courts (such as California) the defendant can APPEAL the judgment you might get and they’ll get a new trial in REAL court.
4th, as you wrote, there’s “can” and “if” and there are a lot of MEAN judges.
Small claims has it’s place, I also occasionally file small claims suits, but I’ll NEVER again go to trial in small claims as long as moron John Taylor is the local judge.
So I still use small claims for minor issues to see whether I can settle, but then move the case to the civil division if I don’t settle. That way I can conduct discovery and I can appeal if I lose, which I’ve already had to do twice. The first time I prevailed on appeal (settled then), am still waiting on the 2nd appeal.
Usually you have to show ACTUAL damages in small claims and that can be quite difficult.
Jennifer, Do not despair the initial cost of filing in federal court. You will be offered plenty to settle the minute your court summons reaches an attorneys eyes. They want to be rid of you as quickly as possible. It is amazing how fast they will offer a settlement(within days) and how easily they cure all your credit report problems. They just want you to go away. Small claims is just an annoyance and the case will be pushed into the federal system, where it rightly belongs. I had the worst judge in America presiding over my case and despite his attempts to undermine me, I still prevailed financially.
Getting results in small claims is fairly easy in Texas if you use the Texas Finance Code for your disputes.
I agree that these CRA’s DO NOT want case law, that is why they settle EVERYTHING.
