Credit Reporting Attorney Helping Consumers Fix Errors & Seek Compensation

 A low credit score has serious consequences on your financial future and can impede you from making significant purchases. All of a sudden that new car or house you’ve been saving for is no longer a possibility.  This is bad enough if you’ve made mistakes that bring your score down, but it can be even more frustrating if a low score isn’t your fault. Inaccuracies, mixed-up files, identity theft, and unauthorized inquiries can put a serious dent in your ability to secure funding. Through no fault of your own, these factors can make it nearly impossible for you to obtain a loan, force you to accept higher interest rates, and damage your reputation in innumerable ways.

The good news is that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides robust protections for consumers dealing with inaccurate credit reports. The FCRA allows consumers to dispute inaccurate entries on their credit reports and requires credit reporting agencies to conduct a reasonable investigation of any dispute regarding inaccurate information.  Part of that investigation includes verifying the information at issue with the company furnishing that information to the credit reporting agency, e.g. the bank, credit card company or other service provider reporting the information. If the credit reporting agency doesn’t conduct a reasonable investigation (or if the bank or credit card company falsely verifies the information), the FCRA allows the consumer to sue in federal court for actual damages (e.g. lost credit opportunities), statutory damages and attorney’s fees and costs.  If the misconduct is willful, punitive damages are also available. If you dispute to a credit reporting agency and the error remains on your credit reporting, you should contact an experienced consumer protection lawyer that regularly litigates under the FCRA. 

Schlanger Law Group’s team of credit reporting attorneys has experience taking on major credit bureaus and national lenders. We have the expertise needed to make sure these financial institutions clean up and remove false information from your credit report. We are proud to help consumers suffering from inaccurate credit reports regain financial freedom.

Common Credit Report Errors That Require Legal Help

 Whether due to poor data management, lender furnishing errors, or negligence from a credit agency or credit bureau, errors in your credit report have the potential to ruin your finances and throw your life into chaos. Even small mistakes can have devastating consequences including credit denials and loss of employment in some cases. That’s to say nothing of the extreme emotional distress the domino effect of credit reporting errors can have on you.

Some of the most common mistakes that can have negative repercussions on your credit score include:

• Accounts that belong to another person: If another report is mistakenly attached to your name, it can drag your own score down and make it extremely difficult to untangle your finances.
• Identity theft tradelines or fraudulent accounts: If you’re the victim of identity theft, a malicious actor can wreak havoc on your credit by establishing false accounts in your name.
• Incorrect payment histories or balances: Payments that aren’t properly recorded will show up as delinquent, damaging your credit, and showing you still carry a balance that isn’t accurate.
• Unauthorized Credit Inquiries: One component of your credit score is the number of credit inquiries, i.e. whether you have made multiple inquiries about getting additional credit/borrowing money.  Those inquiries can only be made under certain circumstances (e.g. when you authorize a lender to check your credit).  Unauthorized credit inquiries by unscrupulous companies can damage your credit. 

Who We Represent — Victims of Credit Report Errors and Identity Theft

We’re here to help those who have suffered the ill effects of credit reporting mistakes. We typically represent victims who have disputed inaccuracies to the credit reporting agencies and been rejected. Examples of clients who have benefitted from our representation include:

• People denied credit, housing, or employment due to errors in their credit reports
• Victims of identity theft whose reports include fraudulent accounts
• Consumers who have been repeatedly ignored by bureaus or lenders when attempting to resolve errors or their credit bureau failed to fix the error
• Anyone harmed by mixed files where their credit histories have become merged with someone else’s

Schlanger Law Group prides itself on its zealous, skilled and compassionate advocacy on behalf of victims of credit reporting errors.