Scott Hudspeth

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Scott

Is Litigation for You if You Can't Get the Errors Corrected on Your Credit Report?

Imagine this scenario... You discover errors on your credit reports by one or more of your lenders. You challenge them and ask the credit bureaus to correct or remove them. Thirty days later the credit bureaus send you a reply confirming that what they have on file is accurate and it will not be removed or changed. They also direct you to contact your lender if you have any further questions regarding that allegedly incorrect credit reporting. You take the same course of action with the lenders reporting the incorrect information and, again, you are unsuccessful in getting the items corrected.

The scenario just described happens thousands of times every week. And while the Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to protect consumers from credit bureau and lender negligence, the number of valid challenges to credit report data is not decreasing. Unfortunately, the number of challenges that result in credit reporting data being amended in favor of the consumer pale in comparison to the number that remain the same.

At this point the consumer has two very simple options; they can either live with the erroneous information until the state or Federal credit reporting statute of limitations expires, normally seven years, or they can escalate their efforts to have their credit reports corrected by filing a lawsuit.

Many experts are predicting that 2009 will yield an increase in consumer credit lawsuits due, in part, to consumers feeling the sting of increasingly difficult access to credit because of the credit crunch and a willingness to incur the costs of litigation to restore their good credit standing. "To some people it's an investment, do the math. If it costs you $20,000 in legal costs to force a lender or credit bureau to remove an inaccurate collection and the removal allows you to qualify for a mortgage interest rate that saves you $100,000, you tell me, was that a wise investment?

In fact, it's possible that you'll recover all of your legal costs as part of a settlement if your case is strong. It seems logical that the credit bureaus would not prefer a jury determine punitive damages in a case where they have sold credit reports to a lender that contained inaccurate information, but there is also a risk that the judge will grant only a portion or none of your Attorneys fees and then you're out that part of the money. The trade off for the credit reporting industry is legal fees and a controlled settlement amount versus the unknown of taking the case to trial where the odds are not certain that at least one of the members of the jury has not had a similar experience with a credit bureau or lender.

The credit bureaus are sued hundreds of times each year with the majority of those lawsuits being filed in Georgia, California and Illinois. "It's not a coincidence that the filings are disproportionate to those states given that's where the three national credit reporting agencies are based", The credit bureaus also maintain insurance against such lawsuits so the costs can be limited to premiums and deductibles in many cases. Having said that, it's certainly not a comfortable feeling knowing that you're about to go to war with a company large enough to easily absorb the cost of litigation. "It's a rounding error to them and you better be prepared",

So how do you know if you're prepared to sue your lender or one of the credit bureaus? Here's a checklist. If you can't answer yes to each of these then litigation may not be for you.

1. Have you documented all of your calls with the lender and credit bureau? This means every conversation you've had with them since you started your attempts to have the errors corrected. This can be as simple as a handwritten summary of the conversation with dates and names.

2. Have you attempted to have the item corrected using the standard protocols? You can't simply file a lawsuit against the credit bureau without giving them the opportunity to correct their error. Be sure that you've exhausted your rights to challenge credit report items as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

3. Have you suffered any damages due to the incorrect item? If not, then think twice about filing a lawsuit. Damages can be credit declinations, credit approvals with disadvantaged rates, higher insurance premiums, or the loss of a job due to credit report pre-employment screening. Can you document these things?

4. Can you tie the damages to the incorrect item? Are there other seriously negative items on your credit reports that are completely accurate that can be blamed for your damages?

5. Do you have copies of your credit reports and FICO scores and can you put together a chronology of credit reports and scores? If you can't, then you can subpoena the credit bureaus for archived credit reports and scores, although they will object profusely.

6. Are you absolutely certain that what's being reported is incorrect? Before you file a lawsuit you need to do a reality check. If the items are accurate but simply not to your liking, save your money.

7. Does your case have a chance? An expert witness can assess this for you before you spend a dime on a lawyer and can give you an honest assessment of your chances for success and ways to better prepare for litigation.

Through the 200 years of American history, this country has been constantly besieged by bad news. If the early settlers had believed things were as bad as they sounded they would have given up the fight to settle the new world and sailed back to England, and the dream of freedom would have perished.

From that day to the present the people of this nation have listened to the bad news for a while, then they turned their backs on that which was bad, placed their faith in God and faced toward that which was good.

Down through the years, through a tragic Civil War, two world-wide wars, a series of small conflicts, recession and the great depression of the 1930's, we have heard again and again the words of citizen Tom Paine, "These are times that try men's souls." In every case the people rejected the bad news and overcame whatever obstacle was facing them at that time.

Once again, we are put to the test. Everything we hear is bad. We are smothered with a never-ending succession of newspaper, radio and television reports on Watergate, drug abuse, crime in the streets, decadent morals and lack of honest and competent leadership. If Citizen Tom Paine were alive today, he could well utter again his famous quotation. It is impossible to lock your door against the invasion of the news media into every nook of your home and office. They don't make the news, they merely report it. Tell it as it is. We have the option of acceptance or rejection. We can bemoan what is happening in our world, wring our hands and cover our heads, or we can reject the bad and look about us to the good.

When I was a boy on a small farm in Grant county, news wasn't as quickly available as it is today and reached us mainly by word of mouth. A "drummer" would come by or one of our neighbors returned from a trip to Little Rock or Memphis and we saw the news through their eyes. Mostly it was about what was bad in big cities or throughout the country.

After listening for a while, my father would say, "That's enough bad news for one day. Let's go to work." America has heard enough bad news for a while. Now is the time to go to work. Turn your back on the bad news and look around you at what is good. You don't need to look far. Your family, you children, your friends and neighbors, they are good. We live today in the greatest country the world has ever known, filled with opportunities which never existed before. The highest standards of living, more leisure time, better health services, better schools, more jobs, finer homes and freedom to enjoy these wonders.

This is indeed the time to turn our backs on the bad news and face the future with thankfulness.

I am convinced that the news runs this country not any government or president, if you listen to it guess what, it will influence your decisions and run your life to. Of course this is my decision and I no longer listen. What a difference it makes in my life and the others around me.

Cheers.

W.R. "Witt" Stephens (Mr. Witt sent this memo out to us all after "Black Friday" in Oct. 1987. His wisdom and good advice lives on.)

I bet you're one of millions putting your house at risk for burning down, and you don't even know it!!! Watch this weeks tip of the week

to see if you are guilty like I was watch this short Video........

http://videopostcard-004.com/X.asp?6150452X1920

Hope all is well!