What Damages Can I Expect In A Credit Reporting Error Case?

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There is not any easy way to broadly put a number to the appropriate amount of damages in Fair Credit Reporting Act cases. Typically, we look to recover the actual damages that the client has had as a result of the improper reporting. We can also seek attorney’s fees, litigation cost, and in some cases, punitive damages from the other side. It’s easy to under-appreciate how damaging credit errors can be. But the impact of lost opportunities, of additional lending cost, and other impacts that are common from credit reporting errors can be very significant. Some jury verdicts for improper credit reporting have reached or exceeded seven-figure outcomes.

What Kind Of Evidence Is Important In Credit Reporting Error Cases?

There are a few documents from the consumer which are important. First is going to be the credit reports themselves. We do encourage consumers to get the true source credit reports from annualcreditreport.com rather than the copied credit reports, so to speak, from commercial sites such as Credit Karma or freecreditreport.com. It is important to have that actual credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. The second document that’s going to be important is going to be the dispute letter and the attachments to the dispute letter. When the dispute letter is sent, it’s important that the consumer maintains the copy. We do encourage sending a certified letter with a return receipt, to show that the credit reporting agency has actually received it.

Finally, the other document that’s going to be important is going to be the denial letter or letters from the companies that the consumer may have requested credit from. As a result of the Fair Credit Reporting Act regulations, when a consumer has requested some sort of loan, and the credit report has been obtained, then the company that’s obtained the credit report is required to inform the consumer, send the letter, and identify the reasons why the credit was denied, if in fact it was denied.

How Long Do These Errors Or Cases Generally Take To Find A Resolution?

The timeline for relief will depend on a number of factors. Most prominently is whether the credit reporting agencies immediately agreed to repair the erroneous activity, or whether they refused to repair the erroneous activity because that’s what will dictate whether the report would be immediately repaired or whether it will require a lawsuit to effectuate the repair. Lawsuit timing can vary dramatically. The lawsuit can be over relatively quickly, meaning 3 to 6 months from the time that it’s filed, or it can be more involved, in which case, it could take even a couple of years.

Who Will Cover The Cost And Fees Associated With My Case Or Fixing My Credit Report?

Generally, we look to the adverse parties to pay for the legal costs and attorney’s fees associated with repairing credit reports.

Can I Even Afford An Experienced Law Firm Such As Yours?

Our fees are affordable. For the cases that we accept, we take them on a contingency basis, meaning that there is no money out of pocket to the consumer unless we prevail in which case. We look to the offending party to pay our legal fees and costs on the consumer’s behalf.

Additional Information Regarding Credit Reporting Error Cases

What is important for readers to know is that credit reports should be reviewed routinely, as has made the news very prominently recently in the Equifax hack. Unfortunately, a lot of consumers’ personal information is out there in cyberspace. It’s becoming progressively more common for that information to be abused, and for accounts that the consumer may not recognize at all to begin populating on their credit report. It is important for there to be routine monitoring. The website that I mentioned before, annualcreditreport.com, allows for a free credit report one time per year. Even if corrective action has been taken with respect to a credit report, sometimes later in time, the furnisher and credit reporting agency may re-populate the information that was corrected. Because of this, ongoing monitoring is critical.

For more information on Damages In Credit Reporting Error Cases, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (727) 538-4188 today.