Whatever it was that prompted you to file a dispute with Experian, whether they gave inaccurate credit information to a mortgage company or bank or made a mistake in the report they gave a potential landlord, it was significant enough for you to file a dispute. The law says they have to investigate the dispute, fix whatever problem might exist, and let you know the outcome. If they have not done that, you should act.
Inaccuracies in credit reports can be highly damaging to your reputation and financial well-being. Additionally, when the inaccuracy results in the denial of a mortgage or job, the damage from that lost opportunity can be incalculable.
Experian, along with Equifax and TransUnion, is one of the three major credit reporting companies. Experian makes money by gathering, compiling, and selling your data. That data needs to be accurate. Consumer Attorneys is a law firm that works to help ensure that it is.
Understanding Your Rights
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) is a federal law that requires credit reporting agencies to correct or delete any inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. When you find an error on your credit report, you have the right to dispute it, and the agency must investigate your dispute within 30 days. When they neither investigate nor alert you to the outcome of their investigation, they are violating the FCRA. In most cases, it is at that point when you can elevate the dispute to legal action.
We sometimes hear, “someone is using my social security number I’ll sue Experian.” In some instances, you can sue Experian without filing a dispute first. The FCRA also requires that Experian takes reasonable steps to assure the accuracy of the information it sells people. If the error in your credit report is something that Experian should have identified had it used reasonable procedures, then you can sue without filing a dispute first. In many instances, these circumstances manifest themselves in instances of identity theft.
How Consumer Attorneys Can Help
You don’t need a credit report attorney to file a dispute. If you have already filed a dispute without an attorney, you know this. But you can also contact us the minute something involving your credit report or something with Experian goes awry. Here’s how we can help:
- Assessing your case. If your case falls into one of the instances where suing Experian before filing a dispute is appropriate, we will let you know. If circumstances dictate that you file a dispute first, we can help you do that in a way that preserves your rights. For example, if you file a dispute online, you may be waiving your future rights to sue Experian. The point is, call us anytime.
- Documenting your dispute. We will help you gather all the evidence you need, e.g., old bank statements, old account closing confirmations, etc., to dispute whatever error Experian reported. Then, once you have filed your dispute, we will track Experian’s response time so that should they fail to reply in time, we are ready to go with our lawsuit. We will maintain all the documents in our file so we have all the proof we need when it comes time to file a lawsuit.
- Following up with Experian. When it’s time, we can follow up with Experian and, depending on their response, prepare to file a lawsuit.
If you are reading this and are already at the point when Experian has failed to respond to your dispute, you should definitely contact Consumer Attorneys now.
- Filing the lawsuit. You don’t need an attorney to take legal action. But if you want to file your lawsuit in the right court, if you want your complaint to be as compelling as it can be, if you want all the rights and potential causes of action the FCRA provides addressed, if you want the most compensation you can get, you will contact an experienced consumer credit attorney.
- We are your advocates. Experian is one of the largest credit reporting companies in the nation and has vast resources at its disposal to defend these claims. Fighting them alone is not easy. We have decades of collective experience and have secured large amounts for past clients, holding credit reporting companies like Experian accountable.
- Understanding the potential outcomes. Not all cases go to trial. In fact, most settle. But that doesn’t mean Experian will not compensate you for the harm they have caused you. We know how to ask for and receive compensation for emotional distress, lost credit opportunities, or higher interest rates due to an incorrect credit report. We negotiate on your behalf, keep you updated on the progress of your case, address any concerns you might have, and advise you on any necessary next steps.
- Ready for trial. We are also trial attorneys. So, should it be necessary to take your case to trial, we will be prepared to do so.
An Experian credit report riddled with errors creates problems. If such a report – or other wrongdoing by Experian – has already created problems for you, you should contact us. It doesn’t matter how big or small that error was; consumer laws exist for a reason, and when Experian fails to act in compliance with those laws, consumers should take action.
When you understand your rights, when you approach a dispute with knowledge and evidence supporting your position, and when you have the legal advice of attorneys who only do consumer law, then you maximize the odds for an outcome that adequately compensates you for your damages. Patience and persistence are essential in any legal battle; in legal battles against powerful companies like Experian, who have already ignored your credit report dispute, you need a legal advocate who knows how to deal with them.
