How to take legal action against credit bureaus?

Question

I have several items on my credit report that the credit bureaus will not remove after I have submitted proof? How does a person take these credit bureaus to small claims court to recover damages and change (remove) bad items from the credit report? Do I need an expensive lawyer or can this be done by a layperson? What is the cost of this and I live in California, USA? Thanks

Answer 1

Here is the law regarding your situation. However, if you did not properly submit your requests to the credit agencies, then chances are they just ignored you.
I do know that to file a suit in a Federal Court the filing fee is $350 plus. So you may want to hire an attorney to bring suit against the agencies.


TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE

CHAPTER 41--CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION

SUBCHAPTER III--CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES

Sec. 1681o. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance


(a) In general

Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any
requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of--
(1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure; and
(2) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.

Answer 2

Like the previous poster said, if you didn't submit your "proof" in the correct manner or if you did not send it to the right address, they probably disregarded your letter.
Also, if the items are not due for removal, they will remain on file and it's perfectly legal. (For example, after you pay a collection account, the credit bureau can report that it's paid, but they are not required to remove that item until the 7 year reporting period is over).
Whenever you dispute an item, write a letter explaining what the issue is. Make a legible photocopy of your proof and also send a photocopy of the account in question as it appears on your credit report. They should be able to resolve your issue with those three things. After receiving your letter, they are required to respond within 30 days and let you know what became of your inquiry.
If they still refuse, send them a letter and threaten to report them to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and that should expedite your resolution.
I hope that helps!

BTW- I really wouldn't advise trying to take the CRAs to court. It's probably more time and money than what it's worth.

Answer 3

The actions you should take will depend on your specific situation. The best resource I have found for handling disputes with credit bureaus is the Credit forum at creditboards.com. They have a great deal of information about how to handle problems like yours. There's much more to it than can be written here. There are some regular posters there who will help you with specific questions as well.

But the short answer is: yes, you can do it yourself without an attorney, if you research how to do it right. The law is in your favor. Best of luck to you.