Stop Debt Collectors in Virginia

Posts Tagged ‘Collection’

Some people chose to surrender the house after they file for Bankruptcy.  Some because they can no longer afford it, some because it was a bad financial decision.  However, they have a problem, one that is growing nationwide.

The mortgage company has not foreclosed, and they will not accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

You still own the house after your Discharge.

The problem is that you will still incur real estate taxes (if you live in a jurisdiction that taxes real estate), you will still incur and owe home owners association (HOA) dues. You  will still be responsible for events that happen on the property, everything from people slipping and falling to county assessments for failing to mow the grass.

http://www.fdcpa.me/mortgage-forclosure-after-flbankruptcy/

Some people move out, even though they are incurring taxes, HOA dues, and other expenses.

Some people beg the mortgage company to take the house.

For example, one of my clients tried to allow the foreclosure before she filed for Bankruptcy.  We even called the day before the foreclosure, to make sure the foreclosure was still on.  We explained that she was out of the property, and was not intending to keep the house.  They called off the foreclosure, because the mortgage company did not want to be on the hook for the real estate property taxes, HOA dues and potential losses.

Remember, the owner of record is responsible for real estate taxes, HOA dues, and any thing that happens on the property.

So we waited to file the Bankruptcy, figuring they would reschedule some time soon.  And we waited, and waited.  Finally, my client was unable to wait any more, so we filed a Bankruptcy. STILL no foreclosure.

Another client filed Bankruptcy just before the foreclosure.  Of course, the foreclosure was stayed.  Then, they moved for permission to foreclose.  The judge asked some questions about who owned the note.  The motion was continued. The Chapter 7 the client filed was Discharged. Still no foreclosure. The case was closed.  Still no foreclosure.  But this client was a bit wiser.  She continued to live in the house, without paying the (now Discharged) mortgage for 2 more years.  It was only when they had foreclosed and filed for eviction that my client left.

Why did we advise her to stay that long?  Because after the foreclosure sale, the Bank bought the house back, and did not file the deed of foreclosure.  She still owned the house, so she paid the HOA dues and taxes, and maintained some insurance.  The bank did not want the house, they wanted the money, and if the bank owned the house, they would have to keep the house maintained, keep the real estate taxes and HOA dues paid, and be responsible for the property.  So she got to live there for almost free for almost 3 years, and the Bank did not have to pay the real estate taxes, HOA dues or maintain the property.

Our advise is that for most people, they should continue to live in the property until the foreclosure deed is filed with the county, and you can only be assured of that by being evicted.  Pay the real estate taxes, pay the HOA dues, keep the water and electricity on, and keep the home owners insurance up to date.  Don’t move out until you have to.  The taxes, insurance, fees and dues are much less than rent anywhere, so save yourself some money.  File the Bankruptcy if that is what you need to do, but don’t move out.

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

OUR FEES: Our fees are controlled by the local rules and your situation.  They may vary from “free” or probono representation to a flat fee to an hourly fee, depending on your situation.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.303.0204

You can fax us: 804.303.0209

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

5310 Markel Rd. Suite 102

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to protect consumers from inaccurate or outdated information on credit reports.

CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REINVESTIGATIONS and The Fair Credit Reporting Act

All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legal Information Institute at Law.Cornell.edu.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the Credit Reporting Agencies, or Consumer Reporting Agencies to conduct a reinvestigation and the procedures around that reinvestigation.

The section that discusses the requirements for reinvestigation of a disputed item is 15 U.S.C. §1681i.

As usual, we start with the statute.  Please note that we will only be reviewing the section on reinvestigations, so the rest of the section will not be reprinted or discussed.

This section requires the consumer credit reporting agencies to have procedures if they are unable to verify information, or if they discover that information is inaccurate.

It requires that the information that they cannot verify be deleted or changed, and that information that is inaccurate be changed or deleted.

An example of unverifiable information is where the furnisher of the information provides information that a person has failed to make certain payments (ie: been late) on a debt, but is unable to provide the records that show that the person has not made those payments.

In this case, the consumer credit reporting agencies must remove the information that the person has failed to make those payments.  They have to report that the person is current.

Another example of inaccurate information is an account created by identity theft.  Clearly, it is not accurate to report that a person owes money to a certain creditor when that account was opened by someone else.  In this case, they must delete the inaccuracy, and remove all reference to this account.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumers from abusive or harassing conduct, false or misleading statements or unfair act by Debt Collectors.

What is “actual damages” are available under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the statutory definition.  Thanks to LII.

15 USC §1692k[a] says that a debt collector must pay 1- actual damages, 2- statutory damages of up to $1000.00 and 3- Attorney fees and costs.

What does this mean for you?

Attorney fees and costs. The truth is that this is why lawyers take these kind of cases at all.  The bad guy pays the fare for the cost of litigating these violations.   The courts have held that as long as we are reasonable, that the way to calculate our fee is based on the “Lodestar” calculation of the amount of time it took (assuming reasonable) and multiply that by the hourly rate (which also must be reasonable.  (see generally, Hensley v. Eckerhart, US Supreme Court[courtesy of Justia.com]).  In many states, including Virginia, it is against the Rules of Professional Conduct (rules of ethics) for us to share our fees with clients. (See RPC 1.5.), however, we are permitted to take most cases on a contingency fee basis.

Statutory damages of up to $1,000.00.  If a debt collector violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they must pay a fine to you.  The question becomes HOW MUCH fine.  The case law on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is clear in that it does not matter if they have caused damages to you—you do not have to suffer any actual damages—in order for you to be entitled to statutory damages.  Similarly, the maximum you can recover in statutory damages is $1,000.00. You may recover less, depending on the circumstances.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires the judge or jury to decide on a 3 factor test of 1-the frequency of non-compliance, 2-the nature of the non-compliance and 3-the extent to which the non-compliance was intentional to determine how much of the $1,000.00 you would be entitled to recover.  However, the case law on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is NOT clear on the question of HOW MUCH.  If they violate the law in more than one way, the majority of cases say that you are entitled to one recovery no matter how many violations they commit.  PUNTIVE DAMAGES ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

Actual damages are hard to describe, they are anything that is an actual “out of pocket” expense.  Examples are

Expense of a collect phone call or text message.

Money that you pay that you do not owe

Money for a lawsuit that is beyond the statute of limitations

Fee for collection that you should not have to pay or is prohibited by law

Other kinds of damages that vary from case to case, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction

Emotional distress damages.  In some jurisdictions, you must show extreme damages, in others, only that there was some impact.  Emotional damages are very hard to value.

So, you can see, actual damages is almost anything, which makes it hard to describe.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Virginia Payday Lender Act (VPLA), §6.2-1800 et seq., is a statute created to regulate the way payday lenders in the Commonwealth do business, and to protect consumers from unfair practices.

The VPLA governs the conduct of payday lenders. The law defines a “payday loan,” and then regulates the behavior of persons who “engage in the business of making payday loans.” A payday loan, then, is defined as a “small, short-maturity loan on the security of” a check, a bank account, or your income.

Businesses that make payday loans are required by the VPLA to register with the State Corporation Commission. Under the statute, this also includes payday lenders on the internet doing business in Virginia. Payday lenders are also required under the Act to follow rules regarding the loans that they make to consumers.

First, the VLPA set limits on the interest rates that a payday lender can charge. (These interest rates can vary depending on other statutes, though; for example, interest rates for active duty military personnel are different).  It also limits the fees that they can build into the agreement. Also, consumers have the RIGHT to start making payments (with a minimum of $5) before the date the loan is due without penalty.

Furthermore, there are additional rules regarding how the payday lenders can treat a consumer when they’re collecting on the loan. Like the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the VPLA prohibits harassment or abuse, false or misleading statements, and unfair collection practices.

If a payday lender violates any of the rules outlined above, the consumer is entitled to bring suit in Virginia state court. The law entitles a consumer to actual damages, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. In addition, any written agreement terms that violate the VPLA are unenforceable against the consumer.

Don’t let payday lenders take advantage of you. You have RIGHTS and you should exercise them. At Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, we want to be your advocate. We will stand up to the lenders on your behalf to make sure that your rights aren’t violated, and that you get compensated when they go too far.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the VPLA and the VCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd. Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230
804-303-0204
804-303-0209 (fax)

A friend of mine worked very hard to talk about the problem of debt collectors, credit reports and debt collectors.

If you have be the victim of a debt collector who has lied to you and told you that paying an old debt would improve your credit, or that they could remove the negative information, please contact us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA OR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumers from abusive or harassing conduct, false or misleading statements or unfair act by Debt Collectors.

What validation rights do you have under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the statutory definition.  Thanks to LII.

Read the code section- 15 U.S.C. §1692g here 15 US Code section 1692g.

When the debt collector contacts you the first time, they must send a notice, called a validation notice, or 30 day letter, which gives you 30 days after you receive the letter to dispute the debt.

If you dispute the debt, they must do certain things before they get back in contact with you, but remember, if you take longer than 30 days, they do not have to do anything.  For example, if they send the letter January 1, and you don’t tell them that you dispute until June 1, they do not have to validate the debt.

But what is “validation”?  It is nothing more than confirming with the creditor that you are the correct person to collect from, and that the amount is correct.  They check just a few things.  A debt collector must contact the creditor (read here on the difference between a creditor and a debt collector), and check your name, maybe your social security number, and the balance.  That’s all they have to do.

Usually, they will send you “validation”.

On the other hand, if they fail to provide validation, and they continue to collect, they are violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Some examples where this is a violation-

1. If they don’t ever send you a letter that explains your right to dispute. This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a case that is hard to prove, and in many cases, it is done by smaller debt collectors, often overseas.  They are hard to sue, even for good violations because they are hard to notify that they are being sued, and even if you do sue them, they are overseas, so your ability to collect from them is often very limited.
2. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they ignore your collection letter, and keep writing, or calling, etc.  This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
3. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they ignore you letter, and sue (this is only possible if they sue, for example, lawyers, and debt collectors who sue in their own name.). This would be a violation.
4. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they see that you are a different person from the person who owes the money (eg: different name, or different social security number), and they continue to collect.  This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

There are some notable exceptions.  The key one being check collectors who are parading as prosecutors.  Check collectors who are pretending to be prosecutors have their own special exemptions. They are not covered by any of the above IF the accounts are being actually reviewed by a lawyer in the office of that prosecutor. 15 U.S.C. §1692p

If you are contacted by a collector, you should keep track of all of the statements that he made (you can use our form or just write it down), and send them a letter asking for more information, called validation of the debt.  There is a sample here, and a dispute noting that you have a lawyer here.   Note that not all the questions must be answered.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has some very specific ways that are expressly not permitted and a very few that are permitted.

As we have mentioned before,  a debt collector is not permitted to, in the process of collecting a debt use language that is abusive or harassing, false or misleading, or unfair or unconscionable.

But there are other things that a debt collector can do that are illegal.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person at a time that they know is inconvenient.  It is presumed that 8:00 am to 9:00 pm are acceptable hours, but if you work the night shift, that is bad for you.  If you work the night shift, tell the debt collector that it is inconvenient to take calls from 8:00 am to 5:00 PM, since that is the time that you sleep. They should call from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, since that is when you are awake.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person they know has a lawyer.  There are a few exceptions, like if the lawyer says its OK, or if a judge authorizes it, or the lawyer is non-responsive.  But they have to know that you are represented by a lawyer, and how to contact that lawyer.  We always recommend that you “lawyer up” in writing.  Give them your lawyer’s name and address. If your lawyer is willing to talk on the phone, give them the phone number. But do it in writing.  But remember- we always suggest Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.  That way you can prove that you sent it, and they received it.  A sample letter “lawyering up” can be found here.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person at work, if they know that the person cannot take that type of call (collection calls, or more generally personal calls) at work. The key here is that they have to know, or have a reason to know (know or should know).  How do you tell them that you can’t talk at work?  You just tell them.  Tell them on the phone, when they call.  Tell them in writing.  Follow up your telephone conversation with a letter.  Send it Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.

Then, track the phone calls with our call log.  If you can prove that they received your letter, and called anyway, we can help you.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

Last week a Jury in Dallas, Texas made one of the biggest sanctions ever in a case involving abusive debt collections.  The jury awarded Allen Jones’ $50,000 in mental anguish damages and $1.5 Million in punitive damages due to the conduct of debt collectors employed by Advanced Call Center Technologies. This story was first reported by WFAA-TV in Forth Worth. The trial was prosecuted by Dean Malone and Mark Frenkel.

Debt Collectors employed by ACCT admitted to making the calls which included the use of racial slurs, swearing, and mental harassment.  All of this was over “Zombie Debt” of $200.00 that Mr. Jones had previously paid but his creditors refused to give him credit.

Even if you may or may not owe a company money they are not entitled to berate your in their attempts to collect a debt.  By law debt collectors must treat you with:

1. Truth
2. Dignity
3. Honesty
4. Respect.

If you are receiving calls from a debt collector and he or she is saying things that

you could not “Repeat to your Grandmother” then your rights under state and federal law are being violated.  It is time to act!   

Debt Collector harassment is illegal and can be stopped  Click Here for Help.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers to enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

DEBT SETTLERS ARE BAD FOR YOU.  DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE DEBT SETTLEMENT IN DISGUISE.

All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legislative Information System of Virginia, and are provided by leg1.state.va.us.

Debt Management and Debt Settlement is regulated by the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions.

Recently, the Oregon Attorney General cracked down on Credit Solutions of America, a debt settler based in Texas.  You can read the story here.

In that story, you will find that CSA has been scamming Oregon consumers for some time. They charge substantial upfront fees and encourage people to default on credit cards so they can afford the upfront fees.

This is also illegal in Virginia, however, the Virginia Attorney General has not yet come down on CSA.

Remember that with debt settlement, there is NO GUARANTEE that it will work.  KCLS does not settle debts, though we have been known to settle lawsuits.

Debt settlers promise that they can settled your debts.  There is no way to promise that truthfully.   No one can promise that a debt will be settled with a creditor, collector, or lawfirm.  There are only 2 ways to not pay for sure 1- Bankruptcy, and 2- win the collection lawsuit.

You can win a collections lawsuit because you do not owe the debt- ie: not yours, or billing errors.

You can win a collection lawsuit for technical reasons- ie: statute of limitations, hearsay, or other evidence problems.

You can also lose a collections lawsuit, even with a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations, with testimony that is based on hearsay, filled with billing errors, where the judge does not follow the law, or the rules of procedure or the rules of evidence.  Even good lawyers can lose in these circumstances.

The most important thing to know is that if you do not try to defend, you cannot win.  You must show up.  Most debt settlers try to settle the debt from afar.  They try to settle, while the collector proceeds to obtain judgment.

There are also some creditors and debt collectors that will not negotiate, and worse yet, when they understand that you have hired a debt settler, will sue, almost immediately, for the simple reason that they believe that the first one to sue will be one of the few to collect anything.  The truth is that this is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

In summary, beware of debt settlers, it is very hard for them to comply with all of the provisions of the Virginia Credit Counseling Act (VCCA), Virginia Code Sections 6.1-363.2 through 6.1-363.26.  Violations of the VCCA can be enforced by consumers who have been duped, pursuant to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA), as VCCA specifies at Section 6.1-363.26 that any violation of VCCA is a violation of Section 59.1-200 of the VCPA.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR VCCA/VCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the Virginia Credit Counseling Act and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is designed to protect consumers from inaccurate or outdated information on credit reports.

CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY REINVESTIGATIONS and The Fair Credit Reporting Act

All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legal Information Institute at Law.Cornell.edu.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the Credit Reporting Agencies, or Consumer Reporting Agencies to conduct a reinvestigation and the procedures around that reinvestigation.

The section that discusses the requirements for reinvestigation of a disputed item is 15 U.S.C. §1681i.

As usual, we start with the statute.  Please note that we will only be reviewing the section on reinvestigations, so the rest of the section will not be reprinted or discussed.

(5) Treatment of inaccurate or unverifiable information

(A) In general

If, after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any information disputed by a consumer, an item of the information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall—

(i) promptly delete that item of information from the file of the consumer, or modify that item of information, as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation; and

(ii) promptly notify the furnisher of that information that the information has been modified or deleted from the file of the consumer.

This means that, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer credit reporting agency must, after reviewing the credit file and information that you provided in conjunction with your request for reinvestigation, must remove the disputed information, if the information cannot be confirmed.

For example- If you have a credit card or perhaps a line of credit with a bank, and the bank reports that you are late one month.  You have proof that you sent payment, and that they cashed your check on or before the due date.

In order to preserve your rights, you must send your dispute to the consumer credit reporting agencies, and provide them with all the information they need to review this account.  If the consumer credit reporting agency cannot verify that the information is accurate, they are required to either delete the information or alternatively, to modify the reporting of the tradeline in the credit file to show that you were not late, and notify the furnisher of the information (your creditor) that they have removed or modified the information in your credit file.  Under a different provision, they are required to have specific procedures to prevent the inaccurate information from reappearing in your credit file.

If the information is accurate, it is proper for the information to remain, so it is important to remember that just because you dispute, and they deal with your dispute incorrectly, does not mean that you have a right to sue.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act is NOT like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  They must report inaccurate, or accurate but misleading and incomplete, information in order to have a right to sue at all.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

YOUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230