WINNING ENTRY: Adam G. Singer
WINNER NAME: Zola Creative
AWARD: Legal Standard of Excellence
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Author Archives: Credit Report Law Group
“Big data” is real and growing. Know your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and related state statutes.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/06/technology/weapons-of-math-destruction/index.html
What Do Credit Reports Cover?
A great deal of consumer credit and
- Creditworthiness
- Credit standing
- Credit capacity
- Character
- General reputation
- Personal characteristics
- Mode of living
What is the practical effect of these definitions? Reports that address likely income, educational background, criminal records, other public record information, telephone service history, payday loans, and asset ownership all fall under the purview of the FCRA. Reports about a renter’s history including payment history, evictions, and his or her treatment of premises each would qualify as a consumer report. Driving records can contain personal information that bears on a consumer’s individual characteristics and may be considered a consumer report.
The FCRA also regulates consumer reporting agencies including a failure to provide a consumer report upon request. In addition, the FCRA prohibits requesting someone’s credit report for an impermissible purpose. Otherwise known as “impermissible pulls,” improperly accessing a consumer’s credit report exposes the wrongdoer to significant liability under the FCRA.
It is important to know that consumer credit reports address more than whether you paid off your mortgage or made your car payments on time. Your rights as a consumer may be addressed by the FCRA under a much broader range than many consumers are aware.
For more information, visit http://creditreportlawgroup.com/
Who’s responsible when a loved one passes away with outstanding debt? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/bTRt4iV
The firm represents consumers in debt collection and debt harassment cases. Read more at http://creditreportlawgroup.com/lawyer/Debt–Harassment–Debt-Defense_cp16182.htm
It’s been one, two, three, or even four or more years since you’ve leased your vehicle. You’ve treated the car well, you’ve never had any accidents, and minus any normal wear and tear on the vehicle, your car is in great condition. Now, however, your lease is over, and it’s time to return the vehicle to the dealership. If you’ve dealt with leases before, you know that the leasing company will hire a contractor that will travel to the dealership and will perform an inspection on your vehicle to check for mechanical problems, such as engine, transmission, or suspension operation; cosmetic damage (dents, dings, scratches, etc.); cracks, pitting, or similar damage on all windows; excessive wear to the brakes and tires; and stains, burns, or other damage to the interior of the vehicle. This is where you must be extra careful when returning your lease, as any problems that the leasing company’s contractor might find during their end-of-lease vehicle assessment report, either legitimate or not, will be billed to you.
To protect yourself from questionable findings on these end-of-lease assessment reports, it is imperative to maintain a detailed record of any and all maintenance performed on the leased vehicle while in your care. In fact, it is recommended that you have the car serviced and inspected at the dealership from whom you’ve leased the vehicle as that adds credibility to the authenticity of the maintenance records. Moreover, if you are aware of any dents, damages, or excessive wear on the vehicle’s body, tires, or brakes, it may be more cost effective to buy replacement tires and/or brake pads, and have the dents repaired by an independent body shop before returning the leased vehicle. This is due to the fact that the end-of-lease report will likely include much higher repair costs since everything will be replaced or repaired with original, or OEM, parts, and may also include labor costs which are likely to be performed by one of the manufacturer’s dealerships, and dealerships may inflate their labor chargers. Therefore, if you have any excessive wear and tear or damage to the leased vehicle, such as dents larger than the size of a quarter or nearly bald tires, you’re better off visiting an independent shop to get anything repaired or replaced.
Another tip to consider prior to the inspection of the leased vehicle is to have the leasing company’s inspector come to your home or business to conduct the end-of-lease inspection so that you can be present during the walk-around. It is important to remember that when you drop a leased vehicle off at the dealership from which you leased it, the inspection may not happen for several hours, if not a few days. During that time, the car may be damaged while in the dealer’s shop, and you may never find out until you receive the end-of-lease report and are shocked to find a massive bill for damages you never even knew about. Furthermore, being present for the walk-around is also likely to keep the inspector honest on his report. We’re not saying that inspectors lie on such end-of-lease reports, but, why not stick around to see exactly what the inspector’s findings really are? Not all leasing companies will allow their inspectors to come to your home or business to inspect the leased vehicle, but it never hurts to ask them.
In addition to excessive wear and tear, some lessees may not be aware that excessive mileage is also considered in the end-of-lease report, and you will likely be charged for the excessive mileage. This is why it is important to check your lease agreement every year to confirm the amount of miles that you are allowed to use during the lease period, and compare it to the current mileage on the leased vehicle. If you believe you may go over the mileage stated in the lease agreement, depending on how close you are to the end of the lease, you should attempt to purchase more miles before the end of the lease, as miles that you purchase before the end of the lease are likely to be less expensive than a bill for excessive mileage. If, however, you are fairly close to the end of the lease period, contact your leasing company and notify them that you might be going over the agreed upon mileage. If the amount you believe you will be over is relatively low, the leasing company may waive any fees for excessive mileage. Again, it’s another one of those situations where it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Finally, you got the leased car inspected and you believe that the results are questionable. If this is the case, you are entitled to dispute those findings. You may ask to meet with a representative from the leasing company, present your maintenance records, and request that the vehicle be re-inspected, or that any questionable findings and charges be removed from the bill. Also, please be aware that if you’ve remained loyal to the dealership to whom you’re returning your lease, or plan to lease from them again in the near future, they may decide to waive any repair costs altogether. It never hurts to ask for such a courtesy.
Be sure to follow as many (or all) of these suggestions as possible, as they will help you avoid problems or disputes with your leasing company at your lease’s end, help you avoid surprise charges on your end-of-lease bill, and will ultimately help you return your leased vehicle the right way.
The Credit Report Law Group represents consumers in matters arising from corporate deceptive acts and practices. The firm’s website is available at www.nyconsumerlaw.com
Most people know that maintaining their credit score in good standing is crucial to their financial health. After all, their credit score can have a significant impact on key aspects of their financial life. Credit scores can affect a person’s ability to buy a home, car, insurance, and may even affect their ability to obtain employment. Many consumers, however, are unaware that inaccurate credit reports are a common problem . These mistakes often remain uncorrected despite the credit bureaus (consumer reporting agencies or “CRA”) being informed of the error.
If your credit report contains an error, you are entitled to dispute that inaccurate information with the CRAs and data furnishers (often the original creditor or a debt collector) in order to have them correct any errors that may be present. In order to begin the dispute process, you must first collect all relevant information that supports your position that the information on the credit report is inaccurate. Make copies of all of these relevant documents and send the copies to the CRAs and credit furnishers along with a dispute letter outlining the nature of the error. You should receive a letter from the CRAs stating that they are in the process of conducting an investigation into your matter and will notify you of the results within thirty days as required by the bureaus.
The dispute process is not perfect, however, and whatever investigation the CRAs and furnishers will conduct may be unavailing. This means that consumers are usually left with the same errors for years.
When the dispute process has failed, a consumer attorney may be able to help. The Credit Report Law Group focuses on representing consumers with credit report errors. In most cases, the consumer is not responsible for attorney’s fees. In litigation, consumers may be entitled to sue for both a corrected report and compensation for any financial and emotional harm suffered. In addition, a consumer can recover punitive damages — at times substantially larger than their compensatory award — to recover for willful violations of the FCRA. More information is available at www.nyconsumerlaw.com.
What can I do about errors in my credit report?
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau recently released a study that revealed credit report errors continue to be a serious problem for consumers. The overarching issue is that these errors can adversely affect a consumer’s ability to qualify for credit, especially a mortgage loan. In some cases, inaccurate credit report information can also impede an individual’s job prospects.
“Credit reports are the foundation of consumers’ financial
In particular, the CFPB noted that since 2012 the Bureau fielded over 140,000 credit reporting complaints. Of these, more than 75 percent concerned incorrect information appearing on consumer credit reports such as paid debts being reported as unpaid and debts that consumers do not recognize.
According to the three leading credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and
At the same time, problems were also found with reports provided by specialty consumer reporting companies. These outfits provide reports for background and employment checks, and information about different types of consumer transactions such as checking accounts, rental payments, utility
Not only has the CFPB received numerous complaints about inaccurate information in credit reports, the federal agency also found consumers frequently experience difficulty disputing and correcting inaccuracies. Consumers often face long delays speaking with reps at companies that reported the information or have been treated poorly by these agents.
“We will continue to work to ensure that credit report disputes are investigated, errors are fixed, and consumers are treated fairly,” said Cordray
Consumers Have Rights
While the CFPB is focusing on this matter, consumers have rights under a federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires credit reporting agencies to implement procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy to reach a fair and accurate credit report. In addition, FCRA requires the national credit bureaus to provide consumers with a free annual credit report upon request. As the CFPB’s recent study noted, however, consumers have experienced difficulties disputing and correcting report errors.
The FCRA also empowers consumers with the ability to file a lawsuit if the inaccurate negative information is not corrected. Consumers may be able to obtain compensatory damages for their financial harm and emotional suffering, attorneys fees, and depending on the circumstances punitive damages. If you are experiencing problems having inaccurate negative information removed from your credit report you should not only file a complaint with the CFPB, but also consult with an experienced consumer law attorney.
Read today’s article about how errors by tenant screening companies can interfere with renting an apartment in New York City and beyond.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/nyregion/new-york-housing-tenant-blacklist.html?_r=0
The Credit Report Law Group represents rental applicants with background check errors. For more information, visit http://creditreportlawgroup.com/lawyer/Background-Check-Errors_cp16178.htm
Has undiscovered identity theft damaged your credit score?
Check your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com .
Adam Singer, Esq. helps consumers with credit report errors to obtain compensation and a corrected report.
How can I protect myself from identity theft?
Identity theft is a growing problem that is costing American consumers billions of dollars every year according to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. In fact, it has been reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported over 490,000 identity fraud complaints in the last year alone. While nearly half of these complaints were related to tax return fraud, credit card fraud, particularly the creation of bogus accounts, is also a major threat to consumers.
What is identity theft?
This crime typically occurs when someone steals an individual’s personal information such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and tax information. This information is then used to fraudulently obtain credit or file taxes.
Most victims are unaware their identity has been stolen until they are denied for a loan, they receive bills for items they did not purchase, or they are facing credit collection activities. While anyone can be victimized by identity theft, some groups are more vulnerable, particularly older adults, military personnel and their families.
Preventing Identity Theft
There are steps you can take to prevent identity theft, starting with protecting your social security number. A social security card should never be kept in a wallet, and your number should only be given out when necessary, never over the phone or by email.
In addition, you should frequently monitor your banking and credit activity and shred receipts, credit offers, account statements and any other personal information before you discard it. Since personal information is often stored on a computer or mobile phone, it is crucial to
What To Do if Your Identity is Stolen
Although identity theft continues to be a serious threat, consumers are protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law that requires credit reporting agencies to ensure