I have seen alot of creditnet members talk about these $1000.00 per violation lawsuits. I am just waundering about the results. How many have went to court vs settlement? tix
i went to court on a lawsuit vs. exp. I won cash... they did not show up... yes, i actually did get a check. I sued in small claims for fcra violations.
I took Equifax to court on 5/7/02. => Won $1000 plus court fees. Some changes to CR, but not everything (ie. inquiries) I asked in a pre-trial settlement. I'm getting ready to file my 2nd lawsuit. I settled with Trans Union out of court on 5/9/02 (court date was 5/14/02). => Deletions of everything I asked in pre-trial settlement including inquiries. BK was not deleted since I thought this would be "wrong."
Yes, if you have a documented case and have competent evidence against a CRA, OC and CA then Yes you can recover money for damages either actual or punitive. The laws allows up to $1000.00 for damages and not less then $100.00 but you can be awarded less the $1000.00 if you cannot prove damages or the court see's fit to award you a lesser amount. The $1000.00 is not a given! It is my experience that CRA's, OC and CAs are easy to get violations on as they never follow the letter of the law as they are supposed to. This is all to our advantage!! It is not surprising that in my experience that an OC, CA or CRA would want to settle before court because they have researched your suit and realized their mistakes. The problem that lies is that you must sue to even get compliance or for them to even realize and acknowledge your exsistance. I still continue to have a CA who is adamant about them not violating any of the FDCPA laws. I am suing this CA in august 8th, 2002 and they simply refuse to budge! This is no problem since I can easily prove my case. He wrote back to the BBB that they have complied with all laws and that I had 30 days to dispute the debt and did not and that their client sent me proof of validation. Now as you can see, I never gave up my right to dispute and validate with them and nowhere does it state I can't ask for validation after 30 days or whenever I chose. futhermore in their very first correspondence they did not list as required by FDCPA that I had 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt and that they would furnish me validation as required by law. The only thing their first correspondence says is "This notice is from a debt collector and all information will be used for such" How then would I know my rights if they didn't state this required statement to me in their correspondence like they are required to?? This is a far cry from them complying with the FDCPA. They also verified with the CRA's on 6 seperate occassions without notifying them I was in full dispute. They also continued collection activity. I recently setteled out of court with the original creditor over this debt which the general release states I have no further obligation to the debt now or in the future and that by each of us signing such we admit no guilt or liability. I was contacted by her, attorney, she is a dentist wanting to settle out of court because I was suing her for her collection agencies violations as well. She caved in. I also said I would file a complaint with her licensing bureau, ADA, FTC, Attorney General, Healthbureau fraud unit, BBB etc.... This was enough for her to want to release me from any obligation over an alleged $100.00 dentist bill she claimed I owed her. In my opinion the greatest asset we have is our ability to sue these scumbags! Tac
Ted - can I ask you who you communicated with when you took TU to court and settled outside? Did they call you based on your 'intent to sue' letter?
Do you have the fax and/or mailing address of this judd guy. Don richman is no longer answering emails.
Judd is very aware of this website and asked me not to post his direct contact info... However, I will give you a "hint"...there was a post about Sherryl Adiao in a thread about a month (or so) ago... I'm impartial to Trans Union now ;-). They went above and beyond to settle my case and I feel "almost" in debt to them. I am simply relating my experience with them and cannot vouch for other people's experiences with them....
Ted, can you give me a little inside info on small claims? How to file, what is the best course of action. I know u are not a lawyer, I am ready to file a couple. I have documentation, names and all. I just want a little insight before walking into small claims court. would it be possible for me to give you a little info on 1 of my cases and get some insight? thx
Dear Tac, Here is a direct quote from the Spears V. Brennan case, did you see this??? "In deciding that consumers cannot waive the protections afforded by 15 U.S.C. § 1692i, the Illinois district court concluded that requiring an unsophisticated consumer to â??exercise his rights under the FDCPA immediately or lose them" is contrary to the basic premise of the Act, which is to protect unsophisticated debtors from debt collectors who may use the legal system, about which the consumer has little knowledge, to bludgeon them into submission." Hope this helps, keep us posted and good luck. PS. Don't forget, you're an unsophisticated consumer. LOL