Re: Insurance and credit Make it against the law for creditors and Cra s to include inquiries in Reports an it will solve the problem! Abuse it-loose it!
Re: Inquiries, shown and not shown The last words of this opinion are, "Accordingly, we REVERSE the grant of summary judgment and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." In the first paragraph, it states, "We also find genuine issues of fact with respect to whether the attorney and his firm may be held civilly liable for violations of the FCRA." What was the outcome? Were there further procedings? At http://creditaccuracy.com , my question of what permissible purpose was used to access my credit file is unanswered. Recently, I filed a small-claim against a telemarketer. The defendant moved the case (as is their right) to civil court. Now, in order to present my case, I'll have to learn that court's procedures and represent myself, or pay for a lawyer's representation-- which would excede the $500 award I seek, thus making the court case, practically, dead. They want me to play on their field-- with the rules with which they're familiar, and I am not. But, they won't get that chance. By raising the stakes, they're forcing me to raise them, too. They don't know about the existence of credible, damning evidence (no discovery has been conducted). And they also don't know that I have experience in writing web sites to poke fun at and expose silly practices. By trying to force me to spend money on a lawyer in a case that should be argued in the People's Court, they just bought themselves a starring role in my next story-- slated for world-wide (web) access. SM, I've noticed a considerable difference between the way the national credit reporting agencies list inquiries on the reports they issue to consumers directly and the reports consumers can obtain from other credit report vendors. From whom did you obtain your report, and, specifically, what do the inquiry notations say?
Re: Inquiries, shown and not shown Greg: Yes, the appeals court turned it over and ruled the District court was wrong in dismissing to begin with.....I would suggest you contact Attorney Handmaker, who I know as recently as 2000, represented a consumer who ended up settling out of court regaarding non-permissible credit inquiry's against creditor's and the CRA's involved. You can find his number on web using, I believe, Martindale Hubel.
Re: Re:They give me a headache everytime. Hmm, I guess you misunderstood something that I wrote. I think I do know the "score" as well as good grammar. What exactly is "puts me in mind of"? If you can name something that I said that is incorrect, have at it, and I will back it up. I have read the FCRA.
For the person who asked for insurance companies that do not pull credit reports, I know of two. I'm sure there are more. Neither State Farm nor Liberty Mutual pull or consider a credit report.
I saved $500/yr with Liberty Mutual through CapOne Card services. They did not pull a report although the disclosure states that they can.
Re: Inquiries, shown and not shown I received my report through a mortgage company. The inquiries that I was only supposed to view were right there on the tri-merge report as permissable inquiries. However, on my copy of my file (specifically TU) stated that the inquiries were promotional and only viewed by the consumer. Go figure! At least I have good evidence that they flat out lie. Of course I am sure they will just consider it a computer error. Which opens a whole new can of worms in the credit scoring system. Imagine all those computer errors jacking around our FICO scores! Of course, as I always say, the computer is only as good as the person who inputs the data and the person who designs the program!
FARMER'S INSURANCE PULLED MINE WITH-OUT PERMISSION...but they "notified" me after the fact. F.Y.I. THEY DID IT WITH-OUT MY SS# BECAUSE I REFUSED TO GIVE IT TO THEM...especially since I pay in full BEFORE coverage starts!!! They are NOT a creditor.
No loss at all, just gain. They broke the law when they pulled your credit record without your consent. Telling you after the fact doesn't make it any better in my view. Anyway, just a thought.
[29 out of the 94 posts in this thread are by one person.] George's point is well-taken. The law that governs the credit reporting industry needs some statutory award teeth. For instance, another federal consumer protection law (concerning an entirely different industry) allows the consumer to win $500 for several different, specific violations by businesses. Proving damages in a case about credit reporting is difficult-- particularly when the credit scoring algorithm is locked up so tight that determining the monetary effect of one less inquiry at a given point in time is practically impossible. Can you prove that your rate was higher because of an illegal inquiry? Unlikely. And, will you spend thousands on a lawyer when the defense moves the case out of small-claims court? Very unlikely.
I have an account with Robinsons-May. Last year they pulled three "hard" inquiries into my credit file. When I saw these I called them and asked why. The very snotty customer service rep and the even snottier customer service manager both told me they have every right to pull my report and can do it every day of the year if they feel like it. I told them I agree with this but it should be listed under "account revue" where it does not affect my score. They insisted they had every right to pull "hard" inquiries and would continue to do so. I don't know if this would qualify under your complaint but I would surely love to be involved.
Maer, I would challenge the hard inquiry with the CRA's if it were me. I know that the company said they have the right to pull a hard inquiry, but I would still push that it's a current account and thus just a review. That is if you want them moved. I applied for a credit card at my credit union and they of course, pulled a hard inquiry at Equifax. I was successful at bluffing equifax that it was only a soft inquiry for review of my accounts, and they switched it over to the AR status. ONE VICTORY FOR ME! Other than that, I would cancel that account so they can't do any more damage. That's outrageous.....Hard inquiries anytime the feel like it.
Go to NACA.org (National Association of Consumer Advocates) and do search for experts in the area of FCRA or FDCPA, etc. Since they are Federal Laws, you can utilize an attorney anywhere in the country. Additionally, if you have good cause, they will take your case on a contingency basis and they will obtain an attorney from your area to assist them in filing, etc. That way you only pay if you win your case.
It has been a good year by now since this happened. Last time I checked there were no new inquiries. I probably should have tried that route with the cra's however I had called them once before about removing a bogus inquiry and they told me absolutely positively they do not remove inquiries and I must go through the company to have it removed. It's good to know it is possible with the right rep.
