CHRISTI, MARIE, and OTHERS...!!!!

The first question out of the lawyer's mouth I went to see was.........."what do you have for damages"? Thank gawd Marie told me to apply for something at all 3 CRA's. I had 2 denials from each CRA. He said even though you have liability (violations etc) if you have NO damages you have NO case. That is the very most important, you have to show their erroneous reporting caused you to "lose" something so to speak. So make sure you have denials and that the denial lists the CRA used.

 

Sorry I'm not answering quicker... sick here too.

Ok. IF you requested a procedural description and they sent you back that junk, then they didn't send you a procedural description.

What they should have sent you is something stating that "we verified by phone"...

FUnny, what they send is "WE verified by computer, phone, or in writing" or something like that. Which I would also argue is not a procedural description for the reinvestigation of that item... it's simply a canned response to how any item could have been verified. But, few people ever call them on their crud so who's to monitor how they screw the fcra on a daily basis.

as to lawsuits. it's easy really. the idea is like lizardking's lawsuit. You state what happened etc. you put in some legalease... and there are really only 2 ways you get fcra violations
1. willful violations
2. negligent violations

you state each violation under both. why? just do it. Even if you think one is willful and one is negligent, you hammer them under both and then let the judge decide which type of violation it is.

I honestly can't remember the specifics of your case right now. So many people on and off the board whose situations differ...

but basically if you have errors they keep verifiying then you just state that as your case and we can help mold a small claims form with you.... keeping in mind we're just average people and not just lawyers. If you have an open and shut issue, then you could always hire an atty. IF you have your ducks in a row, it's "simple to sue the cras and win" according to my atty.

but even if the item is "correct" and all they did was give you the proper procedural desciption, you can sue for that if you have damages...

 

oh, how do you get money?
1. hire an atty and let him negotiate it for you and/or litigate the case and win
2. you have actual damages that you can get compensation for... if TU wants you to settle the case and you have damages and costs, why should you dismiss it for no money? for kindness? So, you negotiate...


they're going to want to give you deletions in full as settlement. My point would be that they should've done their jobs and deleted initially. why should you have to go to such lengths because they're incompetent???

So you ask them how much they're offering in addition to full deletions to settle the case. then, be quiet.

In negotiating, the first person to make an offer loses. Eg: you may be willing to take 500, they may be willing to give you 2k. If you offer 1k and they were willing to give you 2, you just lost 1,000.

If they start at 1k, you know their starting point and you can add in more damages, costs etc. or just accept their offer.

but frankly, it costs an average of 1.5K for a large firm to hire an atty and defend a lawsuit of any size. For small calims it might be only 500 to 1k, but they will have to spend the money defending it... or they'll send their employee to small claims and hope it gets dismissed...

so they really are out some money even if they fight you and win... so it's easier not to roll the dice and take their chances in court, they'd rather settle, normally.

depending on how strong your case is and how sure you are about fighting them.. that tends to dictate what/how much you can get.

If you have them on only procedural descriptions... I might settle for just deletions. but if you have them for b.s. on your report that's not yours.. then I'd get a minimum of 1k...

but that's me. I'll go into court. done it before, will do it again. NO big deal really, if you have your paperwork in order.

 

Martys girl,

Can you email me at your earliest convenience? I have some questions for you. My email is turned on.

Thanks,

Erica

(posting under Supershawn's nick, sorry)

 

You have to apply for something and be denied for 2 reasons.

If you're bored you can read the Cousins v TU appeal where the guy lost... a 4.7 million punitive damage award by a jury. why?

1. A report just seen by you isn't a consumer report. Meaning, a creditor has to see the erroneous report

2. You must have actual damages. The easiest is via a denial.

another way is actual cost of credit (increased) but if you actually get a mortgage they're going to want to see that paid or off somehow... and why would you want to go and get a worse mortgage to refi later.

Go after them now. You can sue them in the same lawsuit or in different ones. you can get a lawyer to help or do it on your own.

regardless, you have to have actual damages. a denial is the quickest and easiest.

then after you get this corrected apply for a mortgage. You could apply for the mortgage and use it but you'd really pay extra, they'd fight you for years, you'd have to be in US District court and you'd have to have a lawyer... do you really want that much trouble? get it fixed, then get a mortgage

by the way, Christi and I went round and round on this one for a while... finally she was convinced that I wasn't just pulling this out of the air and she got denied... and her lawyer concurred, she needed and then did have actual damages via the denials.

 

It wasn't that I didn't think she didn't know what she was talking about <GRIN> because she did. I was worried about the inquiries but she *insisted* I apply. She was SOOOOO right. My attorney said now I can have the inquiries removed along with the lawsuit/settlement because if the report was NOT erroneous I would have been approved, so they must remove the inquiries along with the other inaccurate information.

That was the very first question he asked when I sat in the chair "What do you have for damages"? Like he said you have 2 parts to the case, liability and damages. To bridge the two together and make a good case or a case period you must have BOTH. The liability alone won't stand in a court of law. He said that is the #1 reason for them to 1. not settle 2. throw the cases out.

Marie is the bomb and knows what she is talking about

 

I think I said that to you... but you were so worried It's cute, really... what we initially worry about when tackling the cras...

then you realize there are certain things you have to do to position yourself where you really can tackle them... and then you have to be willing to stand up, back up your word, and sue Goliath.

tougher to do than to talk about. I truly applaud you and everyone who's put their money where their frustration is... and sued a cra. (or bluffed a lawuit )

Maybe March should be Creditnet "SUE A BUREAU" month

 

Ok this may be a stupid question but here goes:
When you notify the CRA that you are filing suit against,particularly TU, do you actually FILE, or send the intent to file (a copy of the small claims form filled out?) If you DO file and they want to negotiate, do you have to send them WHAT you have for proof, or tell them what your proof is?
I'm assuming you'd have to state WHAT they did wrong, but if you try to settle before court, you wouldn't have to SHOW what they did wrong. Am I way off here?

 

I had a consultation with an attorney who is willing to take the case. However, I am working with them on settling out of court, if they don't comply..quickly might I add, then I will be retaining him and we will file in Federal court. I am not looking to get rich, just get an accurate credit report and *some* money for my time, trouble and humiliation.

 

Since I didn't get any responses to my post "I need lawsuit ammo." I'll ask the question here.

do you dispute 2x then send procedure letter then sue

or

do you dispute then send procedure letter then dispute again then sue?

I really hate the TU affiliate here in FL, they are idiots. I would really like to sue them. I'm not looking for money only a correct credit report.

 

Well, I used to think disputing twice was necessary but now I think Lizardking may be correct.

1. Dispute Once
2. Request procedural description

at the same time if it's a collection issue send the collection agency a validation set of letters...

then you can either send an intent to sue letter to the cra or just sue.

that's your choice. I think it may be more effective if you have the lawsuit drawn up and fax/mail it with the intent letter (lets them know you really have a lawsuit waiting)...

but again, your choice. a letter alone can work fine if it's sent to the right person... you can always start with the low key letter and then fax a lawsuit copy to them. again, your choice. I don't know that one is more effective than another.

If you file a lawsuit you can settle up until you walk into the courtroom. My opinion is that you have more leverage against them if you either
1. send intent letter with copy of actual lawsuit that will be filed
2. file and let it fly

a well-prepared, professional lawsuit will let them know you have an atty ready to up the stakes and it lets them know you understand not only the laws but also your own case and its merits. just my .02

 

Thanks, Martysgirl & Marie

I am going to dispute again with Experian and Equifax. They have been pretty good to me. Then, I will send the procedure request after the 2nd round of disputes.

I have no late pays on Equifax and only a few on Experian. But TU is terrible they have my closed, paid collections open. The wrong dates for DLA. It's just terrible.

I haven't gotten anything from TU, so I think I am going to take a different approach with them. I was thinking of trying twice to show I really, really tried to correct my report. I really want to seem like a victim and have been taken advantage of. I will have to apply for something soon.

I have been studying the FCRA that relates to the procedure request and printing out opinion letters. So I'll have to write a letter and draw up a lawsuit.

I have printed out lizardkings and LKH for examples.

Thanks for all of your help!