Equifax missed a CRRR 30-day verification back in December, and I have since sent 4 notices that they missed, all came back Verified, no admission that they missed the 30-day, despite letters that asked that they specifically address the missed 30-day. At this point I'm just trying to avoid Small Claims, although that is my next step. Today, I received a letter making reference to no specific dispute in particular, although this 30-day late is the only bad thing on my Equifax and the only thing I'm currently disputing. Here's the exact summary: "The information you are questioning has been verified as accurately reported in accordance with the FCRA. Please take notice that Equifax will take no further action regarding information contained on your credit file which was previously disputed. Any further request for verification, on items previously verified, will go unanswered unless additional documentation is received." Are they trying to say that my dispute is "friviolous" without explicitly saying so? Do I just file suit against them now, or do I keep sending verification letters and racking up violations since they are claiming they won't answer anyway? Any suggestions as to how to proceed would be appreciated.
at this point you might need to contact robin holland or vicky banks. if you have documentation that they missed 30 day timeframe and violated FCRA by doing so, Robin might be able to help you
Yes, they are. Robin is in charge of the Customer Suppor, and I beleive Vicky is her assistant. Search the board for their email addresses.
So is Equifax actually claiming "frivolous" here, or are they just blantantly flaunting the law in my face by refusing to even reply to my disputes in the future?
even if they claim frivolous, they have to notify you within 5 days to tell you so. I re-disputed an item that was incorrectly verified. I received a letter within the 5 days saying they already investigated it. I called them and explained that they needed to investigate it again and gave my reason. They agreed and ended up deleting it.
Is this true? I've gotten the same letter at least twice, but it has taken them at least two weeks to respond each time. Is there is a five day rule for a frivolous response? Somebody please let me know. ONE MORE THING... I just caught them on a new violation myself. I sent in a dispute letter and a separate procedural request letter the very same day. Although they sent the frivolous response to my dispute letter, they completely ignored my separate procedural request. You may want to try this with your next dispute if you are looking for an additional violation.
Here it is in the fcra: § 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i]....... (3) Determination that dispute is frivolous or irrelevant. (A) In general. Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a consumer reporting agency may terminate a reinvestigation of information disputed by a consumer under that paragraph if the agency reasonably determines that the dispute by the consumer is frivolous or irrelevant, including by reason of a failure by a consumer to provide sufficient information to investigate the disputed information. (B) Notice of determination. Upon making any determination in accordance with subparagraph (A) that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, a consumer reporting agency shall notify the consumer of such determination not later than 5 business days after making such determination, by mail or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by any other means available to the agency. (C) Contents of notice. A notice under subparagraph (B) shall include (i) the reasons for the determination under subparagraph (A); and (ii) identification of any information required to investigate the disputed information, which may consist of a standardized form describing the general nature of such information. Yup...there it is.
WOW! Thank you very much Mr. Nik! Just goes to show you, you learn something new every day... Now I can add two additional violations to my list. :0)
Note that it says that they have to notify you within 5 days of making the determination. It doesn't specify how much time they have to make the determination itself.
Here's another semi-related question for all of you. While the FCRA says that CRAs and CAs must mark an item "in dispute" if a consumer requests reinvestigation, do they have a set amount of time to do this? I'm trying to get rid of an old chargeoff being reported by an OC. I sent the OC a dispute letter, and they replied within 30-days saying "you owe $350, go pound sand." I pulled my reports every day between their receipt of my letter and the day I received their reply, and it was never marked "in dispute," not that I expected them to actually follow the law. But can they technically receive my letter, open it a few days later, and write me back on the same day never having to notify the CRAs? Or are they bound in some way to actually notify the CRAs that the item was disputed, even if it was only for a day before they replied? I'm just trying to nick them on violations at this point. Thanks.
Quote: WOW! Thank you very much Mr. Nik! Just goes to show you, you learn something new every day... Now I can add two additional violations to my list. :0) Hangman's Hill in Andersonville, it could be worse... " That's MRS. Nik, lol. (Nikki)
ytroy, It would seem that they would have to validate if you ask. Did your letter request validation? I think they would have to prove you owe the debt before telling you to go pound sand. So, yes, they do need to mark it indispute. Now whether or not they will depends on your wording. In your letter, did you state that this was the first contact you had had with them? I know that sometimes that makes all the difference in the world. Pretty much, the first time you receive something, if they dont hear from you within 30 days, they will assume it is legit. So, I would send a validation letter to them.
Zhenya, QUOTE: Note that it says that they have to notify you within 5 days of making the determination. It doesn't specify how much time they have to make the determination itself." You are absolutely right. Technically they could sit on it for the full 30 days. I know with eq, it is helpful to pull some reports during the investigation process to "check up" on them. They never marked one of my disputes as disputed and completed the investigation on the others submitted at the same time. Since the dispute was never marked, either they didn't do it or named it frivolous right from the get-go. No notice received (45 days ago). I havent even gotten my results yet. I have pulled it after the 30 day per though...tooo impatient to wait, lol. So, not I've got a round of letter-writing to do.
