Well, I got the response in the mail today. Credit Data Southwest, the local affiliate I filed on, has filed for transfer to U. S. District Court. They would rather fight it out than accept or negotiate my offer of settlement. I spoke to my atty. this morning after I got this and I'm decided to go ahead with it. They have made violations and if they think I am going to roll over and play dead, they are WRONG!!!
LKH - What were you suing Experian for? Which reasons did you list and what amount? I am curious.. thanks.
Ender, as I filed in small claims, I had to list an amount in order to get it filed. I put $2,000, but it was a token amount as I was ready to dismiss for deletion of certain accounts. My claim is based, of course, on violations of the FCRA. An account that was deleted was reinserted and they were unable to show how this account was "certified" correct by the creditor, as per the FCRA. 2 collection accounts that were previously deleted, were reinserted and I was never notified. FCRA says they must notify within 5 days. Another collection was sold to another collector. I sent a validation to the new ca and received back a letter apologizing and stating they were dropping all collection efforts. I gave copies of this to the cra and again disputed the original ca who is still reporting it. The cra claims it was again verified with no regard to the proof I submitted.I have also filed a complaint with my state banking dep't regarding this ca that continues to report an account they don't have. By the way, for anyone interested, the collection agency is Gulf State. I sent them a validation which they haven't responded to in more than 30 days. I sent a second letter on Thursday advising them to remove the listing immediately, or I will be filing a lawsuit against them also in addition to the complaint with the banking dep't. Sorry so long. There is more, but this enough.
Got damages? Go get 'em!! Incidentally, I think the move to a higher court can be expected more often, now that small claims has gotten popular - as an attempt to stop the lawsuit filings. They are assuming you won't want to pay a lawyer - but if you really have a case, of course, they will have to pay your legal expenses.
LKH- They bumped it up hoping you wouldn't be able to get a lawyer. It's a trick to get small claims suits dismissed by the plaintiffs. But, as you probably know, now you can sue for even more money. Now you can add other claims other than just the small statutory damages. Your attorney should craft a letter thanking them for the opportunity to lighten up their collective wallets a little more. BTW, the judge doesn't *have* to approve their motion. They know what the deal-ee-oh is! Good luck! SK
My atty said it is just that - hoping I won't be able to continue. Too bad for them I know a lot of atty's. I still find it unbelievable that they would rather transfer this and fight it rather than negotiate a settlement for removal of a few accounts that per FCRA violations, should not be there. Unreal. My atty said I shouldn't really worry about it as it usually ends up settled favorably anyways. You guys read my allegations above, what do you think? Are these valid violations worth fighting in your opinions?
Absolutely LKH. I believe you should go ahead, and I am glad you decided to consult an attorney, and that you found one who will fight for you. I agree they will likely settle out of court once they see that you intend to continue, and I think your example will help a lot of others who have legitimate beefs with this irresponsible and malicious misreporting by collection agencies. They will continue to victimize consumers as long as they get away with it. If consumers start calling their bluff, they will be forced to change how they "do business."
Any thought to it might be "policy" for the local affliliates to kick it to Exp national/us court as policy? Maybe Exp corp agreement covers all defenses?
That is possible, however, the response came from a Phoenix attorney where Credit Data Southwest is located. I would think if Experian was handling this, they would have their own attorney's rather than local ones.
Please keep us updated.... And GOOD LUCK... I find it interesting they're kicking it up also... Have they done it with anyone else? I think LizardKing sued a local affiliate, but they corrected to settle.
LKH, Stick with it! You must ask yourself one question, in my opinion......Why would Experian chose to voluntarily, via their request to transfer to district court, open themselves up to a larger damage award than they are already defending against in Small Claims? I would think they are not, it is nothing more than another instance of the big guy (Exp) thumping on his chest and making "bluff charges" to try to intimidate the small guy (you) into running away and dropping it. I'm going through the same with TU. They can thump their chests and throw their hissy fits all they want, all the way to the court house. Continued good luck, danrs
In the FCRA, I believe. It says "any competent court jurisdiction" or something very similar. Why worry - just include your attorney's fees and other costs in your suit.
LKH - Thanks for the info.. also, how did they go about notifying you that they want to change courts? Was this through mail or did you find out from the court? I am also dealing with lawsuits as well, but mine were all directed towards their HQ.
They sent me copies through the mail. The thing I don't understand is that none of the documents have been stamped in by the court and when I checked the file online, nothing had been updated. I guess my atty will find out on Monday.
LKH I think you have good reasons to sue in small claims, but not in US Federal District and of course as others have pointed out here, they know that too and I also concur with those that say that they think you will get discouraged, frightened or whatever and discontinue. I would prepare a list of your charges and take it to your attorney and have him call them into discovery and in discovery specifically ask them all the questions that you will be asking them in court. Prove your case in discovery, make them admit to the specifics and then when you go into court your case should already be proven. If they do not agree with your questions and claim innocence they are just about going to have to prove you wrong in discovery. Why not see what your attorney thinks of the idea of proving the case in discovery? I would think that if you can get that accomplished they would be a whole lot more interested in settling the matter out of court, but after they put you through all this much heartache and misery you would no longer be interested in a cheap settlement basically letting them off the hook.
Don't read to much into that... They may have sent you copies at the same time they sent it to the court. With the backlog of cases on my clerks desks, it can take weeks to process. Do you remember how long it took them to serve the affiliate after you filed the case?
