Is anyone here from or in Georgia farmilliar with the State laws regarding Credit Reporting, Debt Collections, etc. I just moved to GA and I don't really know what to look for... On that same note, What is the process for filing in small claims court? I looked at the magistrate court for my county and it seems like this is only for property damage (clear cut did he break it or not) kinds of cases. Where would I file a 'small claims' action for FDCPA/FCRA actions? linkage would be helpful please. Aditionally, what is the atmosphere regarding FDCPA/FCRA actions in GA, I know that EQ is big here and probably has their hooks in.... any help would be great! Thanks
Currently in the process now, first what County are you located? You have to file in that County where the co or person is located. I have some good sites fo GA stuff and forms also, when i get home will share....
I was more interested in details... those web sites suck (sorry, but they do). There is almost no usefull information in them. 1.) Would I file a civil action based on FCRA violations in: Magistrate Court; State Court; Superior Court? Should be a small claims court but Magistrate Court looks like it is geared more toward cases like "he broke my lawnmower" than anything else. 2.) How are FCRA and FDCPA actions looked upon here in GA? Are they looked upon as frivolous and a waste of the court's time or are the looked upon as serious matters that should be given fair attention in each case. (The reason I ask is because EQ is BIG here and I'd bet they have their hooks in). 3.) What are the specific laws in GA that protect a consumer in a similar maner to the FCRA/FDCPA? Links would be nice because I can't even find the state statutes online (I can find a searchable site but everything I search for comes up with nine hundred some odd useless hits). Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. PAE
I don't know if this will help or not but depending on what district you are in, you can try; http://www.gamd.uscourts.gov (middle district) http://www.gasd.uscourts.gov (southern) http://www.gand.uscourts.gov (northern) (sorry, If you make it. I don't have that hyper link thing down yet) Once you are at the site, try going to general information or local rules. I also think that if you rome the northern site a little you might find a pro se litigant guide to help you. It helped me alot. I was like 2 days from filing a complaint when I faxed it to the CA's attorney. I titled it " In the United States District Court For the Middle District of Georgia ******County" They immediately offered a compromise and deleted the item from my CR soon after, so I only assumed I had things in the right format otherwise I think they would have just laughed and ignored it.
Those are good links, but they don't look like small claims court links.... *sigh* If everything is this difficult it's no wonder most people don't care about their credit files.....
Well, I found another link and it looks as if the Magistrate court is what GA calls the small claims court. It looks like I should file in magistrate court. I guess I should start reading more about magistrate court.
Yep that's your target.... All the info you need about Magistrate Court and Small Claims. Let me know if you need a copy of the form. http://www2.state.ga.us/GaOCA/magistra1.htm If you want to look up codes and all the laws here, a great source of info. http://www.state.ga.us/services/ocode/ocgsearch.htm Another great link for tons of info. http://www.lawdog.com/states/ga/st1.htm
it's easy. You can file in Magistrate, State, or US District Equifax would be filed on in Fulton County Ga and have their headquarters served Experian and TU have registered agents in Gwinnett County Ga so you file those there and have their registered agents served in Gwinnett Count, Ga. go to the Secretary of State's website for the registered agents and addresses. I've seen cases in both counties and you can literally fill out the Gwinnett Co one on the form or attach a real complaint to the form. It can be as simple as you want it to be. Fulton is also a one page form. I researched cases and some just say "violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act" and it has the code for that... and that's it. There's one in Gwinnett Co that literally has that one line... and then a professionally prepared dismissal (can you say settlement)... If you go to each clerk in Magistrate court, they'll give you forms and instructions at each county... or you can file in US District. The courts themselves are the best source of info and forms, of course There were a few cases filed in State court... but as Magistrate court goes to 15k... they seemed to be in either Magistrate (pro se) or in US District (with attys)... most attys seem to choose to go ahead and file in US District vs State court... don't know why but you can tell simply by the number of cases filed... if you're inclined... you can always go down and look at cases via defendant Equifax, TRW, Trans Union, or Experian (Experian used to be TRW)... the cases in US District court are interesting and they can help you understand what's being violated and how It actually makes for an interesting afternoon of reading (and you can copy them for templates if you wish). As an aside, google searches yield pretty good results when you're looking for info on the internet Georgia adds little to federal laws, unfortunately. Texas and California are much better. We get 2 free reports per year, which is nice. I'm not familiar with FDCPA state laws... I've only looked for FCRA state laws... a good site to search OCGA is at http://www.state.ga.us/services/ocode/ocgsearch.htm Secretary of state http://www.sos.state.ga.us/default1024.asp By the way... just my opinion... take it or not... I'm not an atty
Thanks for all the info Marie, I have one question, why couldn't I file in the Magistrate court in MY county (cobb) ?
Actually, in Georgia small claims falls under magistrate court and it handles up to $15,000. A civil claim is filed under the magistrate court which will then assign it to small claims. I know we all try to be discrete but if you post your city or county, I could probably give you some more specific sites. Meanwhile you can try this http://www.gcacsite.com/counties/Magistrate/magistrate_index_directory.html It should at least give you number or address where you can go and pick up the info. If your lucky you'll find a web site. I did a yahoo search under "Georgia Magistrate Court" Just hang in there. If I can do it anyone could!
Great links but I still can't find any specific information about (or a complete text of) the Georgia Code and GA's stance on CRA and DCPA vioations..... This is so frustrating. I guess I'll just have to go to a local law library and dig out the books.....
I've read you have to file in the county of their registered agent... it's in the paperwork you'll get from the courts. Eg: Equifax's main headquarters is on Peachtree Road and I think you serve Kent Mast (He's the listed registered agent)... if I remember correctly since Experian and TU are out of state... they still have to have some registered agent in the state so when they get sued you don't have to go out of state to sue them... there are national registered agent corporations (they serve as registered agents for big companies) and the 2 that Experian and TU use happen to be in Gwinnett County... so that is where you file... and then serve the registered agents in that county and they let Exp and TU know they're being sued again... as to why you can't do it in Cobb... well... actually... I don't know... Normally in a formal complaint I've read the jurisdiction stuff says something like JURISDICTION Plaintiff ME, a Georgia resident, living at xxx Upon information and belief, Defendant Equifax, a Ga corp with headquarters at xxx, operating in Cobb County (for example), with a registered agent of Kent Mast at xxx in Fulton county Ga The Fair Credit Reporting Act (then the info about Jurisdiction) etc and it says US District or any competent court (or something like that) The amount of the claim is 12k and is under the Fulton County Magistrate limit of 15k... I'm doing this off the top of my head... anyway... I don't know why, if they operate in your county, you can't sue them in your county... but I've always been told in the county of the registered agent... or in US District... maybe an atty knows why you sue where the registered agent is and not in your county if they're doing business in your county... anyone anyone
10-1-390 This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975." 10-1-393 (a) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of consumer transactions and consumer acts or practices in trade or commerce are declared unlawful. (b) By way of illustration only and without limiting the scope of subsection (a) of this Code section, the following practices are declared unlawful: (29) With respect to any consumer reporting agency: (A) Any person who knowingly and willfully obtains information relative to a consumer from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; (B) Any officer or employee of a consumer reporting agency who knowingly and willfully provides information concerning an individual from the agency's files to a person not authorized to receive that information shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and (C) Each consumer reporting agency which compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nation-wide basis shall furnish to any consumer who has provided appropriate verification of his or her identity two complete consumer reports per calendar year, upon request and without charge;
