I would very much appreciate any comments on this letter. Marie, I especially appreciate your comments concerning fraud when I asked about this situation in a previous thread. Terri XXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX DeVry University, Inc. One Tower Lane Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois 60181-4647 July 29, 2002 RE: Unauthorized Credit Report Inquiries This letter has been sent by certified mail, return receipt number __________________________________ Dear Sir/Madame: After spending several months establishing that I do not now, nor did I ever, owe your school any money, I find that you are pulling my Experian credit report every month. (5/6/02, 6/10/02, 7/5/02) Please see the â??DeVry Inquiryâ? page from my Experian Credit Report. I have no balance and no account with your institution, nor am I registered at this time. I have not applied for employment with DeVry. Please see the enclosed letter, from DeVry, showing a balance of â??0â? as of February 2002. I disputed the DeVry listing on my Experian report 5/02. You â??verifiedâ? the account to them at that time. How is this possible since I have no account with you? Again, see the enclosed letter from DeVry stating I have had a â??0â? balance with DeVry since February of 2002. I have also enclosed a letter from University Accounting Services stating that my balance is â??0.â? The automated system at UAC also shows my balance as â??0.â? In April 2002, I spoke with the UAC rep for my area who informed me that the account had been cancelled, the change was in the process of being reported to the credit bureau. Please see the enclosed letter from UAC showing that I have a â??0â? balance. I was hassled by your employee Janice Harrison for several months about my â??bill,â? even though I informed her during our first conversation that this was a mistake and I did not owe DeVry any money. The account was finally cancelled through the office of XXX XXX, President of DeVry (local), in February 2002. A business must have permissible purpose to legally obtain a credit report. From the 1998 FTC opinion letter Greenblatt at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/greenblt.htm: Section 604(a)(3)(F) allows a consumer reporting agency to provide a consumer report to anyone who "has a legitimate business need for the information -- (i) in connection with a business transaction that is initiated by the consumer; or (ii) to review an account to determine whether the consumer continues to meet the terms of the account." Therefore, the brokerage firm may request a consumer credit report prior to establishing a relationship with an individual who applies to open an account, or thereafter to determine whether to discontinue doing business with an established client. Also, Section 621 governs enforcement actions brought by the Commission, other agencies, and the states, and provides for various monetary and injunctive penalties. The potential monetary penalties include, for those who knowingly violate the FCRA, up to $2500 per violation in a civil action brought by the Commission in district court." I will restate the situation for you: I have no relationship of any type with DeVry. The relationship your collector tried to force upon me was negated February 2002. The first time DeVry accessed my credit report was three months later. As proof of the above, I have enclosed letters from DeVry and UAC stating to me that I have no account with you. Credit reports are confidential. Your viewing of my credit report is illegal, not to mention scary. Neither you nor UAC have records showing that I owe you money. Why is someone at DeVry reading my confidential credit report? How is this person using my personal information? With whom is my personal information being shared? Why doesnâ??t DeVry have security measures in place to prevent their employees from accessing personal information without a valid reason? (such as the existence of an account) To settle this matter, I demand the following: Immediately remove all inquiries from my Experian credit report. Forward to me at the above address a check in the amount of $3000. ($1000 per occurrence as outlined above) Receipt of the above check no later than August 12 will save you several thousand dollars by sparing you the cost of legal proceedings. Sincerely, Terri cc; BBB Chicago and local Attorney General Illinois and my state FTC Planet Feedback Thanks all!!! I am really nervous about this letter. I know I am right. I have spent hours writing this (don't laugh...)
Terri, I think it is fine. I would try and get it down to one printed page (minus all the supporting docs) if possible. Also (picky point) I would demand the monetary portion as..."$1000 per occurance of their violations of the FCRA" not as $3000 dollars...that way you don't have to give them a figure now, but one that will be established in court. They will not give you a check for $3000 because you asked for it in this letter. As for content, I think you worded it well. -Peace. Dave
Thank you, Dave. Is this what you mean? "Forward to me at the above address a check for $1000 per occurrence for each of the three violations outlined above."
mmmm....not exactly. I guess what I am saying is that you won't get the cash...no one is going to say..."well I guess I owe her, so here is $3000"...least not in my experience. Usually it takes a lawsuit to settle for ca$h. So I would say something like this. Immediately delete all inquiries you have placed on my credit reports within the last 2 years, or I will be forced to file a lawsuit in the amount of $1000 per each occurance and therefore violation of the FCRA section XXXXXX. (don't total it up yet that is what I meant) If all inquiries are not removed form all 3 CRA's, and a letter stating such is not received by me, a lawsuit will be filed in xxxx court on August xxxx 2002. -Peace, Dave
Some have asked for cash and recieved it. I would also put the LK line "for settlement purposes only" at the bottom
Dave, I was following Christine's example, when Wells Fargo actually sent her a check. Hoping that it would work for me too.. Is there a way to word it so I can give them the "opportunity" to settle by sending me a check, and yet let them know I understand I will probably have to file against them?? I see what you are saying, though. I am being unrealistic. Another question I jsut thought of: Should I include the statement "For settlement purposes only'? Thanks again!
Received cash before a settlement for a filed lawsuit? Who? I wanna read their letters ) Man we gotta revamp the sample section LOL j/k I believe you Hermit, but I do not believe the posters who say they received cash for a letter saying "pay me $3000 and delete" After all, once they delete the inquiries, she would have to prove DAMAGES to a court that she was denied credit between the dates they had them on her report, and that was the cause of denial...in order to receive any cash from court...the FCRA violations would disappear as soon as they updated her report by deleting the inquiries. Maybe I am wrong, but I would not expect the cash any time soon ) -Peace, Dave
Wow OK I stand corrected. Christine must be some persuasive letter writer ) As Emily Litella says "never mind" -Peace, Dave
Dave, Here is Christine's letter from Bayhouse. Here is a link to the thread: http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?threadid=229&highlight=wells+fargo ________________________________________________ Via fax to 925-686-7551 Wells Fargo Legal Department November 5, 2001 To whom it may concern: As per my Equifax credit report, Wells Fargo obtained my credit file on 7/19/01. I don't recall applying for credit or employment with Wells Fargo. From the FCRA § 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n] "(b) Civil liability for knowing noncompliance. Any person who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever is greater." From the 1998 FTC opinion letter Greenblatt at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/greenblt.htm: "Any person who procures a consumer report under false pretenses, or knowingly without a permissible purpose, is liable for $1000 or actual damages (whichever is greater) to both the consumer and to the consumer reporting agency from which the report is procured." Please explain your permissible purpose for your obtaining my credit file. Should you not have a permissible purpose, please arrange for payment of $1,000 by November 15, 2001. Please respond via fax to xxx-xxxx. Sincerely, Christine
All I can say is, "if she made $1000 from that letter, (without needing to file a lawsuit or at least fill out all the paperwork, threaten to sue, and settle), then she is good!" -Peace, Dave (I mean real good)
Turn letter over to police?? My sister read the letter and she had some interesting thoughts: She feels these charges could be turned over to the police for further investigation. What are the chances that I am the only person whose credit is being accessed by DeVry illegally? After all, there is no reason for anyone at DeVry to even know I was ever registered with their school because I have no relationship with them. She also feels that if they do not follow through with a check, I should contact the 2 newspapers in Chicago because they both have departments that investigate consumer issues. Any thoughts? Has anyone ever tried anything like this?
Re: Turn letter over to police?? In fact, Nave, here's a copy of the actual check Wells Fargo sent to Christine: http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=1248 Christine Baker is a real straight-shooter, and her forum at Bayhouse enjoys her impeccable credibility. Doc
Re: Turn letter over to police?? I would add only a few things. put your demand for 3k at the top as well. put at the top of the letter "NOTICE OF DEMAND"... you actually do demand the full amount. that's why it's called a demand letter. send a copy of this letter along with a dispute to the affected cra stating to the cra that their subscriber is violating their contract by pulling your report without a permissible purpose... tell them you not only want the inquiries off but you want a full acconting of who at Devry is pulling your report as you're concerned about identity fraud (that's how it starts, by the way)... I have 1 question.. you say you never owed them money??? did you never enroll or did you enroll but pay in full? I'm just trying to get more clear. good start. Now, make a few additions... (christine's letter is great... ) and send it... send the another one to the cra (both certified, rr) and if you don't get a check in 30 days... sue them. this one is cut and dry. they can't just be in your report for no reason and both the cra and DeVry are accountable... You may likely also be able to file a complaint with the ftc and your state's atty general's office... if you can, do it both on a state and federal level. Be a pain to Devry... as an aside, I'd also call your local police and ask if you can arrest the girl pulling your credit file every month for fraud... there's no fcra certification... you have no business with them... it must be for an illegal reason if she's in your reports...see if you can get her arrested.
Re: Turn letter over to police?? Sorry I am just a big pessimist thats all. On the other hand Terri, it can't hurt to try...Give it a shot. -Peace, Dave
Re: Turn letter over to police?? Dave, I agree it's unlikely that most will pay without a lawsuit being filed... but a few do... In some states, you MUST send a demand letter 30 days prior to filing a lawsuit... so that's why you put the full amount (3,000 plus expenses plus attorney fees) actually... you want to let them know you'll hit them with a lawyer too anyway, it's better if you send a demand letter. shows the judge you really tried but they were just unresponsive jerks...
Re: Turn letter over to police?? Thank you so much, Marie. I did enroll last summer, but then my hubby decided to enroll and it was just too much for our family. I attended a couple of classes, then realized it wouldn't work out at that time, so I called and asked how to withdraw. I called again and again. I emailed. I finally gave up. I had assumed that I would need to do something to officially withdraw, but no one would even discuss it with me. A couple months later, I received a letter saying that I owed them $750!! I was very angry! Then I received a very nasty phone call from their rep (Janice Harrison in the letter). I argued with her, then her supervisor for months. I finally called the office of the prez of the local school and he cancelled the debt in Feb. I was already angry with them when I found these inquiries last week. They also treated my husband poorly and he has transferred to another school. Sorry this is so long! Any comments on my sisters suggestions about the police?
Re: Turn letter over to police?? Ahhh Thanks Marie, I understand. In DC we can just file away -Peace, Dave
Re: Turn letter over to police?? some atty generals/ office of consumer affairs will get involved but want you to send a 30 day demand letter hoping the parties will step up and do the right thing... they will only get involved after that.
