Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Gosh Lise, with what you already have, is it your debt addressed, Quixote on damages, you already covered all the hard stuff. I think you're done, LOL -- here's good stuff specific to Texas: http://library.law.smu.edu/resguide/Small Claims Court -- Texas.htm HOW MUCH CAN I SUE FOR? In Texas, the Small Claims Court has jurisdiction over actions brought by any individual for the recovery of money in which the amount involved does not exceed $5000. The small claims court cannot award more than the limit, plus court costs, and it can award only monetary damages. The court cannot order a party to do anything, or to refrain from doing something. If you need an order to make someone do something or to stop doing something, or if the amount you want to recover is more than the limit, there are other courts that may be right for you. [SEE: TEX. GOVâ??T CODE ANN. x 28.003.] WOW, discovery, jury and appeals for Texas small claims! We should move Mommy2Cats, LOL How to Sue in Small Claims Court Texas Small Claims Court Statute http://www.peopleslawyer.net/smallclaims/texasstatute.html 28.033. Hearing (a) If both parties appear, the judge shall proceed to hear the case. (b) Formal pleading other than the statement is not required. (c) The judge shall hear the testimony of the parties and the witnesses that the parties produce and shall consider the other evidence offered. (d) The hearing is informal, with the sole objective being to dispense speedy justice between the parties. (e) Reasonable discovery in small claims court shall be permitted. Discovery is limited to that considered appropriate and permitted by the judge. This is cool, it tells you in layman's terms, what to do, how to do it, where to do it, how to prepare and what to expect in the court room and then followup for after the decision is made: http://www.texasbar.com/public/consumerinfo/helpfulinfo/justice/smallclaims.asp Small claims court can only award money. It cannot, for example, order a mechanic to fix your car correctly. The court could only award you the monetary damages you suffered because your car was not repaired the way that was promised. Similarly, the court cannot order your ex-husband to stop harassing you. The court cannot order a store to deliver the television set you paid for but never received. The court cannot order your roommate to move out of your apartment for failing to pay the rent. You cannot ask the court to order the other party to do anything, or to refrain from doing something. If you need an order to make someone do something or to stop doing something, other courts are available. If you win in small claims court, all you get is money (up to $5,000 plus court costs). How Do You Prepare Your Case? Once you have appeared before the clerk to start your lawsuit, you should begin to prepare your case for trial. You should already have taken the first step by writing down a clear and concise statement. If you have not done so, do it now. Check all relevant dates. Compare your memory of events to any documents you may have. This statement will assist you in clarifying the facts of your claim. Remember, you have the burden of proving all of the facts which establish that you should recover money because of the defendant's acts or failure to act. You must prove the amount of your damages. Next, gather all documentation which you feel will have a bearing on the dispute. On the day of the trial, you should bring all: (1) records; (2) receipts; (3) canceled checks; (4) copies of contracts; (5) agreements; (6) photographs and any other items directly related to the case which will help you establish the facts of your story. Most courts require that you bring two copies of all relevant evidence and estimates of your damage. Each document should support some part of your story. If there is any doubt, take the document to court. And don?t forget to bring the subject matter of the dispute. If the laundry ruined your shirt, bring it. If your car is damaged, have it in the parking lot. The best evidence you have is the damaged good. http://www.culpepperlaw.com/jpclaims.htm http://williamson-county.org/JP/index.html#SmallClaimsProcedures SMALL CLAIMS COURT PROCEDURE ANSWER: The Defendant(s) in the suit must file a written answer with the Court by the Monday following the expiration of ten days from the date the citation was served upon the Defendant(s). REPRESENTATION: Small Claims Court was designed for individuals to be able to file suits without the assistance of an attorney, however, either party may be represented by an attorney if they choose to do so. The Rules of Evidence are not in effect in Small Claims Court and The Rules of Procedure apply only in certain situations. PREPARING YOUR CASE FOR TRIAL: The Plaintiff has the burden of proof and must meet that burden by showing through evidence that the Defendant is at fault. The Plaintiff should bring to trial all proof of damages and evidence necessary to substantiate the claim. It is the Plaintiff's or Defendant's responsibility to furnish copies of information to the Court and all parties involved. Witnesses to the suit, who will not come to court voluntarily, may be issued a subpoena to compel them to appear. Submit a request for a subpoena in writing at least one week prior to the trial date and pay the required fee for service. ($10.00 cash for witness fee and $40.00 for service in Williamson County) DEFAULT JUDGMENT: If the Defendant in the suit fails to answer to the Court, the Plaintiff needs to appear on the Default Judgment Docket. THE PLAINTIFF STILL MUST PROVE THE CASE TO THE JUDGE. Briefly state the facts of the case and present any written evidence to support your case. TRIAL BY JUDGE OR JURY: If the Defendant in the suit files an answer, the Court will set a trial date. A notice will be mailed to both the Plaintiff and Defendant stating the time and date to appear in Court. A jury trial must be requested in writing and a fee of $5.00 paid. IT IS NECESSARY FOR BOTH PARTIES TO BRING ALL WITNESSES AND ANY EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE CASE TO THE COURT AT THIS TIME. AFTER JUDGMENT: After judgment is entered, the losing party has ten days to appeal the case to the County Court at Law in Williamson County. Should the Court rule the Plaintiff recover nothing or should the Plaintiff receive a judgment for less than requested, the Plaintiff may appeal the case to the County Court within ten days. If an appeal is not filed within ten days from the date the judgment is signed, or if a Motion to Set Aside a Default Judgment or a Motion For New Trial is not filed within 5 days from the date the judgment is signed, the judgment becomes final. APPLICABLE STATUTES GOVERNING SMALL CLAIMS COURT INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 28, RULES OF COURT, CIVIL PRACTICES AND REMEDIES CODE. http://www.culpepperlaw.com/jpclaims.htm Damages: This is the amount you are suing for. This must be a dollar amount, and it cannot exceed $5,000.00. This is the relief you are asking the court to grant you, so it must be in the petition. Cause of Action: The act causing debt or damage. When filling out the petition, you must give a full description of the cause of action. The Defendant must be totally aware of why he is being sued. Be comprehensive enough with the allegations so that a third party having no knowledge of the suit could read the petition and understand your claim for damages. State the nature of the claim in a concise form without technicality, including important dates.
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi from marie, suing CRA cliff notes: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?threadid=10994 Posted by Marie on 07.06.2001 10:28 Since so many are trying to trip up the CRAs, here's some hints from all the cases I've read. 1. Large award overturned on appeal because file was only seen by consumer, not a lender (def: consumer file is one dissiminated to a someone else... you don't count). Lesson: apply somewhere and let someone other than you see the file 2. Get harms! Get denied somewhere. Apply for employment and have it be an issue. Set up difinitive harms to complain about. Lesson: get denied for each CRA you're suing. 3. GET A Papertrail!!! document everything. Send all letters certified rrr. Get copies of their procedural descriptions. Get lenders to send you a letter verifying CRA no contact. Lesson: trap them in writing. If it's not in writing it doesn't exist. 4. Good idea to dispute it all... and dispute it twice. The cras lie so quickly what's the big deal another month??? because a dispute done more than once is SUPPOSED to get more consideration. If they b/s you again... they're violating the higher standard. Lesson: do it twice but then set up and intend to sue. Anything over 2 is a waste of your time. 5. Dispute directly with the lender too (because they're supposed to put on your report that the line is in dispute). Rarely if ever done. Another violation. But you must have a COPY of your report (after you contact the lender and dispute it). 6. READ the FCRA inside and out. make a list of all the errors they can do. Try to get them to make those errors. 7. Once you're gathered your case, write one last letter to their legal dept. Site cases, send copies with highlights. Fax them, call them. Be a pain in their assets. 8. Look for every error and dispute every little one. It makes them look more incompetent and you'll get them all corrected/ off when you catch them on FCRA violations etc 9. By the way, FCRA is a weak law. Difficult to use as a big hammer. Use it. but Defamation is better, negligent enablement of identity fraud is good. Read up on it all so you know what to say. Use a shotgun approach. If you're right on 2/5 you're still got them. Use it all and let a judge throw out what sucks. Lesson: sue them for it all. 10. Don't jump the gun. Get it all together then do it right. A threat is one thing, real proof is another. If you say you're filing and they don't fix it all, file. If you're not prepared to at least file in small claims court then you might want to just keep disputing. What would you do if you were certain you would always succeed...
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi On damages: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?threadid=18212 Second.. if I go after a CA.. isn't it true that I have to prove damages? If so.. what kind of damages do I need? Will a denial form JCpenny, Sears, or something like that do? *** I remember reading someone here tried to sue a CA but was denied b/c they didn't actually have damages?**** I DON"T Want that to happen.. so If I have to have other proof PLEASE let me know! Third.. is there anything else I need to do to be 100% prepared b/f waddling my pregnant but in court...lol..!! HELP.. can someone PLEASE walk me through this! MartysGirl Posted by Christi on 01.06.2002 18:32 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED HELP) Send the copies of the validation letter to the CA and the estoppel along with a copy of the CRR (green card) to TU. I enclosed a letter listing Exhibit 1. letter to ABC Collections Exhibit 2. green card to ABC collections Exhibit 3. estoppel letter to ABC etc etc. Then I said the CA could NOT validate this debt as belonging to me, therefore you are to remove this or send me a procedural description of how you verified this debt. I am NOT requesting you verify this debt again, but remove it from my file. If you send another letter saying it is verified I will be filing suit in court for violations of The FCRA. I can email you the actual letter used, but this is the basics of it. ~Lawsuits work~ Never let them intimidate you!! Posted by Christi on 01.06.2002 20:08 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H Doc, I don't have any results yet. I only mailed it this week. I did dispute with the CRA twice and got verified. After the 1st verified I sent the validation letter to the creditor, waited for the green card then disputed again with CRA. When the 30 days was up I sent the estoppel to the CA. The CRA said it was verified again (2nd time). In the meantime, NO response from the CA period. So I have this in route to TransUnion now. I have estoppels out on some more CA now and will do the same thing if they are verified again. Then I do have a papertrail showing the CA failed twice to validate the debt, but the CRA kept verifying it. Obviously SOMEONE is screwing up. The letter I sent TU with all this information also had enclosed a copy of the small claims lawsuit that I intend to file if the information is NOT deleted. Will I be successfull? I hope so. anyone else wanna give her some info..because I am NOT the expert here, only a newbie trying to use bits and pieces of what I've read here, other boards & the law. ~Lawsuits work~ Never let them intimidate you!! Posted by PsychDoc on 01.06.2002 20:14 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H Aha, well great going, and thanks for keeping us posted! Doc Posted by Lizardking on 01.07.2002 05:24 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H Christi, you are doing the right things to set up the paper trail. If I understand the current situation, you have sent TU a letter with the proof of your attempts to correct the issue with the collection agency. If they fail to delete, then you need to be ready to file a small claims lawsuit. That will get it off. Don't forget to send the offer to settle letter. Lizardking Posted by Christi on 01.07.2002 07:18 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H In my county they won't let us send an offer to settle letter. I filed against Experian already (see other posts) and they have since deleted most of the stuff in question but everyday they continue to add a day to the results due date. They now have it as due 2-6-02 when it started at 11-25-01. I have copies of this everyday that I print out. I am still going ahead with the lawsuit. I have the fax number to Carla Blair @ Experian Consumer affairs. Should I fax the offer to settle letter when I know they have been served or wait until they contact me? ~Lawsuits work~ Never let them intimidate you!! Posted by MartysGirl on 01.07.2002 09:23 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H Ok.. I see what you are talking concerning suing a CRA. Thanks for your imput Christi! I need to know if anyone knows about suing a Collection Agency? Thanks MartysGirl Posted by Marie on 01.07.2002 13:50 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED H I've never sued a collection agency but if it's truly not your debt then I'd sue both the collection agency and the CRA. Certainly the collection agency has an obligation to prove the debt really is yours. You're doing the right things by setting up the paperwork trail. Requst a procedural description from the CRA now. Regarding damages, yes you want actual damages. they can include: denied for new credit denied for credit line increase (ask for a specific amount) higher cost of current credit (this would have to be an estimate of the higher interest rate you're paying less what it would in theory be if you didn't have this on your report) the first 2 are the easiest to get. apply for a nice prime card or 2 or 3 and get denied. that'll do it. then you set them at 1k, 5k, whatever you expected to get. 1k is pretty minimum for a prime credit line. then you have your damages under the fcra violations. You will get a min of 1k for all violations if you prove your case. then your time, energy, mileage, expenses sending the letters certified, and the court costs or atty costs. It adds up quickly. If this is really what the case is, you have them dead. Don't just settle for deletions, ask them how much they're going to pay you. that goes for the collection agency as well as the cra. I would do 2 different lawsuits. just make sure to keep them under the court's maximum. I believe the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sets up violations and punitives too. It's been a while since I read it. Also, call your state's atty general office and ask about state laws governing debt collectors and cras. most states have their own laws and penalties too for violations. you could also call a legal aid society and ask for help. What would you do if you were certain you would always succeed... Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED HELP) How did this work out for you? Did you scare them into deleting the negative entry? Posted by breeze on 01.07.2002 18:14 Re: Marie Lizardking Breeze (NEED HELP) MG, I agree with Marie, and depending on how bad the situation is, you can probably get a decent amount of money out of this and teach them a lesson!! A lot of lawyers would take this case, if you want more than small claims allows. Breeze _____________________________ I'd rather be at the beach Posted by MartysGirl on 01.07.2002 20:29 CHRISTI....!!! Originally posted by Christi Send the copies of the validation letter to the CA and the estoppel along with a copy of the CRR (green card) to TU. I enclosed a letter listing Exhibit 1. letter to ABC Collections Exhibit 2. green card to ABC collections Exhibit 3. estoppel letter to ABC etc etc. Then I said the CA could NOT validate this debt as belonging to me, therefore you are to remove this or send me a procedural description of how you verified this debt. I am NOT requesting you verify this debt again, but remove it from my file. If you send another letter saying it is verified I will be filing suit in court for violations of The FCRA. I can email you the actual letter used, but this is the basics of it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Will you please send me the letter you used. My e-mail is martysgirl@onebox.com Thanks MartysGirl Posted by MartysGirl on 01.07.2002 20:34 Marie and Breeze The lawyer I talked to tonight said the same thing you guys did... about suing both of them! HIS Words... Sue both of them and let THEM figure it the hell out..!!! I think I'm going to go the Small Claim route b/c it will be easier. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens ;-) MartysGirl Posted by Marie on 01.07.2002 20:53 Re: Marie and Breeze Nobody would want to have to defend this dog of a case. what would they say? Yes your honor, we got the requests for validation. Yes, we kept collection attempts and didn't validate No, we didn't delete the information Or how about the CRA Yes, we got the dispute and verified the information Yes, the consumer sent information but we disregarded it in blatant violation of the FCRA Yes we kept hurting the file The collection agency will be held to a higher standard than will the CRA unless you send the validation letters (with proof of service) to the CRA. then you can say that you told the CRA that the debt wasn't yours, you showed them proof the collection agency failed to validate yet kept reporting the info... and it shows more blatant disregard for the truth by the CRA. Otherwise, they just say... but we verified info... it's not our job to make sure it's real info just that our subscriber says it's correct. I'd go for canceling the subscriber's contract with the CRA that might be nice to add into the demand since the contract certainly must state that the collection agency must follow the FCRA when reporting info to the CRA... this could be REALLY fun wonder what a jury would give you especially in punitives )))))))) What would you do if you were certain you would always succeed... Posted by breeze on 01.08.2002 06:02 Re: Marie and Breeze Sounds willful to me. Malicious... Breeze _____________________________ I'd rather be at the beach
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Christine's small claim, dismissed for failure to show damages: http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?threadid=241 http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?threadid=47
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi wow Lisa, I'm sorry I didn't mean to have that mega post, just the link, that's what I get for hurrying out the door for volleyball and not checking! I'm wondering about something, this part of your first post: "This is a general chronology of the events. 1. I sent a modified validation letter to the OC in April. They were reporting information that was highly questionable on 2 separate accounts. The balances were zeroed out (included in the CH 13) but the "most owed" was escalating rapidly!" What makes it wrong to keep increasing the "most owed" ? Outside of the obvious, do you think you will have to show that is incorrect? And, why I am wondering this is because some seem to commonly think that once you place "included in bk" on a tradeline the rest of it is irrelevant. Do you even think you have to prove that at all? You've the burden though. Sorry, I'm thinking with my fingers. I'm just wondering if the judge would know how it was supposed to be reported to be able to tell why it is not correct now -- and what source would confirm the proper accounting practices? Does the monthly increasing amount ever owed factor into your ratios and your score? That could go to your damages. I think you need to show why that accounting is wrong even with the included in BK notation. Surely they will say they are allowed to do it based on something so you would need to be able to the proper accounting. And, the BK provision to that says the charges and interest stop -- does it stop with filing though or with the discharge? Surely some of the bankers would know where to find that. I'm thinking the FDIC rules and regulations but I can't check there until tomorrow afternoon. HELP BANKERS! Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Lisa and Sassy, I've been mulling that over myself. I wonder-Lisa are you paying unsecured creditors 100%? No matter, I wonder if you take this most owed number and extrapolate it's increae to your discharge date if it would reasonably be close to the amount you'll eventually repay? Credit card accounting with bad debt is way funky. A friend who is a securities analyst and covers cc companies told me once that if Congress ever amended the tax code and said all these companies could writeoff was the balance of an account when it first went continously delienquent and were unable to chargeoff the default interest rate and the over the limit and late fees for 180 days afterwards that, subprime lending would disappear overnight and unsecured interest rates would skyrocket. Christine and Holly over a creditcourt ran into Cap 1's buzzsaw on that issue. Have you seen the email Christene posted from the Richmond Federal Reserve that said Cap 1 has done nothing wrong?
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi bump Hi keepmine, I've been following Holly's saga at creditcourt.com. LOL, keepmine meet Mommy2Cats (Holly). She's posted references before so I don't think that's a secret. Surely someone knows what regulates accounting practices that can help with this! I found this from the fdic: UNIFORM RETAIL CREDIT CLASSIFICATION AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT POLICY http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/5000-1000.html and, if you go to the search area of that same site and type in bankruptcy it will highlight all references for you. It reads like it applies. Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi I asked for the letter that came at the beginning of the whole sorry affair. He didn't post it.
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi No, no secret at all! And I'll keep everyone informed with all that happens. And if I dig out any good case law, or places with good information - I'll be sure to post them here. Mommy2cats
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Lise, There have been some responses here that you may find useful: http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&pgnum=2&postid=246973#post246973 Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Sassy, I see that you have been quite busy in the last week or so!!! You come up with the most awesome stuff. My computer got a virus and I got it fixed, and then I tried AOL (big mistake) and then downloaded Money2003. AOL is not compatible with Explorer 6. This caused a problem. One thing after another, but I am happy to see you at your best, the research queen. I didn't read all the threads of the post, but I don't think that you mentioned this: Texas Finance Code http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/fi/fi0039200.html#fi005.392.202. What part of Texas are you in Lisa? Charlie
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Then please explain what you were talking about. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, for now.
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi ((((((((((charlie))))))))))), I noticed you were missing in action! Grrrrrrrrr to viruses and AOL especially, I don't think they are compatible with anything. What do you mean you didn't read all of the posts???? My queen status is dependant on volume, eh? and not content, humphhhhhh. Where's the red carpet anyway, I want to take it to dinner at Quixote's house else GEORGE will take all the pepsi ;-) Thanks for that link, Texas has an awesome small claims court, I am jealous! And, I just read civil remedies include injunctive relief! Ya'll (hear that twang) have prohibitions against charging interest not expressly authorized by the contract and then can't exceed your maximums. Lise, have you checked that? AND a 30 day provision for the CA! I don't know if Lisa included Texas laws into her complaint, just what she felt comfortable with and where she thought she needed more -- I'm curious though, I sure hope she did. I'm wondering about this in particular since she's in C13: (8) misrepresenting the character, extent, or amount of a consumer debt, or misrepresenting the consumer debt's status in a judicial or governmental proceeding; Interesting that Texas specifically includes real estate loans and servicers! Ok, I'm done babbling. Can't wait for Lisa to check back in. I believe she said on a previous thread she was in the Houston area, Harris County. Sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy charlie ;-) Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Sassy, Your posts are full of GREAT content. The man of the house must be out of town for you to be on so much! Are ya'll really related? Lisa, are you filing in JP court or county? If you live in Harris county I feel sorry for you. I was there a couple of days this week and Houston sucks as usual. 6am and bumper to bumper traffic for miles. Charlie
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi LOL charlie, Mr. Sassy works 4-12's and my kids, except for the baby, are all off being teenagers! My daughters play tournament soccer and my oldest ripped the cartlidge in her knee :-( , she's on crutches all week, so I've been hitting and missing with posting and home more than not, thank God for flex-time! Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi OH WOW, LKH, Thank you, I missed that post, AND after I deleted my GF tagline too! I thought he was actually showing some remorse. No worries, I'm not biting. Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi Sister Lisa, Is this account still being shown as open? What is bothering me about this is, if they are still accumulating interest each month or fees or whatever they are doing, why are they not subject to the dispute provisions of the FCBA as an original creditor? Are they sending you statements each month? Are they a secured creditor by chance? Is the increasing amount ever owed included in your balance ratios? Experian lists the dollar amounts for you. And how could the most owed be ever increasing when you included them in your BK? Did they file a claim? I thought once you filed, all claims were a set amount. Otherwise, you'll never be done with your payments. ok, I pulled this from another thread: **I should clarify. These accounts were included in a CH13 2 years ago. The amounts noted as "high credit" or "most owed" differed from my records and also differed from the amounts the OC gave to the trustee. Basically, the amounts grew over the time in question up until current date. I asked for validation of the amounts. THey pulled my credit to "see what we are reporting." I wrote a letter. They said they had every right to do it because I questioned their reporting. (I don't know what that has to do with anything.) I wrote the final letter, CRRR, to the President of the bank. About two weeks later I got a letter from a Sr. VP that said "as an act of goodwill we are deleting the hard inquiry. Have a nice day!" I had already filed the suit the day before. They blatantly refused to correct the inaccuracies or to delete the tradeline altogether. The FTC opinion letters previously linked puts the permissable purpose to bed, deleted the inquiry or not. WHen I really stop and look at the facts, it does seem to me that they are just trying to intimidate me. I got a letter from them after I filed the suit that read "we have deleted the inquiry as an act of goodwill. We consider this issue resolved and will issue no further communication in regards to it." This was supposed to stop me I guess. They had deleted the inquiry; therefore, they were off the hook, all evidence of any wrongdoing was erased. They had no purpose is the problem. Can't take back having pulled, saw and reviewed a report in violation of the FCRA and your right to privacy just by deleting the inquiry. http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/gowen.htm Former Borrowers As the previously-quoted legislative history makes clear, "review" of an account under Section 604(a)(3) refers to an existing (i.e., open or current) account. A creditor has no existing business relationship with consumers whose closed end credit accounts have been paid off, i.e., former borrowers. Hence, the creditor would either have to (1) obtain those consumers' written authorizations pursuant to Section 604(a)(2) to access their credit reports or (2) comply with the prescreening requirements set forth in Section 604(c) and, where applicable, Section 615(d). Proof 3. Copies of all letters and correspondence. 4. Schedule showing balance at filing date, at Trustee's call for debts, at deadline for debt filing, and currently. There is about a $1,000 difference in these amounts due to interest/penalties. My opinion is that they should have ceased accruing as of the date of filing. They said their pollicy is to stop accruing as soon as they are notified of the filing & don't correct it after that. The dates on my schedule show that they dont adhere to their own policy. My only true exposure here is the fact that I don't have any damages! I just tried to force them to be 100% accurate in their reporting. Now, we are going to court..... Important in here somewhere is that their own policy is to stop accuring interest once notified of the BK filing. Did you ask for a copy of their policy? Seems like I read yesterday that Texas allows for limited discovery in small claims. For having pulled your report in the first place: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/greenblt.htm 3. If the consumer credit report requests fail to comply with §604 of the Act, what are the penalties for violation? The penalties for violating the FCRA are governed by several different sections of the statute, and the applicability of a particular section depends on such factors as who brings the action and the degree of the violator's noncompliance. For example, Sections 616 and 617 impose liability for willful noncompliance and negligent noncompliance, respectively. The monetary penalties mandated by these two sections include actual damages proven by a consumer, plus costs and attorneys fees in each such case. In the case of willful violations, the court may also award punitive damages to a consumer. 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. 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. Quixote, the big question in my mind is this... How can I assert damages due to an inquiry when I also have a CH13 and 9 other "included in bk" accounts on the same report. How do I point at that 1 inquiry and say "your honor, this inquiry caused me the following damages _________." That is my concern in a nutshell for all of this. The same can be said of the 2 accounts which are not reporting 100% correctly, but they are zeroed out. Are they 100% correct? No, absolutely not. Are they hurting the overall picture/score because of the errors? Probably not. Then again, Sec 616 of the FCRA says actual damages or $100-$1000 whichever is greater. That is for willful noncompliance. How would I prove that the inquiry was willfully noncompliant? LisaMc Texas, thank you charlie!!!!!!!! § 392.403. Civil Remedies (a) A person may sue for: (1) injunctive relief to prevent or restrain a violation of this chapter; and (2) actual damages sustained as a result of a violation of this chapter. (b) A person who successfully maintains an action under Subsection (a) is entitled to attorney's fees reasonably related to the amount of work performed and costs. (c) On a finding by a court that an action under this section was brought in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award the defendant attorney's fees reasonably related to the work performed and costs. (d) If the attorney general reasonably believes that a person is violating or is about to violate this chapter, the attorney general may bring an action in the name of this state against the person to restrain or enjoin the person from violating this chapter. (e) A person who successfully maintains an action under this section for violation of Section 392.101 (*Bond Requirement), 392.202 (*§ 392.202. Correction of Third-Party Debt Collector's or Credit Bureau's Files), or 392.301(a)(3) (*§ 392.301. Threats or Coercion) is entitled to not less than $100 for each violation of this chapter. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1008, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. § 392.404. Remedies Under Other Law (a) A violation of this chapter is a deceptive trade practice under Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, and is actionable under that subchapter. *I added the section reference hmmmm, this is applicable only to a third-party CA or CRA!!!!!!!! whoaaaaaaaaa, Texas, you're bumming me out, where's the reference to information furnishers? ok, I think this is it: § 391.002. Furnishing False Information; Penalty ------------->(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly furnishes false information about another person's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity to a credit reporting bureau. (b) A credit reporting bureau commits an offense if the credit reporting bureau knowingly furnishes false information about a person's creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity to a third party. (c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $200. Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1008, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. A PERSON, how does Texas define person? US CODE TITLE 11 > CHAPTER 5 > SUBCHAPTER I Sec. 502 - Allowance of claims or interests: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/11/1322.html Reads to me like once you file, the debt becomes a fixed amount. Truth in lending act -- this is what Mommy2Cats and Christine are going on, no C13 there though, saying that if interest continues to be assessed after a charge-off, statements must be received: TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE, CHAPTER 41--CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION, SUBCHAPTER I--CONSUMER CREDIT COST DISCLOSURE, Part B--Credit Transactions, Sec. 1637. Open end consumer credit plans (thank you Mommy2Cats and Christine): http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite: +15USC1637 http://forum.creditcourt.com/discus/messages/346/359.html I'm wondering about damages still. Texas says you can request injunctive relief, but under this section it is only applicable to CA's and CRA's. I'm still searching, who else is in Texas that knows? Information furnishers are surely addressed somewhere! You know who will know, I'll bet, Marie, she's a C13er too. Sassy
Re: Sassy/Anyone w/Small Clm Experi LKH (thank you, LKH!!!!!!!!) posted all these, Lise, I'm not sure which is applicable though for your specific OC: Sassy LKH | 4540 posts since Apr 2000 209.180.113.157 | 10.05.2002 @ 17:06 In another thread you were asking who regulates the accounting practices of banks? Here is a list of regulators I found at the TU website. Maybe this will help. CRAs, creditors and others not listed below Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center- FCRA Washington, DC 20580*1-877-FTC-HELP National banks, federal branches/agencies of foreign banks (word "National" or initials "N.A." appear in or after bank's name) Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Compliance Management, Mail Stop 6-6 Washington, DC 20219 *800-613-6743 Federal Reserve System member banks (except national banks, and federal branches/agencies of foreign banks) Federal Reserve Board Division of Consumer & Community Affairs Washington, DC 20551 *202-452-3693 Savings associations and federally chartered savings banks (word "Federal" or initials "F.S.B." appear in federal institution's name) Office of Thrift Supervision Consumer Programs Washington D.C. 20552 *800-842-6929 Federal credit unions (words "Federal Credit Union" appear in institution's name) National Credit Union Administration 1775 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 *703-518-6360 State-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Division of Compliance & Consumer Affairs Washington, DC 20429 *800-934-FDIC Air, surface, or rail common carriers regulated by former Civil Aeronautics Board or Interstate Commerce Commission Department of Transportation Office of Financial Management Washington, DC 20590 *202-366-1306 Activities subject to the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 Department of Agriculture Office of Deputy Administrator-GIPSA Washington, DC 20250 *202-720-7051 ____________________________ Finally approved for Amex on 5/10/02, and again on 8/21/02 copyright ©LKH's Trick aka bumpage 2002. Be wary of people that demand info on your particular situation. They may use it against you.
