Pennsylvania Complaint Against Equifax, Experian Credit Reporting Agencies and Department Stores National Bank for Inaccurate Reporting

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Jane Doe  Plaintiff,   v.   EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC, EXPERIAN INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC., and DEPARTMENT STORES NATIONAL BANK   Defendants.

))) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Civil Action No.     AMENDED COMPLAINT     JURY TRIAL DEMANDED NON-ARBITRATION

 

AMENDED COMPLAINT

1. This is an action for damages brought by an individual consumer, against Equifax Information Services, LLC, Experian Information Solutions, Inc., and Department Stores National Bank (collectively “Defendants”), for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (hereinafter the “FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq., and various other common law rights.

The Parties

1. Plaintiff  is an adult individual residing inPennsylvania.
2. Defendant, Equifax Information Services, LLC (hereafter “Equifax”) is a business entity that regularly conducts business in Philadelphia County, and which has a principle place of business at 6 Clementon Road, East, Suite A2, Gibbsboro, New Jersey 08026.
3. Defendant, Experian Information Solutions, Inc. (hereafter “Experian”) is a business entity that regularly conducts business in Philadelphia County, and which has a principal place of business located at 5 Century Drive, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054.
4. Defendant, Department Stores National Bank (hereafter “DSNB”) is a business entity that regularly conducts business in Philadelphia County, and which has a principal place of business located at 701 East 60^th Street, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104.

JURISDICTION & Venue

1. Jurisdiction of this Court arises under 15 U.S.C. § 1681p and 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and supplemental jurisdiction exists for the state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
2. Venue lies properly in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

Factual Allegations

1. Defendants have been reporting derogatory and inaccurate statements and information relating to Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s credit history to third parties (hereafter the “inaccurate information”).
2. The inaccurate information includes, but is not limited to, an account with DSNB.
3. The inaccurate information negatively reflects upon Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s credit repayment history, Plaintiff’s financial responsibility as a debtor and Plaintiff’s credit worthiness. The inaccurate information consists of accounts and/or tradelines that do not belong to the Plaintiff.
4. Defendants have been reporting the inaccurate information through the issuance of false and inaccurate credit information and consumer credit reports that they have disseminated to various persons and credit grantors, both known and unknown.
5. Plaintiff has disputed the inaccurate information with Defendants by both oral and written communications to their representatives and by following Equifax and Experian’s established procedures for disputing consumer credit information.
6. Plaintiff has disputed the inaccurate information with Equifax and Experian from May 2010 through the present.
7. Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s efforts, Equifax and Experian have sent Plaintiff correspondence indicating their intent to continue publishing the inaccurate information and Equifax and Experian continue to publish and disseminate such inaccurate information to other third parties, persons, entities and credit grantors. Equifax and Experian have repeatedly published and disseminated consumer reports to such third parties from at least May 2010 through the present.
8. Despite Plaintiff’s efforts, Equifax and Experian have never: (1) contacted Plaintiff to follow up on, verify and/or elicit more specific information about Plaintiff’s disputes; (2) contacted any third parties that would have relevant information concerning Plaintiff’s disputes; (3) forwarded any relevant information concerning Plaintiff’s disputes to the entities originally furnishing the inaccurate information; (4) requested or obtained any credit applications, or other relevant documents from the entities furnishing the inaccurate information; and (5) performed any handwriting analysis.
9. Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s disputes, DSNB has also failed to conduct timely and reasonable investigations of Plaintiff’s disputes after being contacted by the relevant credit reporting agencies concerning Plaintiff’s disputes, has willfully continued to report such inaccurate information to various credit reporting agencies, and has failed to mark the above accounts as disputed.
10. Despite Plaintiff’s exhaustive efforts to date, Defendants have nonetheless deliberately, willfully, intentionally, recklessly and negligently repeatedly failed to perform reasonable reinvestigations of the above disputes as required by the FCRA, have failed to remove the inaccurate information, have failed to report on the results of its reinvestigations to all credit reporting agencies, have failed to note the disputed status of the inaccurate information and have continued to report the derogatory inaccurate information about the Plaintiff.
11. Plaintiff has applied for and has been denied various loans and extensions of consumer credit on many different occasions, and Plaintiff has been informed that the basis for these denials was the inaccurate information that appears on Plaintiff’s credit reports and that the inaccurate information was a substantial factor for those denials.
12. Plaintiff’s credit reports and file have been obtained from Equifax and Experian, and have been reviewed many times by prospective and existing credit grantors and extenders of credit, and the inaccurate information has been a substantial factor in precluding Plaintiff from receiving many different credit offers and opportunities, known and unknown, and from receiving the most favorable terms in financing and interest rates for credit offers that were ultimately made.
13. As a result of Defendant’s conduct, Plaintiff has suffered actual damages in the form of (a) lost credit opportunities, (b) harm to credit reputation and credit score, and (c) emotional distress.
14. At all times pertinent hereto, Defendants were acting by and through their agents, servants and/or employees who were acting within the course and scope of their agency or employment, and under the direct supervision and control of the Defendants herein.
15. At all times pertinent hereto, the conduct of the Defendants, as well as that of their agents, servants and/or employees, was malicious, intentional, willful, reckless, and in grossly negligent disregard for federal and state laws and the rights of the Plaintiff herein.

COUNT I –EQUIFAX, & EXPERIAN

VIOLATIONS OF THE FCRA

1. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as though the same were set forth at length herein.
2. At all times pertinent hereto, Equifax and Experian were “persons” and “consumer reporting agencies” as those terms are defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(b) and (f).
3. At all times pertinent hereto, Plaintiff was a “consumer” as that term is defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(c).
4. At all times pertinent hereto, the above-mentioned credit reports were “consumer reports” as that term is defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d).
5. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1681n and 15 U.S.C. §1681o, Equifax and Experian are liable to the Plaintiff for engaging in the following conduct:

(a)                willfully and negligently failing to conduct a proper and reasonable reinvestigation concerning the inaccurate information after receiving notice of the dispute from the Plaintiff, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a);

(b)               willfully and negligently failing to provide prompt notice of the inaccurate information and Plaintiff’s dispute to the furnishing entities, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a);

(c)                willfully and negligently failing to provide all relevant information provided by Plaintiff regarding the dispute of the inaccurate information to the furnishing entities, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a);

(d)               willfully and negligently failing to review and consider all relevant information submitted by Plaintiff concerning the dispute of the inaccurate information, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a);

(e)                willfully and negligently failing to delete the inaccurate information from Plaintiff’s credit file after reinvestigation, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a);

(f)                willfully and negligently failing to note Plaintiff’s dispute of the inaccurate  information and in subsequent consumer reports, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681i(c);

(g)               willfully and negligently failing to timely and properly investigate the inaccurate information after receiving notice of the dispute from the Plaintiff;

(h)               willfully and negligently failing to employ and follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of Plaintiff’s credit report, information and file, in violation of 15 U.S.C. §1681e(b);

(i)                 willfully and negligently failing to properly and timely delete the inaccurate information  from Plaintiff’s credit files despite being unable to verify the accuracy of the information and/or being provided with proof of its inaccuracy; and

(j)                 willfully and negligently continuing to report the inaccurate information despite having knowledge of its inaccuracy and/or inability to be verified.

1. The conduct of Equifax and Experian was a direct and proximate cause, as well as a substantial factor, in bringing about the serious injuries, actual damages and harm to Plaintiff that are outlined more fully above and, as a result, Equifax and Experian are liable to Plaintiff for the full amount of statutory, actual and punitive damages, along with the attorneys’ fees and the costs of litigation, as well as such further relief, as may be permitted by law.

Count II – DSNB

VIOLATIONS OF THE FCRA

1. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as though the same were set forth at length herein.
2. At all times pertinent hereto DSNB was a “person” as that term defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(b).
3. DSNB violated sections 1681n and 1681o of the FCRA by engaging in the following conduct:

(a)                willfully and negligently failing to conduct an investigation of the inaccurate information that Plaintiff disputed;

(b)               willfully and negligently failing to review all relevant information concerning Plaintiff’s account provided to DSNB;

(c)                willfully and negligently failing to report the results of investigations to the relevant consumer reporting agencies;

(d)               willfully and negligently failing to report the inaccurate status of the inaccurate information to all credit reporting agencies;

(e)                willfully and negligently failing to properly participate, investigate and comply with the reinvestigations that were conducted by any and all credit reporting agencies concerning the inaccurate information disputed by Plaintiff;

(f)                willfully and negligently continuing to furnish and disseminate inaccurate and derogatory credit, account and other information concerning the Plaintiff to credit reporting agencies and other entities; and

(g)               willfully and negligently failing to comply with the requirements imposed on furnishers of information pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1681s-2(b).

1. DSNB’s conduct was a direct and proximate cause, as well as a substantial factor, in causing the serious injuries, damages and harm to the Plaintiff that are outlined more fully above, and as a result DSNB is liable to compensate Plaintiff for the full amount of statutory, actual and punitive damages, along with attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as such other relief, permitted by law.

JURY TRIAL DEMAND

57.       Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff seeks judgment in Plaintiff’s favor and damages against the Defendants, based on the following requested relief:

(a)                Actual damages;

(b)               Statutory damages;

(c)                Punitive damages;

(d)               Costs and reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n, 1681o;

(e)                An order directing that Equifax and Experian immediately delete all of the inaccurate information from Plaintiff’s credit reports and files, and that DSNB cease reporting the inaccurate information to any and all persons and entities to whom they report consumer credit information;

(f)                An order directing that Equifax and Experian send to all persons and entities to whom they have reported Plaintiff’s inaccurate information within the last three years Plaintiff’s updated and corrected credit report information; and

(g)               Such other and further relief as may be necessary, just and proper.

Respectfully Submitted,

FRANCIS & MAILMAN, P.C.

BY:     /s/ Mark Mailman

MARK MAILMAN, ESQUIRE

GREGORY GORSKI, ESQUIRE

Land Title Building, 19th Floor

100 South Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA 19110

(215) 735-8600

Attorneys for Plaintiff