Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Georgia woman against Experian Information Solutions, Inc., (“Experian”) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging that the company violated the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).
According to the complaint in the lawsuit, Experian has been reporting derogatory and inaccurate statements and information regarding our client and her credit history to third parties from at least June 2022 through the date the complaint was filed. The alleged inaccurate information at issue in the lawsuit pertains to a PennyMac Loan Services account and personal identifying information.
Specifically, Experian is allegedly falsely reporting inaccurate information, including personal information, that does not belong to our client and instead belongs to another consumer. Experian allegedly mixed our client’s credit file with that of at least one other consumer.
This allegedly inaccurate information negatively reflects upon our client’s credit repayment history, her financial responsibility as a debtor, and her creditworthiness.
Even though our client disputed the allegedly inaccurate information with Experian in June 2022, and Experian removed the inaccurate information that month, it later reinserted the inaccurate information in July 2022. Despite our client again disputing the inclusion of the inaccurate information that same month, Experian has indicated to our client that it plans to continue publishing this inaccurate information, and has done so.
“Even though the FCRA requires consumer reporting agencies like Experian to employ reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information in an individual’s credit report, it appears Experian has mixed our client’s consumer information with that of another person’s,” said Siobhàn E. McGreal, one of the lawyers at Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., who filed the lawsuit. “This might seem like a simple administrative error, but not only does this error violate federal law, it also caused our client to suffer damages and has negatively affected her life.”
According to the complaint, despite our client’s efforts to correct the inaccurate information Experian is publishing about her, Experian has (i) never contacted her to follow up on or verify her disputes, (ii) never contacted third parties that would have information concerning her disputes, (iii) never forwarded any relevant information concerning her disputes, and (iv) never requested or obtained credit applications or other relevant documents from the companies providing the inaccurate information. The complaint alleges this misconduct violated the FCRA.
As a result of Experian’s alleged unlawful conduct, our client has suffered actual damages in the form of lost loan opportunities, credit defamation, and emotional distress, including anxiety, frustration, embarrassment, and humiliation.
The relief our client is seeking in the lawsuit includes, among other things, actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages.
If your consumer report contains inaccurate information about you, including credit records or debts that do not belong to you, you may be able to recover damages against the consumer reporting agency that created it. If you do so, the consumer reporting agency may also be required to pay your attorneys’ fees and costs.
Click here or call 215-735-8600 to schedule a free case review with a representative of Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. Located in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, we serve clients nationwide.