Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
mortgage company
i recently refied my home in may '05, and the again in nov.'05. the 1st mortgage co.sent the payoff ck. back to the 2nd. co. stating insufficient funds. the 2nd mortgage co. contacted the 1st. and asked for a reason why the funds were insufficient, they could not give a reason. by jan 1st.the co. finally accepted the check.my 1st payment to the 2nd. co. was due dec 1st. of which i paid and on time.today is feb. 11th and
now the 1st. co. is reporting me 60 days late to the credit bureau, which has really screwed my credit score.
my question is how do i deal with this? my 2nd mortgage co. is sending me a certified copy of the original payoff date. do i have a reason to sue? and/or can i sue? if i can't get this off my credit report? it was no fault of mine or the 2nd co.that the 1st co.wouldn't accept the check. lastly can i get this off my credit report quickly?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: mortgage company
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (�FCRA�) is a federal law which protects consumers from unfair credit practices by credit reporting agencies (�CRAs�). California also has a state law which parallels the protections in the FRCA and provides additional protections. Generally speaking, under these laws you have a right to dispute any inaccurate information in your credit report. You should ascertain whether all three CRAs (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) have the 60 day late on record. You should then file a dispute with each CRA. (You may be able to do this online if you have a current credit report from the CRA.) Under the law they have thirty (30) days to investigate and re-verify the information ; therefore, keep careful records of when you filed the dispute.
You are also entitled to add a statement to your credit report explaining the situation.
In addition, you should write the first mortgage company directly, by certified mail, return-receipt requested, explaining the mistake and requesting that they contact the CRAs to which they furnished the erroneous information. You should follow up on this letter after thirty (30) days.
Meanwhile, if you are denied credit or suffer any other adverse action as a result of this report you should keep records of the date, type of adverse action and any monetary losses you have suffered as a result.
Be persistent. A lawsuit should be your last resort.
If I can be of any other assistance please feel free to contact me.
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