Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: wrongfull marks on credit reports. public protection against credit agencies

I'm a lawyer, not a search engine. Go to google.com . Use search terms such as "Fair Credit Reporting Act", "Fair Credit Billing Act", and "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" (use quotation marks). Or use common acronyms such as FCRA or FDCPA. Also try the Federal Reserve Board (frb.gov) and Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov).

Re: wrongfull marks on credit reports. public protection against credit agencies

You are asking a great many questions, and I think this goes beyond a question here on a bulletin board. I think you need to consult a lawyer to address so many issues.

In general, Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act which governs credit reports. It gives you the right to sue for a failure to correct errors. HOWEVER, another section takes away that right and says that only a government agency can sue. You should send a thank you note to your Congressman for turning the FCRA into a joke. It says BOTH that you CAN sue and you CAN'T sue -- both at the same time. This is Congress' Christmas gift to the credit card companies and credit bureaus.

There are some Virginia courts that will allow a lawsuit against credit bureaus for defamation. However, this is a new and developing area of the law and is not yet certain. It might work and it might not. It is probably best to sue the creditor, not the credit bureau. Or both.

In general, if there are false statements on your credit report, you should fill out the bureau's form to contest the statement. The bureau will ask the creditor "are you sure?" The creditor is required to investigate. They will NOT investigate. They will simply answer "Yeah, we're sure." And the credit bureau will confirm that the report is "accurate" according to the creditor. The bureau has asked, so they have fulfilled their duty under the law, even though the report may be totally false. (I had one client who was being reported as DEAD.)

At that point, you have a right to include a statement on your credit report. You should write a statement that is polite and professional and respectful, but which makes the creditor sound incomptent. The bureau is required to report your statement with your credit report. If it makes the creditor sound idiotic, they will suddenly change their mind and withdraw the false statement on your credit report.

There are many companies that will promise to help fix your credit. Some of these are illegal, because they help you create a false identity (illegal). Others are scams, because they will take your money and not do anything.

The only company I know of that is good (I'm sure there are others I don't know about), is Lexington Law. They will pester the credit bureaus every month just like collection agencies pester you.

Go to --

http://www.lexingtonfs.com or

http://www.lexingtonfinancialservices.com

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