This case (posted at CreditCourt) is most interesting to me for several reasons:
1) Experian had my credit report account shut down too, but didn't even bother to provide any warnings or any explanation whatsoever. I was blacklisted for years, and could still be blacklisted.
2) Antitrust concerns have been raised by many resellers. Apparently all 3 CRAs want all the consumer business themselves.
"Mortgage Credit Reporting Market Has Competitive Problems, AAI Tells Congress. AAI Research Fellow Jonathan Rubin's Report, Endorsed by CFA, Cites Price Squeeze by National Credit Repositories."
3) The bureaus CLAIM to be concerned with the FCRA requirements.
From Credit Research v. Experian:
"[14]
In order to safely transmit consumer credit reports directly to the consumer who is the subject of the report, the credit reporting agency must utilize rigorous procedures to verify the identity of the person requesting the report. "
Of course nothing could be further from the truth. Experian's ONLY concern is the increase in profits, and I outlined that quite well in my Objection to their CEO Craig Smith's Motion to Dismiss.
If Experian WAS concerned with FCRA compliance, they would make sure that only their clients WITH a permissible purpose access consumer reports and they would clearly identify the permissible purpose for each inquiry.
I sued Experian last year in small claims for my COMPLETE report. The complete report INCLUDING the permissible purpose of the entities who accessed my credit report.
Experian is the only CRA categorically refusing to identify promotional inquiries, misleading consumers to believe that any unauthorized inquiries without a permissible purpose are PROMOS.
Of course Experian fails to comply with the FCRA requirement for complete consumer disclosures to PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR CLIENTS from lawsuits.
When consumers don't know which inquiries were promos, they won't sue Experian and their clients.
In my own case, I had NUMEROUS inquiries without a permissible purpose, but I was also thinking they were promos.
And as always, Experian IGNORED my request for complete consumer disclosures. Their Carla Blair didn't even respond to my complaint and faxes, and she lied in mediation.
RICO is the way to go. They KNOW they are inflicting damages on consumers, and maliciously continue to violate the FCRA in order to protect themselves and their clients.
If that's not a CRIME, nothing is.
Posted by Christine at October 16, 2003 04:59 PM