Fair Credit Reporting

A disturbing violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is being perpetrated by “debt scavenger” companies who purchase old, bad debts in bulk. The debts are often several years old and viewed as noncollectable by the original creditors, who sell the debts to these companies for much less than their stated worth.

These scavengers employ some of the most aggressive collectors around, individuals who will go to great lengths trying to force the consumer to pay debts they may no longer owe. They will often provide false reports to credit agencies, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you believe a debt on your credit report is false, you can send this dispute letter to the credit bureau.

These companies want to make money, and they are willing to act illegally to do so. In order to appear more profitable to the public, they report these old debts to the credit reporting agencies after illegally renewing the “date of last activity” on accounts that have not had any activity for years. If their actions go undisputed, the bad line of credit can stay open for another seven years, damaging the consumer’s credit score. These illegal actions can result in higher interest rates on the consumer’s current or future credit cards and cause financial institutions to reject the consumer’s loan applications.

If you or someone you know has fallen prey to false credit reporting and related illegal activities, you can fight back. Angelo Marino Jr. and his law firm can help you take a stand and take control of your credit history. Don’t let these companies violate the law and your rights by using your past mistakes to damage your future. Call us!

In addition, the law requires credit bureaus to maintain accurate information about your credit history.  If your credit history/report is inaccurate, we can help you fix it.  If one or more of the credit bureaus refuses to correct false information in your  credit report, you may be entitled to damages plus attorney’s fees and costs.  Contact us for a consultation.

Under the supervision of the Federal Trade Commision, the three nationwide credit reporting companies have created a central website through which you can order a free credit report annually. To get your credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Remember that you should order the report from annualcreditreport.com, not from the individual companies, as they may charge you if you go to them directly and not through this free service of the FTC.