A Vendor Has Wrongfully Filed an Item With Your Credit Rating Agency: What to Do

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Oftentimes, a creditor or vendor wrongfully files something with your credit rating agency. All of a sudden, you find your credit lowered by hundreds of points, with collection agencies knocking at your door. Black marks on your credit can have detrimental consequences for future financial transactions, like opening a credit card.

How to Dispute with Credit Agencies

Consumers have many resources when it comes to filing a complaint with credit rating agencies. Upon finding the incorrect data on the credit report, you can contact the creditor or vendor directly, and demand that they tell the credit reporting agency to remove the black mark from the credit report. You can also file a series of complaints: To file against the credit reporting agency, you can contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). To file a complaint about the creditor, you can contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to the FTC, the nationwide credit report companies are required to provide free credit reports to consumers at their request once every twelve months. A sample dispute letter to send to the credit reporting company can actually be found on the FTC website.

At that point, the credit reporting company and information provider is responsible for correcting inaccurate information in your report. The company has to investigate the dispute within 30 days, and forward the data to the organization that provided the inaccurate information, such as the creditor or vendor. The creditor or vendor must then notify the credit company to correct the information, and provide you with the results of the investigation.

How to Sue for Incorrect Credit Reporting

In addition to complaints, you can also sue the credit reporting agency or creditor under FCRA 15 U.S.C. §1681. You can also add an explanatory statement to the credit report—after you file a statement about the dispute with the credit reporting agency, the agency has to include the statement in any report that includes the disputed information. Reiter, supra. Suits can result in statutory and even punitive and emotional damages.

You can also reach out to your state’s consumer protection agency, the state attorney general, or their congressional representative.

EPGD Business Law is located in beautiful Coral Gables. Call us at (786) 837-6787, or contact us through the website to schedule a consultation.

*Disclaimer: this blog post is not intended to be legal advice. We highly recommend speaking to an attorney if you have any legal concerns. Contacting us through our website does not establish an attorney-client relationship.*

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Eric Gros-Dubois

Founding partner Eric Gros-Dubois established EPGD Business Law in 2013. With over a decade of experience expanding the firm and leading it to its current success, Eric now primarily manages the corporate division of EPGD. Given Eric’s educational background, holding both a JD and MBA, combined with his own unique experience of starting a business from scratch and growing it to a multi-million dollar firm, he brings a specialized and invaluable perspective to those seeking legal assistance for themselves and their businesses. Having now instilled his same values in our team of skilled corporate associates, Eric leads a firm that is always ready, willing, and equipped to handle any and every legal matter that a business owner may have.

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