1,000.00 total or each FCRA violation- Small Claims-Utah

[bluealex915]

I know that this has been a topic on the board several times but I can't find the info so I was hoping that some one could just jot it down for me really quik.

I have filed a small claims action against Experian in regards to four unverifiable trade lines on my credit report that they have failed to remove. I mailed them five certified letters providing documentation of thier failure to respond to my PR request letters and their failure to delete the unverifiable information.

I have asked for the maximum statutory damages which came out to just over 4,000.00 with filing fee and service costs. So how do I explain to the judge ( if he asks) how I arrived at my damages. I mean I know the FCRA states a minumum of 100 to a maximum of 1,000. I was jsut wanting some advice from you folks just in case the judge asks.

The court date is within two weeks here so I am getting ready for them. As of this post I have recieved nothing that would indicate that Experian has or will be removing this case to Federal court. The only thing I got in the mail from Experian was a " general deniel " form letter telling me that they demand " strict proof ". And the last question I had is that i just wanted to make sure that under the FCRA it is up to 1,000.00 per violation and not case.

Thanks for any adivce you can give me......................

[willingtocope]

Check out http://www.creditinfocenter.com/legal/FCRA.shtml#616 It basically says max $1000 per action...or actual damages whichever is greater...plus punitive damages as the court may allow...plus legal fees.

So...just break you $4000 up into the appropriate categories and go for it.

[Guest]

The FCRA is a PER OFFENSE.. not per action. You can charge them 1k for every violation they committed.

[bluealex915]

Thanks you guys,

Now let me throw something out there and see what you think. I basically requested a PR on four trade lines. The CRA did not repond within the 15 days as required by the FCRA. So I began the process of sending them letters informing them that they are in violation of the law and need to correct my credit file.

So anyway, in my letters I also informed them that they are in violation of the section of the FCRA which tells them how they should treat UNVERIFIABLE information. In total I wrote five certified letters included an ITS letter to which they did not even respond to.

So here it is, there are four trade lines in question but the CRA has violated several parts of the FCRA.

Part One: (7) Description of reinvestigation procedure. A consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer a description referred to in paragraph (6)((iii) by not later than 15 days after receiving a request from the consumer for that description.

The CRA never provided me with the information that I requested within the 15 days.

Part Two: (6)(iii) a notice that, if requested by the consumer, a description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information shall be provided to the consumer by the agency, including the business name and address of any furnisher of information contacted in connection with such information and the telephone number of such furnisher, if reasonably available;

The CRA never provided me with any of this information either.

Part Three: (5) Treatment of inaccurate or unverifiable information.

(A) In general. If, after any reinvestigation under paragraph (1) of any information disputed by a consumer, an item of the information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall promptly delete that item of information from the consumer's file or modify that item of information, as appropriate, based on the results of the reinvestigation.

The CRA did not treat the information as the FCRA states that it must. If the CRA could not tell me how they verified the four trade lines then how could they have been verified at all. Therefore the UNVERIFIABLE trade lines should have been treated as Paragraph (5) states that they should be.

So what does everyone think. I mean I know that I only requested a PR on four trade lines but as you can see there are several FCRA violations. So even with all of this is it still only 1,000.00 dollars per trade line or is there something more here? If I requested a PR on four trade lines and there are three parts of the FCRA that they violated in regards to each trade line. Am I right to think that they are responsible to me for alot more then 4,000.00. I mean 4 x 3 is 12 so should I have been looking at 12,000.00 rather then 4,000.00.

Thanks for any input you can give me.....................................

[willingtocope]

Okay, so I'm not a lawyer, and maybe you could find one to take this case, but....working strickly on logic (yeah, I know...law and logic are not even distantly related)...if you read...

616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n]

(a) In general. Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of

(1) (A) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000; or

( in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or $1,000, whichever is greater;

(2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and

(3) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.

IMHO, you've got ONE case going here. This section of the FCRA implies to me that you can sue for ACTUAL damages, or between $100 and $1000, plus legal fees. If I were filing this case myself, I'd be inclined to go with $1000 plus, say $4000 in punitive damages (okay, 4 TLs) and maybe another $1000 for my time in writing up the paperwork. I'm guessing you need to appear to the court like you're just trying to get your report corrected, not blackmail the CR...

[Leadhead]

I believe it's the judge's interpretation of the law. I've always argued that it's per offense and the judge agreed.

Don't be surprised to get a call from Experian a few days before the court date asking you to spell out your damages and seeking to settle. If it's Carla (a legend in her own mind) Blair, be firm with her.

[admin]

I believe it's per violation....

[miracle]

If you are suing under th FDCPA it is $1000 per case.

If you are suing under the FCRA it is $1000 per violation.

[bluealex915]

Thanks to all of you, I just wanted to cover all of my bases if the judge asks me to explain this to him I wanted to know what to tell him.

Thank you