LexisNexis Costs Man Job With Error Filled Background Check

LexisNexis is used by lawyers and law students to such a degree you might think the people who ran it would know something about the law. You might especially expect competence from their high tech investigative SWAT team, Risk & Information Analytics, which claims to offer fraud detection, collections management, and identity screening. Their site goes so far as to proclaim, "Our intelligence makes your decisions smarter."

Not so much.

And now they and an employer who used them are being sued for FCRA violations.

H&M Distributing Co. offered Troy Richard Burnette a sales job in June 2006 pending successful completion of a background check. LexisNexis Risk & Information Analytics Group, Inc. conducted Burnette's background check, but incorrectly included criminal convictions for Troy Thomas, Troy R. Thomas and Thomas Howard Richard, IV.

H&M's representative told Burnette on June 7, 2006 that his job offer had been withdrawn because of the results of his criminal background check. Burnette contended, to no avail, that the report was inaccurate.

Burnette contacted LexisNexis, which revised and updated its report by June 27, 2006. Burnette took it to H&M, which at that point had no job openings.

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Credit Reporting Agency TransUnion Settles Largest Consumer Class Action Suit In History

If you have used a credit card or carried any kind of debt or loan account in the past 21 years it's very likely you can take part in an unprecidented $10-billion dollar lawsuit settlement.

Credit reporting agency TransUnion must pay back Aldin Cubillas and 160 million American consumers for selling their private credit information.

Anyone with credit information held by Transunion can retrieve their credit score which normally costs about $12. And on top of that they can enjoy 6 months of credit monitoring -- a $60 dollar value -- for free.

It's punishment for selling consumer credit information to marketers who then turned around and used that data to sell products and services right back to you.

Ken McEldowney with Consumer Action said, "TransUnion was getting deep into credit reports to get information to tailor lists that were valuable for other companies. This is by far the largest class action ever and the largest ever involving privacy violations. It sends a strong message to organizations that hold your private information."

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Maxed Out On Showtime Tonight

Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders is a book and documentary that show abusive practices in the credit card industry. The book and movie use interviews with creditors and debtors. The film is on tonight at 7pm on Showtime and will also be on Monday May 26 at 10 am, and Thursday May 29 at 11pm. The film is also available through Netflix, Amazon.com and the usual locations.

The purpose for the book and the movie is to raise awareness of how credit and lending issues affect society. The film and book illustrate how banks and other creditors deliberately market to people who are more likely to have problems paying and that the creditors benefit from connections to government, the debt collection industry, and from lawmaker apathy.

The trailer is below.

Audio and Video Of An Iraq Combat Vet Being Abused By Bill Collectors Over A Non Existant Debt

Minnisota consumer law attorney Pete Barry appeared on KMSP Fox 9 News on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, for a story on abusive debt collection. Includes audio of an Iraq combat vet at home on leave visiting his family being abused by telephone bill collectors even though there is no delinquency.

Click image to watch.

Sallie Mae Error Tanks 1 Million Credit Scores

Because of a computer error at Sallie Mae, a million people with student loans had their credit scores decimated.

Last week Sallie Mae made an error in the way it reported about a million student loans to credit reporting agencies. Essentially, it reported graduated or extended repayment plans as arrangements for partial payment, causing the loans to be coded as delinquent, even though they weren't.

In some cases, borrowers' FICO credit scores dropped 100 points or more as a result of the error, according to Bankrate.com.

Sallie Mae offered to provide credit reference letters for customers needing one to correct their score or show a prospective lender that the error was caused by Sallie Mae. The Reston, Va.-based lender urged concerned customers to call 1-888-2-SALLIE or 1-888-272-5543.

A personal story about how Michelle Richards and her husband have been affected by the wipe out of their credit score by the Sallie Mae error is here.

Verizon Wireless Defends Another Federal Suit Over Fraudulent Collections

The often sued Verizon Wireless bill collectors are on the docket again.

The newest complaint, filed in Alabama federal court, asserts the No. 2 wireless service provider is destroying the credit of an otherwise uninvolved citizen.

Verizon Wireless is trying to collect more than $1,000 from Johnny Howard he does not owe, and is falsely reporting the alleged debt on his credit reports. Howard is an identity theft victim. After complying with Verizon Wireless’ demands to fill out a police report and send them a copy, he was turned over to a collection agency anyway. The collection agency later received the police report, according to the lawsuit, but the problem was not resolved. The overdue account remained on Howard’s credit reports, prompting him to contact TransUnion L.L.C. and Equifax. Equifax eventually removed the account; TransUnion did not. TransUnion is included in the complaint.

“This wrongful conduct has drastically impacted plaintiff’s credit score and credit worthiness and has caused him past and future monetary loss, past and future emotional distress, and other damages that will be presented,” the lawsuit states.

No Free Credit Reports At Experian Owned FreeCreditReport.com

Does "free" mean no charge? Answer: No. In another new wave of TV ads featuring a goofy singer working at a fish place you are promised a "free" credit report! Yet, what you get is a charge of $40 and monthly charges on your credit card.

Once on the Freecreditreport.com website, you are asked to fill out personal information and give your credit card information. You must agree to the terms and conditions to continue. Most people just click accept without reading them. A decision that seems reasonable at the time but is a robbery in progress.

Accepting the terms and conditions obligates you to pay $39.95 now and $14.95 a month for their monthly credit report monitoring. So essentially your free credit report costs you about $180 a year.

This is not new. Experian, owner of the falsely named Freecreditreport.com website, has already been fined before by the FTC for doing the same thing.

You’re already entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus every year. To get those, go to AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s the only Web site where each year you can get free credit reports from all three major agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Even better, you can avoid the add on sales pitches and just call 877-322-8228 to avoid the hassle.

What To Do When You Have Been Sued By A Debt Collector

Indiana consumer attorney Robert Duff has a good article on what to do when you learn you are being sued by a debt collector. The post examines the problems debt collectors have in proving their cases and why it is important to seek representation even if you are knowledgeable about consumer rights.

"I understand that debt collection is a business, but that doesn't mean you can cut whatever corners you like in search of the almighty dollar. I've seen too many people's lives and well-being injured by greedy debt collectors. I don't think there is much of a difference between a debt collector who sues the wrong person because their practice is to attempt to collect debts without the appropriate documentation and a bus company who injuries a customer because they neglected maintenance on their bus."

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Debt Collectors Told To Pursue Consumers For Bills Owed By Health Net and WellPoint

Last week, the Los Angeles City Attorney sued WellPoint, Inc.accusing them of illegally canceling health care coverage that left consumers with unpaid medical bills that were not their responsibility. A few weeks earlier, LA filed a similar suit against Health Net, saying the insurer illegally denied more than $35 million in claims.

Thousands of people were fraudulently denied benefits. Consequently, some or all of those consumers with canceled health care coverage have ended up in collections.

You might think the bill collectors going after sick people who don't really owe the money would stop harassing them. But you would be wrong.

In advice to medical debt collectors, Rozeanne Andersen, executive vice president and general counsel for ACA International, a pro bill collector lobbyist, said, “Debt collectors are hired to collect debt.” “Until a final judgment is determined, debt collectors can assume the debt is valid.”

The advice of the ACA is to sue, garnish, lien, etc., until the California courts order Health Net and WellPoint to pay the medical bills they fraudulently skipped out on.

Then what, Rozeanne? When Health Net and WellPoint pay the medical providers where will the thousands of sick people who gave in and paid the phony bills to your bill collectors go to get their money back? How will they get your phony collection accounts off their credit reports? How do they recover the jobs they weren't hired for or the apartments they couldn't rent or the homes they couldn't buy because your bill collectors artificially lowered their credit ratings?

Any bill collector re-victimizing the people who paid their insurance but received no coverage should be added to the Los Angeles City Attorney's suit, along with their cheerleader, the ACA.

Your Credit Report Might Deny Your Healthcare

Accuracy on your credit reports might determine if you receive health care the next time you need it.

Credit checks by hospitals are becoming more commonplace, as the industry seeks to identify those patients to pursue for payment, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal today. Some hospitals are peeking into patients' credit reports, which contain information on people's lines of credit, debts and payment histories. Other hospitals are contracting with outside services that snoop on patients and predict a patient's income and whether he or she is likely to walk away from a medical bill. Hospitals often use these services when patients are uninsured or have big out-of-pocket costs despite having health insurance.

Consumer advocates say the practice breeds the potential for hospitals to abuse the information by denying or cutting back on patients' care if the snooping creates a suspicion they won't pay.

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Credit Reports Can Deny Employment

Accuracy on your credit reports can mean more than your access to more credit or affordable interest rates. Your credit report can determine if you get the next job.

Many employers are now using credit checks to vet job applicants.

Under the 1996 Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies can review credit reports of applicants and employees only with their permission. Typically, job applications include a yes-or-no check off box. Saying no to a credit review raises the same red flags that bad credit does.

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Experian Credit Bureau Finds A Consumer Who Fights Back

Attorney Robert Sola won the nation's largest consumer-credit verdict, $5 million in punitive damages against TransUnion, for Judy Thomas, an Oregon woman whose information was mixed up with another woman's who had atrocious credit. A judge later reduced the award to $1.3 million.

Hundreds of such cases are filed every year and Sola has filed new suits for a new client.

Sheldon Chrysler's finances have been ruined since a collection related to a DirecTV account in Detroit showed up without explanation on his credit report.

But Sheldon Chrysler has never lived in Detroit. He sent letters to DirecTV and the credit bureau Experian but his pleas went nowhere and his credit score plummeted.

"No one should have to go through this," Chrysler said. "All I want is my good credit back and my chance to make a good living."

Chrysler filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against DirecTV, the collection agency that DirecTV used and Experian for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law that says this can't happen to him.

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TV Station Confirms Credit Bureaus Don't Know If They Put Judgments On The Right Reports

Before a charge can be filed in criminal court a burden of proof called "probable cause" must be met by law enforcement. A civil suit must have enough proof to be able to withstand a motion to dismiss, otherwise the plaintiff can be counter sued for filing a frivolous claim.

However, credit bureaus place judgments on consumer credit reports without any idea if the report they are tainting is the right one. And the consequences to the victims of credit bureau indifference to the truth are not small.

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Appeals Court Upholds $150K Verdict Against Equifax

Equifax refused to correct the credit report of an identity theft victim. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit sent them a message: Pay Up!

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