CREDITORS AND DEBT COLLECTORS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO COMMUNICATE FALSE CREDIT INFORMATION OR INFORMATION THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WAS FALSE

Has a debt collector or creditor reported false credit information to one of the credit reporting agencies?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA) prohibit creditors and debt collectors from reporting false credit information. This not only includes information that the creditor or collector knew was false, but information that it should have known was false. So what information should a debt collector know is false? A large number of the complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) allege that the debt collector or creditor has reported information on their credit report concerning a debt that is not theirs. Many of these complaints give names, dates of birth, and social security numbers for the debt that do not match the information of the consumer's on whose report the collection account is appearing. While a date of birth or a middle initial could be easily transposed, read incorrectly, or mistyped, derogatory information on a consumers credit report can have a huge negative impact on their life and company's reporting to credit reporting agencies should be, and are, held to a very high standard when reporting this information.  

Common Scenario

A creditor or debt collector reports a delinquent account to the credit reporting agencies using the full name of the person on the account. It turns out, a father and son both have the same name and while the debt belongs to the father, it has been included on the son's credit reports. Unfortunately, the collector refuses to remove the information from the son's report, after he provides them with his date of birth and partial social security number. The debt collector knew, once speaking with the son that the debt did not belong to him; it however, should have known before reporting the negative information to the credit reporting agencies that more than one person can have the same name and should have verified the date of birth and the social security number.

Creditors and debt collectors may also report accounts as delinquent when they have been paid or discharged in bankruptcy or report an incorrect amount due on an account. If they knew the information was incorrect, or they should have known it to be incorrect, they are in violation of the law.

If a creditor or debt collector has reported false credit information about you, please contact our office for a free, no obligation case review at 1-800-219-3577.