Can You Sue a Bank for Incorrect Credit Reporting

  • Blog
  • Can You Sue a Bank for Incorrect Credit Reporting
Contact Us
1
2
3
15 May, 2024
3 min
464
man confused by his credit report

Don’t let your bank’s reporting errors cause your score to drop! Here’s how our attorneys can help you recover.

When you choose a bank, you expect your bank to treat your money and your information with care. If your bank reports inaccurate information to credit bureaus, it can cause your credit score to be negatively impacted. If you find yourself fighting your bank to correct errors, keep reading to learn how our firm can help you!

Yes, suing a bank is possible when inaccurate or incomplete information is being reported on your credit report. The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) ensures that reporting agencies and furnishers of credit information, like banks, are truthful and accurate when handling credit disputes and requires that they correct errors immediately. When the FCRA is violated and disputed information is not corrected, consumers can sue the bank, consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus), and any other entities that played a part in causing them harm. 

How to Sue Your Bank to Correct Your Credit Report

If you want to sue your bank under the FCRA, the process is similar to suing credit bureaus, but there are some nuances. Nevertheless, the steps will be very similar. If your bank is reporting inaccurate and harmful information to credit bureaus that is damaging your credit score, the first steps to take prior to filing a claim is called the dispute process. The dispute process is often an important step in the legal process if you want to sue because it shows that you acted in good faith by trying to fix the errors prior to going to court. Below are the initial steps you can take:

  1. Contact an attorney. You can start the dispute process by contacting credit dispute lawyers who have experience suing banks and credit bureaus.
  2. Get a copy of your credit report. Get a copy of your credit report and verify that there is incorrect information being reported. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report.
  3. Highlight all errors. Pinpoint all errors you find. Highlighting all errors will help you and your attorney when writing dispute letters.
  4. Write dispute letters. Write a letter that clearly explains the errors you are disputing. You should request that the errors be removed and provide supporting documentation. This step can be tedious because your letters should be written with specificity and include sufficient supporting documents. If you haven’t done so, this would be a good time to contact an attorney. 
  5. Mail dispute letters. We suggest mailing dispute letters via certified mail. Doing so usually requires you to waive fewer rights.
  6. Follow-Up. Most disputes have to be investigated within 30-days. In some cases, it may take less than 30-days. 
  7. File a lawsuit. If you dispute errors and follow up with your bank only to learn that your disputes have been ignored, you can sue your bank for false credit reporting. 

If you decide to file a lawsuit, you should work with consumer protection attorneys who have over 75 years of combined experience winning cases against companies for erroneous reporting. 

Want to Sue Your Bank? Contact Consumer Attorneys!

Contact Consumer Attorneys ASAP! Our team has experience holding parties accountable for false reporting. Our experienced lawyers can handle both the dispute and litigation process for you. We provide invaluable assistance by initiating the dispute process and submitting letters to credit bureaus and data furnishers (banks), negotiating with the bank (when possible), and also filing a lawsuit. 

Contacting Consumer law attorneys can help expedite the dispute process according to FCRA requirements ensuring that errors are quickly corrected and that you get the maximum amount of damages (money) for injuries you’ve sustained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Daniel Cohen is the Founding Partner of Consumer Attorneys
About the author
Daniel Cohen
See more post

Daniel Cohen is the Founder of Consumer Attorneys. Daniel manages the firm’s branding, marketing, client intake and business development efforts. Since 2017, he is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center. Mr. Cohen is a nationally-recognized practitioner of consumer protection law. He has a wealth of proven legal experience in the US in: collective claims, representing visually impaired people who believe their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act have been violated in both the physical and digital environments, corporate governance and dispute resolution. Read more

Contact Us
INVESTIGATIVE ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENT

You, (“Client,” “you”), and Consumer Attorneys PLC (“CA” or “we”), located at 8095 N. 85th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 (“CA”) , hereby enter into this limited scope retainer agreement whereby you agree to grant CA the exclusive authority to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s), including but not limited to potential violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”), Electronic Funds Transfer Act “EFTA”), Fair Credit Billing Act (“FCPA”), and/or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA”) (collectively referenced as “consumer protection statutes”). 1Please read carefully before signing:

Authorization

You authorize CA to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s) under state and federal consumer protection statutes. You authorize CA to contact third parties on your behalf for the limited purpose of investigating your potential consumer law claims. “Third parties” include but are not limited to consumer reporting agencies, creditors, lenders, debt collectors, rental agencies, employers, courts, and law enforcement agencies.

CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period

CA agrees to investigate your potential consumer law claims in good faith. By signing this agreement, you agree to give CA the exclusive right to investigate your potential consumer law claim(s) for the next 180 days (“Exclusive Investigative Period”). For the duration of the Exclusive Investigative Period, you agree that you will not communicate with any other law firm or legal representative about your potential consumer law claim(s). You agree to forgo any previously scheduled consultation or case review until CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period concludes.

Termination of Exclusive Investigation Period

CA agrees that the Exclusive Investigative Period may not extend beyond 180 days without your prior written consent.

At any time between the date of this agreement and the expiration of CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period, CA may inform you of the outcome of its investigation. If CA’s investigation reveals that you have an actional consumer law claim, CA may ask you to sign a formal retainer agreement. If CA’s investigation does not reveal an actionable consumer law claim, you will receive an e-mail that states CA will not represent you in any further pursuit of your potential claim(s).

The relationship between you and CA automatically terminates at 5pm on the 180th day of the Exclusive Investigative Period or your receipt of CA’s written notice to decline representation, whichever comes sooner. At the conclusion of the Exclusive Investigative Period or upon receipt of CA’s written declination of representation, you are permitted to seek alternative legal counsel without penalty.

Nothing in this agreement should be construed as a promise or guarantee that CA will represent you in a consumer lawsuit at any point in time. CA reserves the right to decline to represent you for any reason permitted by relevant laws and ethical rules.

Your Involvement and Promises to us

You agree to meaningfully participate and cooperate in CA’s investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s). You agree to immediately inform CA if your mailing address, e-mail address, or phone number changes at any point during the Exclusive Investigative Period.
You agree to provide all relevant information, communications, documents, materials, and all other similar instruments to CA and its representatives during the Exclusive Investigative Period. You understand that your failure to provide all relevant information, communications, documents, and materials to CA during the Exclusive Investigative Period may hinder, delay or otherwise frustrate CA’s investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s).

You agree, under penalty of perjury, to provide complete, accurate, and truthful information to CA. All documents and communications, oral or written, past or future, provided to CA during the Exclusive Investigative Period and anytime thereafter are presumed by CA to be true, complete, and accurate.

Fees and Costs Incurred During Exclusive Investigative Period

CA agrees that you will not incur any out-of-pocket fees or costs during CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period. However, if CA agrees to represent you in a consumer lawsuit, CA may recover the fees and costs incurred during the Exclusive Investigative Period from the Defendant pursuant to a future settlement or judgment.

You agree that CA has a right to place a lien on any future monetary recovery obtained by client related to the claims identified during CA’s Exclusive Investigative Period or as a result of CA’s investigative efforts. If you refuse to cooperate with CA in the formal pursuit of the consumer law claim(s) it identifies during or after the Exclusive Investigative Period, you agree that CA has the right to recover the fees and costs it incurred while investigating your potential consumer law claim(s).

Authorization to Use Your Electronic Signature

CA will send you any and all documents that require your signature. You authorize CA to affix your electronic signature to requests, disclosures, or other forms that CA deems reasonably necessary to the investigation of your potential consumer law claim(s) upon receipt of your approval or after the 7th day after the document was sent to you, whichever comes first. Your electronic signature will be used on any and all other subsequent documents that will need signature, affirmation, acknowledgment, or any other forms of authentication in reference to this matter under the above referenced procedure.

1You also agree to give CA the exclusive authority to investigate potential violations of state-specific consumer protection statutes.

All Rights Reserved. Without Prejudice. CONSUMER ATTORNEYS

FORM # INV2024CA119

Attorney Advertising, Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome. This website is for informational purposes only and does not contain legal advice. Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

© 2024 Consumer Attorneys PLC. All Rights Reserved.