If your identity has been stolen and there are accounts on your credit report that don’t belong to you, it puts you in a serious bind that can translate to a serious financial decline. And alerting the credit bureau regarding the issue in question may not get you anywhere. This is where the Fair Credit Reporting Act comes in. FCRA affords strong protections, and our experienced FCRA attorneys at The Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi welcome the opportunity to help.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is among the most powerful consumer protection laws in the United States, and it directly addresses identity theft.
When a consumer disputes an account on their credit report, credit bureaus generally have 30 days to complete a reasonable investigation, extendable to 45 days in some cases. If the bureau can’t verify the information in time, it must delete it. This investigation must delve into the information submitted by the consumer rather than just confirm whatever information the creditor provided. When a credit bureau fails to act within this time frame, it can be found in violation of the law right out of the gate.
The company that put the account in question on your credit report is called the furnisher, and they have legal obligations of their own, including:
A reasonable investigation in this context can’t simply be a rubber-stamp effort. The furnisher must put in the necessary effort to identify errors and to resolve them, as applicable. If the issue with your account is not rectified as a matter of reasonable investigation, such as if the fraudulent account is verified, you are not stuck with the outcome. A capable FCRA lawyer is well prepared to fiercely advocate for your rights.
In your FCRA claim, you can seek compensation for all the following:
In the event that the defendant’s wrongdoing is deemed willful, punitive damages could also apply.
The FCRA gives identity theft victims a faster remedy than a standard dispute. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2, a credit bureau must block fraudulent information from your credit report within four business days after receiving:
Once the block is in place, the credit bureau must notify the company that furnished the information. The bureau can decline or remove a block only in limited circumstances, such as when the block was based on an error or misrepresentation, or when you actually received goods, services, or money from the transaction. If a credit bureau fails to block fraudulent accounts after you’ve submitted the required information, you may have a claim under the FCRA.
Our savvy FCRA attorneys at The Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi appreciate the serious challenges associated with identity theft, and we dedicate our imposing practice to skillfully defending our clients’ rights in pursuit of their rightful compensation. For more information about everything we can do to help you, please don’t delay reaching out by contacting us online or giving our firm a call at 844-542-7235 today.