Inaccurate Account Reporting
A creditor reports wrong balances, incorrect payment histories, or accounts that aren't yours. Despite disputes, the errors persist month after month.
Understanding the Law
What Is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law enacted in 1970 that regulates how consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — collect, maintain, and distribute your personal credit information. It was designed to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy in the consumer reporting system.
Under the FCRA, credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information in your credit file. When they fail — and they fail more often than most people realize — you have the right to dispute inaccurate information and, if necessary, file a federal lawsuit to recover damages.
The FCRA also regulates furnishers — the banks, lenders, and companies that report your account information to the bureaus. When a furnisher continues to report inaccurate information after being notified of a dispute, they violate the FCRA's duty to investigate. These cases represent some of the strongest claims we pursue.
Violations We Prosecute
Common FCRA Violations
If any of these sound familiar, you may have a federal claim worth pursuing.
Mixed Files
The bureau merges someone else's accounts into your credit file — often because of a similar name or Social Security number. This can devastate your score overnight.
Unauthorized Hard Inquiries
Companies pull your credit report without your permission and without a "permissible purpose" under the law. Each unauthorized inquiry is a separate violation.
Reinvestigation Failures
You dispute an error, the bureau runs a cursory 30-day "investigation," and confirms the inaccuracy without actually verifying the underlying data. This is a violation of § 1681i.
Furnisher Failures to Investigate
After notice from a CRA, the original creditor or debt collector fails to conduct a reasonable investigation into your dispute — they just rubber-stamp the existing data.
Reporting After Discharge or Settlement
A creditor continues to report a debt as delinquent or owing after it was settled, paid in full, or discharged in bankruptcy. This happens far more than it should.
Your Recovery
What Can You Recover?
The FCRA provides multiple categories of damages depending on whether the violation was negligent or willful.
$100 – $1,000
Statutory Damages
Per willful violation under § 1681n. Available even without proof of monetary loss.
Uncapped
Actual Damages
Lost credit opportunities, higher interest rates, denied housing, emotional distress, and other tangible harm.
Uncapped
Punitive Damages
For willful violations, courts can award punitive damages with no statutory cap. Juries have returned seven-figure awards.
$0 to You
Attorney's Fees
Federal law requires the violator to pay your attorney's fees and costs. You pay nothing out of pocket.
How It Works
How We Handle Your FCRA Case
01
Free Case Review
We analyze your credit reports, dispute history, and documentation to determine if you have an actionable FCRA claim.
02
Evidence Collection
We pull all three bureau reports, review dispute correspondence, and document every inaccuracy and failure to investigate.
03
Demand & Litigation
We send a demand letter or file suit directly in federal court — the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
04
Resolution & Recovery
We negotiate a settlement or take the case to trial. You recover damages and they pay our fees. Your credit gets corrected.
Common Questions
FCRA FAQ
Under the FCRA, you have 2 years from the date you discover (or should have discovered) the violation — or 5 years from the date the violation occurred, whichever comes first. This is why acting quickly matters. The longer you wait, the harder it can be to prove your timeline of discovery.
For claims against furnishers (the companies reporting your data), yes — the FCRA requires that the CRA first notifies the furnisher of your dispute before furnisher liability attaches under § 1681s-2(b). For claims directly against the bureaus, a prior dispute strengthens your case by showing they failed their duty to investigate. We guide you through this process.
Under Safeco v. Burr, a violation is "willful" if the defendant acted with reckless disregard of the law — meaning their interpretation of the FCRA was objectively unreasonable. You don't need to prove they intended to violate the law. If a bureau or furnisher ignores repeated disputes or has a pattern of similar failures, that's strong evidence of willfulness — which unlocks statutory damages ($100–$1,000), punitive damages (no cap), and attorney's fees.
After TransUnion v. Ramirez (2021), the Supreme Court requires a "concrete injury" for FCRA standing. A credit denial is strong evidence of concrete injury, but it's not the only kind. If the inaccurate report was disseminated to third parties, caused you emotional distress, or resulted in other tangible harm, you likely still have standing. We evaluate this on a case-by-case basis.
$0. The FCRA contains a mandatory fee-shifting provision. When you prevail, the defendant is required by law to pay your attorney's fees and costs. You never pay us out of pocket. This is how consumer protection litigation works — the companies that break the law fund the enforcement.