A fcra lawyer is a consumer advocate who helps you fight for your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FCRA is a federal law that protects you and the companies that gather, review, and report information to credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This information is used to assign a credit score that can have a significant impact on your ability to obtain jobs, mortgages, loans and credit cards. This law also requires the agencies that collect and report this information to you and others to follow strict procedures and rules to ensure accuracy of your credit reports.
A skilled fcra law firm knows how to use the complex legal tools in this federal law to your advantage. They can help you get inaccurate or outdated negative information removed from your credit report and recover damages for your losses. These can include actual damages, punitive damages and costs of litigation. They can also help you pursue compensation for damages if your credit reports are incorrect or you have been denied a job, loan, insurance or housing because of errors on your report.
Errors on a credit report are incredibly common. They are sometimes caused by mistakes in the reporting process, but other times they can be the result of identity theft or fraud. A fcra attorney can help you understand what information is being reported, how it was obtained and who reported it to you. They can then help you file a dispute with the credit bureaus and any creditors or information suppliers (also known as “furnishers”) who have provided information to them. They can also help you recover damages if the CRA or furnisher fails to properly investigate your dispute, respond within statutory timeframes or refuses to correct any errors in your report.
It is important to note that FCRA does not only apply to CRAs, but it also applies to anyone who accesses or uses your credit report, such as employers and debt collectors. This is why there has been a huge increase in class action lawsuits against companies who violate the FCRA. For example, a recent court decision found that Johnson & Johnson improperly revoked a job offer after conducting a background check on the applicant without first providing them with a proper pre-background-check disclosure and opportunity to contest the results of the search.
A fcra lawyer can help you file a dispute with the CRA and any furnishers of information to you. They can also help you sue the violating party in federal court. This may allow you to recover punitive damages in addition to the other compensatory damages that are available under the FCRA.
A fcra lawyer can help you with your dispute and ensure that the CRA or furnisher follows the correct procedures under the law. They can also help you sue the wrongful party in federal court to recover actual and punitive damages, as well as your costs of litigation. This can be a valuable option for people who have limited funds to hire a private lawyer to fight for their rights under the FCRA.