Most items on your credit file are reported by the creditor or debt collector who is making the claim. But not everything appearing on your credit file is reported the same way. A notice of tax lien, for example, is first recorded in your county recorder’s office (the state court records system).

The county does not report these items to anyone’s credit file, so if you don’t make this assumption, or if you ask the clerk of court or the county recorder what it is reporting to individual credit reports, you will discover that it’s not the county.

 Lexis Nexis is a third party credit reporting agency that collects public records data and reports some of it to personal credit files. It’s legal name is LexisNexis Risk & Analytics Group Inc. and I guess it must be profitable or fit its business model to collect this data and report it to your file.

Maybe it’s selling some type of risk management service, but do we really care about that? No. The only thing that matters here is that this reporting “agency” made a report to your credit file without a permissible purpose.

This means that because you didn’t consent to this company making reports to your credit file and it never gave you credit, the credit item can be removed under the provisions and penalties of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The fine for refusing to remove the item is $1,000, plus actual damages.

You may also be able to express additional causes of action for the unauthorized sale or publication of consumer reports that pertain to yourself. It’s worth noting, most of us don’t care, we just want the item removed and every once in a while, some of us can get a check for $1,000.

If you can show actual damages and plead them in a lawsuit properly, you may expect a larger settlement offer, probably never going to trial. The scope of this section is limited only to removing unwanted items from your credit file.

The IRS Notice of Lien is a great example, but you should be able to remove anything reported by LexisNexis under the same conditions (you didn’t consent to the report). These may include bankruptcies and student loan claims (those guaranteed by the Department of Education).

 While you can remove the item from your credit file, it may still be published in the original system of records, such as the county recorder’s office or with the Secretary of State.

The key to this process is understanding how to “plead” a case under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You first have to request a verification of the item and demand disclosure of where LexisNexis obtained your consent to report this item.

If you don’t get the response, or if the item is not removed, you will need to send another letter and ask for a “re-verification”. If you don’t take this second step, no court will hear your case if you have to sue.

Example (first request):

Your name
Address 
City State ZIP

LexisNexis Consumer Center
P.O. Box 105108
Atlanta, GA 30348

[Date]

RE      Dispute for credit item

My name is _____________ and I’ve included proof of my name using a photocopy of a government issued identification, some information may have been redacted. You can call me to verify at _____________.

LexisNexis reported the following item to my credit file without a permissible purpose:

______________________________________________________________

If you disagree, please provide evidence of my consent or permission to allow you to report this item and please express and disclose your interests in this matter. Please respond within the time limits set forth under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Please be advised that if you are in violation of this statute and fail to correct the matter, I intend to sue you for penalties and actual damages as set forth under this statute.

Sincerely,

[name]

Example (second requesting re-verification):

Your name
address
City State ZIP 

LexisNexis Consumer Center
P.O. Box 105108
Atlanta, GA 30348 

[Date]

RE      Dispute for credit item 

My name is _____________ and I’ve included proof of my name using a photocopy of a government issued identification, some information may have been redacted. You can call me to verify at _____________. I previously requested verification and disputed the following item for your lack of permissible purpose in reporting it. Your response was evasive and non-responsive and I am requesting a re-verification and that you answer my questions. If you fail to answer my questions, your response will be legally insufficient and I intend to sue you for the violations and damages.

Again, LexisNexis reported the following item to my credit file without a permissible purpose:

______________________________________________________________

If you disagree, please provide evidence of my consent or permission to allow you to report this item and please express and disclose your interests in this matter. Please respond within the time limits set forth under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Please be advised that if you are in violation of this statute and fail to correct the matter, I intend to sue you for penalties and actual damages as set forth under this statute.

Sincerely,

[name]

Going to Court

 The “pleading” is the list of allegations that you have to include in your lawsuit in order for the court to accept jurisdiction to hear the complaint. If the attorney for the defendant, LexisNexis in this case, believes that he can argue that your allegations were not legally sufficient, he might file a motion to dismiss. He may file it anyway, but generally, he will file it if he thinks the judge will agree. Remember that exhibits are part of the pleading, so remember that you will need copies of the two letters you sent requesting verification and re-verification.

You may want to review this for a better technical understanding:

http://www.gcjustice.com/artfcra.pdf and http://www.uclalawreview.org/fighting-unfair-credit-reports-a-proposal-to-give-consumers-more-power-to-enforce-the-fair-credit-reporting -act-2/ along with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Because the federal court system is public record, you may want to visit your local clerk of court in the United States District Court in your town.and get a copy of an FCRA complaint. It would name LexisNexis, Or, any of the other credit reporting agencies, such as Equifax.

You just want to see what the plaintiff alleged in the original complaint. It will be especially helpful if you find an example pleading where the defendant filed an answer, or ultimately had to pay under a settlement agreement or lost the case with a judgment. A settlement agreement would not be part of the record, but the court’s order memorializing it would. 

Your pleading will need to include the beginning section that states the name of the plaintiff who is suing the name of the defendant.

It should then cite the statute 15 USC §1681 and possibly the exact paragraph that was violated (most likely 1681s-29b)) as the jurisdictional basis along with 28 USC §1331. You can read these sections for yourself online.

You should also allege your residential address and the business address of the defendant for purposes of establishing venue.

The pleading requirements include a “plain statement of the case” and it would look something like this: “The defendant reported the alleged item to the plaintiff’s credit file without a permissible purpose.”

And then you have the sections that includes all of the necessary allegations. Here is an example of what it might look like:

Remember that you have a much greater chance of succeeding than most people because most people sue for inaccuracies, where there are many gray areas.

What you want to do is sue for the reason that the defendant did not have permission, no permissible purpose. Without evidence of your overt consent to reporting the item, it must be removed and fines and damages imposed.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION 

WILLIAM T. SMITH, 
PLAINTIFF, 

1. CASE NO. ______________

 LEXIS NEXIS,
DEFENDANT. 

___________________________________/

COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT

 Plaintiff William T. Smith alleges as follows:

 The Parties 

1. At all times herein after mentioned, plaintiff is and was a resident of Anytown, Georgia.
   
   
2. Defendant, XYZ Incorporated, is a corporation incorporated under the laws of New York and having a main office at 1234 East Any Street, New York NY 10012.
   
   
3. Defendant, XYZ Incorporated, is registered with the Georgia Secretary of State as a Foreign Corporation doing business in Georgia and has designated a registered agent: ABC Registred Agent, 1234 Any St, Atlanta, GA 30361.

Jurisdiction

1. The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., the “Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p, the “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.”

 Defendant’s Statutory Violations

1. The Defendant is reporting derogatory information about Plaintiff to one or more consumer reporting agencies (credit bureaus) as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a.
   
   
2. Plaintiff has disputed the accuracy of the derogatory information reported by the Defendant to the Consumer Reporting Agency Experian on four separate occasions via certified mail. See attachments.
   
   
3. Defendant has not responded to Plaintiff’s four letters of dispute by providing evidence of the alleged debt to Plaintiff nor to the Consumer Reporting Agency Experian.
   
   
4. Defendant has not provided notice of this disputed matter to the credit bureaus and is therefore in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 which requires this notice.
   
   
5. Defendant has failed to comply with 15 U.S.C. § 1692g in that it has not within 5 days of Plaintiff’s initial communication (nor at any other time) sent Plaintiff written documentation of the amount of the debt, the name of the original creditor nor other information required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
   
   
6. Defendant has failed to complete an investigation of Plaintiff’s written dispute and provide the results of an investigation to Plaintiff within the 30 day period as required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2.
   
   
7. Defendant has not notified Plaintiff of any determination that Plaintiff’s dispute is frivolous within the 5 days required by 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, nor at any other time.

Prayer for Relief

1. WHEREFORE,

Plaintiff seeks a reasonable and fair judgment against defendant for willful noncompliance of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and seeks his statutory remedies as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681n and demands:

$1,000 in statutory penalties, and, $25,000 in actual damages

Permanent injunction against the Defendant from reporting derogatory information about Plaintiff to Consumer Reporting Agencies (credit bureaus)

Permanent injunction against Defendant for selling or disclosing the plaintiff’s credit information to any other party,

Any further relief which the court may deem appropriate.

 DATED this ___ day of _______, [YEAR]

 ____________________

 William T. Smith, Plaintiff

You will also need a civil cover sheet (Form JS 44) and a Summons form (Form AO440). You may also want to ask for a waiver of the filing fee using the Affidavit of Indigency (Form

Here is where you can get them:

http://www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms/complaint-civil-case http://www.uscourts.gov/forms/civil-forms/civil-cover-sheet http://www.uscourts.gov/forms/notice-lawsuit-summons-subpoena/summons-civil-action http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao239_1.pdf http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao240_0.pdf

and you can also request that instead of having to serve a summons, that the defendant waive service of process and file a waiver form. Sometimes the defendant will do this and file a response without forcing you to serve the summons and complaint with a process server (U.S. Marshals). Here are the forms:

http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao398.pdf

This is the actual waiver form that the defendant completes if he’s going to waive service.

http://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/ao399.pdf

In conclusion, you will want to make a demand for what you want, the statutory penalty of $1,000 with actual damages. Those damages have to be alleged specifically and may have to be proven during the course of the proceeding.

You will also need to pay close attention to Rule 26(a) and the Case Management Report time limitations. The court will allow you to amend your pleading once in response to a motion to dismiss, so if the defendant pointed out something that you failed to do, or did incorrectly, you can actually correct it and file the corrected pleading with a “request for leave (permission) to amend”. One amendment should be enough, and if you need more, you probably need some further assistance.

You will need to prepare a case management statement and usually the defendant will do that for you, and then you simply have to work out an agreement as to what is on that form and then file it with the court. This requires a meeting with the defendant’s attorney and the court’s require this in person unless you get the court to approve a meeting via email or telephone with a stipulation between the both of you.

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