OpenRoad Lending, Three Others Hit with Class Action Over Allegedly Unauthorized Credit Report Inquiries

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A Los Angeles consumer claims in a proposed class action that auto loan broker OpenRoad Lending and three partnered lenders obtained his credit report without a permissible purpose for doing so.

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The 12-page lawsuit alleges the companies have run afoul of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by inquiring into consumer credit reports without a valid reason and without adequately notifying individuals of their intention to do so.

According to the suit, OpenRoad partners with co-defendants Global Lending Services, LLC; Stellantis Financial Services, Inc. and Regional Acceptance Corporation to source applications for auto loans from consumers. The plaintiff says he contacted OpenRoad in August 2023 about possibly refinancing an existing auto loan.

Though the man was subsequently approved for a loan through one of the company’s partnered lenders, he decided against it and ended his business with OpenRoad, the case relays.

The complaint contends that even though the plaintiff was no longer working with the broker or actively seeking a loan, OpenRoad provided its partners with the man’s information and credit application in October 2023, so that the lenders could evaluate him for a loan. The filing asserts that the companies each inquired into the plaintiff’s credit report that same month without notifying him that they intended to do so, as required by the FCRA.

Per the suit, the plaintiff never authorized OpenRoad to submit an application on his behalf to its partners, nor did he at any time give his consent for the lenders to access his credit report.

The case charges that the companies’ unauthorized inquiries caused the plaintiff’s credit score to drop, which has reflected negatively on his creditworthiness and financial reputation.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone whose information was provided by OpenRoad to one of the aforementioned lenders and who thereafter had their consumer credit reports inquired into by the partnered lender without a permissible purpose within the past two years.

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