TransUnion Violated FCRA Requirements for Consumer Disputes, Class Action Claims [UPDATE]

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A Florida consumer alleges in a proposed class action that TransUnion unlawfully refused to investigate multiple credit inquiries he disputed.

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Specifically, the 12-page lawsuit claims the consumer reporting agency (CRA) violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by “willfully” failing to reinvestigate several credit inquiries disputed by the plaintiff, notify the sources of the inquiries about the disputes, provide the sources with all relevant dispute information, and delete the inquiries at issue from the man’s credit report.

Per the suit, when a consumer disputes the accuracy of any data in their file, a CRA such as TransUnion is required under the FCRA to reinvestigate the information, record the data’s current status or delete it from the file within 30 days. In addition, a CRA must contact the source of the information in question and provide them with all pertinent details in regard to the consumer’s dispute, the case explains.

However, “rather than complying with the FCRA, TransUnion attempts to forego its obligations and put the onus on the consumer to investigate and rectify inaccurate inquiries with the furnisher,” the complaint contends.

According to the filing, the plaintiff reviewed his TransUnion credit report around February 2024 and noticed that Kohls and Capital One obtained his consumer report without his authorization in December 2023 and January 2024. The man says he subsequently sent a letter to the defendant disputing the inquiries.

Days later, in late February of this year, TransUnion replied with a “generic” letter that “strongly encourage[d] [the plaintiff] to reach out to the company who received [his] credit report” if he believed the inquiries were made without a valid reason, the lawsuit relays. Per the suit, the defendant wrote that “[t]he company can investigate” and, if fraudulent activity is determined, “they can … contact TransUnion requesting removal of the inquiry.”

The case charges that although TransUnion is well aware of its obligations under the FCRA, it did not reinvestigate the plaintiff’s dispute, notify the third parties of the issue or remove the unauthorized credit inquiries from the man’s file.

The complaint alleges that TransUnion has acted in “reckless disregard” of consumers’ protected rights for its own commercial gain.

“Specifically, compliance [with] the FCRA’s dispute reinvestigation duties would require TransUnion to expend additional financial and human resources,” the filing asserts. “By ignoring disputes of inquiry information, TransUnion realizes substantial savings.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States and its territories to whom TransUnion sent a letter materially identical to the one the plaintiff received within the past two years.

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