Credit Report Error Lawyers Who Take the Bureaus to Court

A credit report error lawyer on the consumer’s side

If a credit bureau keeps reporting something false about you after you have told it the truth, you need a credit report error lawyer, not another dispute letter. FCRA Attorneys represents consumers, never creditors. We sue Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, background and tenant screening companies, and the banks, collectors, and loan servicers that feed them bad data, under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Errors are not rare. In a credit report accuracy study Congress directed it to conduct, the Federal Trade Commission found that one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their three credit reports, and that five percent had errors that could lead to paying more for products such as auto loans and insurance.

The law does not just ask the bureaus to try. It requires them to follow reasonable procedures for accuracy, to investigate your disputes, and to fix what they cannot verify. When they don’t, an FCRA attorney can hold them to it in court.

Can I sue a credit bureau for errors on my credit report?

Yes. The FCRA gives you a private right to sue a consumer reporting agency that breaks the rules. Two duties drive most credit report error cases:

• Accuracy at the front end. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b), whenever a bureau prepares a report about you, it must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information about you. Reporting someone else’s debt, a paid account as unpaid, or a living person as deceased can all raise this problem.
• A real reinvestigation after you dispute. Under § 1681i, once you dispute an item, the bureau must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation and then correct the item or delete it if it is wrong or cannot be verified. Rubber-stamping whatever the creditor says is not a reasonable reinvestigation.

To win, you generally must show the report was inaccurate, the bureau’s procedures or reinvestigation were unreasonable, and you were harmed. Harm can mean a denial, a higher interest rate, a lost apartment or job, or real distress caused by the error.

Common credit report errors that can violate the FCRA

These are the problems that most often lead to a claim:

• A late payment reported on an account you paid on time
• A balance still reported on a debt that was paid, settled, or discharged in bankruptcy
• A balance reported on a charged-off account that was sold to a collector
• The same debt reported twice, by the original creditor and a collector, both showing a balance owed
• Accounts that belong to a relative or a stranger with a similar name, known as a mixed credit file
• Accounts opened by a thief (see identity theft and your credit report)
• A “deceased” notation on a living person (see falsely reported as deceased)
• Being listed as the borrower on an account where you were only an authorized user
• Negative items older than the law allows
• Items deleted after a dispute that later reappear

Who is responsible: the bureau or the company that reported it?

Often both.

The credit bureaus. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion compile and sell your report. They are liable for their own failures under §§ 1681e(b) and 1681i.

The furnishers. Lenders, card issuers, debt buyers, and student loan servicers report data to the bureaus. Under § 1681s-2(b), when a bureau forwards your dispute, the furnisher must investigate, review the information the bureau sent, report the results, and modify, delete, or permanently block anything inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable.

Here is the trap. The furnisher’s separate duty to report accurately in the first place, § 1681s-2(a), cannot be enforced by a consumer in a private lawsuit. The statute leaves that to government regulators. The duty you can sue on, § 1681s-2(b), is triggered by a dispute that comes through a credit bureau. If you only call the creditor, you may have no claim against it. Dispute through the bureaus.

Typical furnishers include card issuers such as Capital One, Chase, and Synchrony, debt buyers such as Midland Credit Management and Portfolio Recovery Associates, and student loan servicers such as Navient and MOHELA. Our company guides explain how specific furnishers report and handle disputes.

How do I dispute a credit report error the right way?

A good dispute either fixes the problem or builds the case. A sloppy one does neither. Do it this way:

1. Get all three reports. Section 1681g entitles you to a disclosure of the information in your file. All three nationwide bureaus offer free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Dispute in writing with each bureau reporting the error. Name the account, say exactly what is wrong, and say what the correct information is.
3. Attach proof. Payment records, a bankruptcy discharge, a settlement letter, an identity theft report, a copy of your ID. Send copies, never originals.
4. Keep everything. Copies of what you sent, mailing receipts, screenshots of online disputes, and every letter you get back.
5. Track the clock. The bureau generally has 30 days from receiving your dispute to finish its reinvestigation, extended up to 45 days if you send more information during that 30-day period. It must notify the furnisher within five business days of receiving your dispute and send you the results within five business days after it finishes.
6. Write down the harm. Save every denial letter, adverse action notice, and higher-rate offer, with dates.

Our step-by-step guide on how to dispute credit report errors covers this in more detail.

What happens if the bureau “verifies” the error anyway?

That is where many FCRA cases begin. If information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, § 1681i(a)(5)(A) requires the bureau to promptly delete or modify it. A bureau that reduces your dispute to a short code, accepts the furnisher’s “verified” response, and ignores the documents you sent may not have conducted a reasonable reinvestigation.

Deleted items cannot simply come back, either. Under § 1681i(a)(5)(B), a bureau may reinsert a deleted item only if the furnisher certifies it is complete and accurate, and the bureau must notify you in writing within five business days of the reinsertion.

If the bureau or furnisher fixed the error only after it cost you, you may still have a claim. See do I have an FCRA claim if the error was fixed?.

Should I keep disputing, or call a lawyer?

One careful written dispute to each bureau is worth doing yourself. It gives the bureau and the furnisher the chance the law requires, and it creates the record a case is built on.

After that, sending the same dispute again rarely changes the result. If the bureau answered with a form letter, “verified” an item you proved was wrong, or deleted it only to have it come back, talk to an FCRA attorney before you send anything else. What you say in later disputes, and what you sign with a creditor, can affect your claim. A lawyer can review your reports and dispute history, identify which companies may be liable, and put the case in front of a federal judge if the reporting is not corrected.

How long can negative information stay on my credit report?

Section 1681c sets limits on outdated information:

• Collection accounts and charge-offs: seven years, with the clock starting 180 days after the delinquency began. Selling the debt to a collector does not restart it.
• Civil suits, judgments, and paid tax liens: generally seven years.
• Most other negative items: seven years.
• Bankruptcies: up to ten years from the order for relief.

Reporting a later delinquency date to keep a debt on your report longer, often called re-aging, is the kind of error that can support a claim.

How much is a credit report error case worth?

It depends on the facts, and no lawyer can honestly promise a number. Here is what the FCRA allows:

Negligent violations (§ 1681o): your actual damages, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Willful violations (§ 1681n): actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages as the court allows, and attorney’s fees and costs. The Supreme Court has held that “willful” includes reckless disregard of the law, not only knowing violations.

Actual damages can include credit denials, higher interest and insurance costs, lost housing or jobs, and time and money spent fixing the problem. Some courts, including the Ninth Circuit, have held that emotional distress and humiliation caused by a credit reporting error are recoverable actual damages. Courts differ on how much proof that takes, which is one more reason to document the harm as it happens.

Because the FCRA shifts attorney’s fees to the losing company, a case does not have to involve a large dollar loss to be worth bringing. You can see our results for past outcomes. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

How much does a credit reporting lawyer cost?

Nothing up front. We take FCRA cases on contingency: no fee unless we win. When a consumer wins, the FCRA allows the court to order the defendant to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Where do we file?

FCRA claims are federal claims, and § 1681p allows them to be brought in any appropriate United States district court. FCRA Attorneys was founded by attorney Shawn Jaffer, with offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and we litigate in federal courts across the country, directly where our attorneys are admitted and with local or cooperating counsel elsewhere. See the jurisdictions we serve. We also handle background check errors and tenant screening report errors.

Talk to an FCRA attorney about your credit report

If a bureau or creditor will not fix your credit report, use the form on this page for a free case review. Send us your reports, your dispute letters, and the responses you received, and we will tell you whether you may have a claim.

There is no fee unless we win. Do not wait too long: under § 1681p, an FCRA lawsuit must be filed by the earlier of two years after you discover the violation or five years after the violation occurred.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sue a credit bureau for an error on my credit report?

Yes, if the bureau failed to follow reasonable procedures to keep your report accurate or failed to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation after you disputed. The FCRA gives consumers a private right to sue Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and other consumer reporting agencies for those failures. The usual starting point is a written dispute the bureau did not properly handle.

Can I sue the creditor or collector that reported the error?

Often, but only after you dispute through a credit bureau. A furnisher's duty to investigate under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b) is triggered when a bureau forwards your dispute, and that duty can be enforced in a private lawsuit. Disputing only with the creditor directly does not create the same right to sue.

How much does it cost to hire a credit report error lawyer?

We handle FCRA cases on contingency, so you pay no attorney's fee unless we win. The FCRA also allows a consumer who wins to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company that violated the law.

How long do I have to file an FCRA lawsuit?

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681p, you must file by the earlier of two years after you discover the violation or five years after the violation occurred. Waiting can cost you the claim, so it makes sense to have your case reviewed promptly.

What if the bureau fixed the error after I disputed?

A correction ends the ongoing harm, but it does not necessarily erase a claim for damage already done, such as a denial or higher rate that happened while the error was on your report. Whether you still have a case depends on what happened before the fix and how the dispute was handled.

How long can negative information stay on my credit report?

Most negative items, including collection accounts and charge-offs, cannot be reported after seven years, measured from 180 days after the delinquency began. Bankruptcies can be reported for up to ten years. Reporting outdated information can itself violate the FCRA.

Sources

• 15 U.S.C. § 1681e — Compliance procedures, including (b) accuracy of report (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681i — Procedure in case of disputed accuracy (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 — Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681c — Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681g — Disclosures to consumers (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681n — Civil liability for willful noncompliance (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681o — Civil liability for negligent noncompliance (Cornell LII)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681p — Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions (Cornell LII)
• Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr, 551 U.S. 47 (2007) — willfulness includes reckless disregard (Cornell LII)
• Guimond v. Trans Union Credit Information Co., 45 F.3d 1329 (9th Cir. 1995) — emotional distress as actual damages (OpenJurist)
• FTC press release (Feb. 11, 2013): FTC study finds five percent of consumers had errors on their credit reports that could result in less favorable terms
• FTC Consumer Advice: Free credit reports (free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com)

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.