A class-action lawsuit has been filed against one of the nation’s largest financial services companies, alleging it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by inaccurately listing individuals as having for filed for bankruptcy protection and then refusing to correct their credit reports.
A copy of the complaint in the case of Brooks v. Bank of America can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff, William Norman Brooks, III, who lived in California and had a number of accounts with the defendant, received a letter from the bank, indicating that it had been notified of a bankruptcy filing by or against the plaintiff and was suspending access to his line of credit. The defendant also notified the plaintiff in the letter that it was discontinuing the line of credit.
The plaintiff, who said he has never filed for bankruptcy protection, contacted the defendant and learned that another customer, William E. Brooks in Mobile, Ala., who happened to have a Social Security number where the last four digits matched those of the plaintiff, had filed for bankruptcy and the bank had matched the filing to the plaintiff instead.
The plaintiff disputed the information with the bank, but the defendant notified the credit bureaus anyway, which resulted in the plaintiff’s credit score dropping “substantially,” according to the complaint. The plaintiff then disputed the notation with each of the credit bureaus and Bank of America again, but BofA reported back again that the bankruptcy was being properly noted on the plaintiff’s account.
Bank of America is accused of violating the FCRA as well as California’s Unfair Competition Law and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act. The suit is seeking to include two classes of plaintiffs and levies four counts against the defendant.
