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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A debt buyer is facing claims it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and two credit reporting agencies are facing claims it violated the FCRA over a debt that the plaintiff claimed was paid off five years ago.
The background: More than a year ago, the plaintiff checked her credit report and identified that one of the defendants, a debt buying company, was reporting a debt that the plaintiff claimed had been paid off back in February 2021.
- Back in January 2025, the plaintiff provided the debt buying company with proof that account had been paid off. But the debt buyer continued to report the debt to the credit reporting agencies. The complaint does not indicate what proof the plaintiff provided to communicate her belief that the debt had been satisfied.
- Last October, the plaintiff sent a written dispute letter to the two credit reporting agency defendants regarding the account.
- Both credit reporting agencies failed to conduct an investigation, according to the complaint, because they failed to contact the plaintiff or third parties, and did not review underlying account information. Both CRAs relied on their own judgment and the information provided by the debt buying company “rather than grant credibility to the information provided by the plaintiff,” according to the complaint.
The claims: The two credit reporting agencies are facing claims they violated Section 1681e(b) and 1681i of the FCRA by failing to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information in the plaintiff’s credit report, and failing to correct false and misleading information.
- The debt buying defendant is facing claims it violated Section 1681s-2(b) of the FCRA for not properly investigating the plaintiff’s dispute, and Section 1692e of the FDCPA for using false, deceptive, or misleading representations of means in connection with the collection of a debt.
