Written by: Mike Senecal
Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro
In a Nutshell: How accurate is your credit history? Nearly half (44%) of respondents in a recent Consumer Reports survey found at least one error on their credit report. Living with a low score means paying more for loans, housing, and insurance — and sometimes you may even face reduced job prospects. Consider contacting McCarthy Law if you fear your credit report may contain errors. McCarthy Law operates nationwide and can help you correct the record at no financial obligation to you. Our conversation with Managing Partner Kevin Fallon McCarthy, Esq., underscored the importance of accurate credit reports and sound legal consultation to American consumers.
Creditors don’t look kindly on consumers with a record of ignoring their debts. If you’re chronically late on payments or have defaulted on a loan, you can count on paying more for credit in the future — at the very least.
But when the three major U.S. credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — report a low credit score, it can mean much more than being locked out of lower-cost loans. The consequences can include higher insurance premiums, higher rent or mortgage costs, and even reduced job prospects in some situations.
For example, you may be out of luck if you have a default on your record and your job requires you to have a security clearance.
Knowledge is power. Americans can check their credit reports weekly at AnnualCreditReport.com. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs credit report accuracy and provides a structure for reporting errors to the credit bureaus.
But the three bureaus have a consistently poor record of correcting errors. Corroborated by many previous studies is recent research by Consumer Reports, which shows that 44% of respondents found at least one error on their credit report.
The data indicates that millions of people could have credit report errors potentially significant enough to affect their scores. It pays to know whether your credit record accurately reflects your true credit history.
Fortunately, McCarthy Law works nationwide to give consumers a way to fight back and potentially earn a payout. McCarthy Law works at no cost to the consumer to hold the credit bureaus accountable for fixing errors under the FCRA.
Our conversation with Managing Partner Kevin Fallon McCarthy, Esq., reminded us that we have the power as consumers to control our personal financial information.
“Because of the way we structure our fees, we only get paid when we win money for our clients,” McCarthy said. “If the bureaus don’t remove an error we report after 30 days, and it turns out down the road that they should have, then they’re liable under the FCRA.”
Empowered to Defend You Against Your Creditors
People who go through bankruptcy have debts prior to their bankruptcy that show up on their credit reports. If you’ve gone through a debt settlement process, your reports may show that you still owe those debts. A single debt might show up for both parties when a creditor sells a defaulted account to a debt buyer for collection.
Adding to the challenge is that the credit bureaus operate according to certain rules. Some respond to specific removal requests more efficiently than others. Mistakes may appear on one credit report or migrate to the others.
It takes a careful eye to scan complex credit reports with their arcane terminology and decidedly unfriendly appearance. Errors happen for the strangest reasons. The McCarthy Law team has the training and experience to understand the usual patterns and when it’s prudent to deviate from them.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever been unsuccessful as long as the facts are accurate,” McCarthy said. “Lawyers don’t guarantee success, but I just can’t recall ever losing a case where we had the facts correct.”
McCarthy said the FCRA is a highly consumer-friendly piece of legislation. McCarthy Law prepares a dispute letter after it reviews your reports and determines the errors. If the credit reporting agency fixes the problem, the client’s credit report should reflect the change within 45 days.
If the agency doesn’t fix the error within the prescribed time frame and McCarthy Law wins a settlement, it pays $1,000 from any settlement monies from the primary defendant and $500 from each subsequent defendant. If it pursues litigation against four entities — the three bureaus plus a creditor — the client receives $2,500.
“They’re liable not only for the client’s damages but for the attorney’s fees,” McCarthy said. “The great part for consumers is that if, for whatever reason, we aren’t successful, the consumer is not liable for the defendant’s attorney’s fees.”
Hold Card Issuers and Credit Reporting Agencies Accountable
Your credit report says a lot about you because it chronicles how you handle other people’s money. It’s as much a judge of character as a measure of creditworthiness.
That’s why employers, landlords, insurance agencies, and many others with an interest in your future behavior consider pulling credit reports a routine part of a background check.
If you’re a long-time consumer with a higher-than-average income and a long and stable credit record, you may forget the many inconveniences that come with bad credit.
But if you’re building your credit as a new financial services customer or rebuilding after a setback, you know all too well how your low score seems to appear when you least expect it to hold you back.
With bad credit, financial options that others consider routine, like financing a home entertainment purchase, may seem a stretch. It’s harder to think about long-term goals when the first step is out of reach.
Moreover, the odds are against consumers. To ensure credit reports include the truth and nothing but the truth, McCarthy Law fights for individuals and families against large data enterprises with highly skilled legal teams.
It can’t fix any bad financial decisions you made that should legitimately appear on your record. But at least you can be sure your record reflects who you are.
When McCarthy Law takes action under the FCRA, the reporting agencies typically remove the derogatory item subject to the result of the litigation.
“Whether it’s for a car, a washing machine, or a buy now, pay later, a lot of folks who come to us have experienced a loan rejection, and they’ve received notification that their credit has something to do with it,” McCarthy said. “Once we remove the disputed item, their credit score goes up.”
Experienced Debt Negotiation Tailored for Results
McCarthy said the potential $2,500 payout isn’t the primary motivation for most clients to contact McCarthy Law online and schedule a free phone consultation. Instead, it’s the promise of greater financial freedom that drives clients to dig for a solution.
“They want their credit score fixed because they’re getting turned down for loans, their insurance costs more, or they didn’t get the job or the security clearance,” McCarthy said. “We understand that what’s important is to get the error removed fast so they can get on with their lives.”
To help achieve that goal as efficiently as possible, the McCarthy team walks clients through a careful vetting process to eliminate prospects without proof. McCarthy Law doesn’t move forward unless it can establish a factual basis for a case.
From there, it’s a constant hand-holding process as the McCarthy Law team works transparently on the client’s behalf to get to a resolution.
Despite McCarthy Law’s industry reputation as a reasonable adversary, lawyers on the credit bureau side often comment to McCarthy that the constant attention from his firm is more than a little annoying. But McCarthy doesn’t let it bother him.
“I say, look, if you guys had a better system and would just correct the errors in the first 30 days, you’d run me out of business,” he said. “It’s not my fault you don’t have a process to identify errors on credit reports.”
Many clients express gratitude for the McCarthy Law team’s professionalism and communication. One client review featured on the McCarthy Law website praised a lawyer who went above and beyond to assist her.
Another said she appreciated the team’s efforts to keep her informed throughout the entire process. Clients come to McCarthy Law experiencing a stressful financial situation, and they leave with peace of mind for a job well done.
“Our tagline is we fight for the little guy,” McCarthy said. “Our clients are individual consumers all over America who are up against three multibillion-dollar credit bureaus.”
