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This is America so you can sue anyone for just about any reason you can think about. However, I think that the question you're really asking is have your rights been violated and are you entitled for some damages. Generally speaking, and according or law precedence, you would not win such a lawsuit unless they ignored your dispute and/or proof that the listed debt was not yours.
Anyone that reports information to your credit, regardless of being good or bad information, must do so in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Just to summarize, this sets the requirements to provide "accrete and correct" reporting along with sets the process for disputes. Since we live in an imperfect world it is not uncommon that credit information is incorrectly reported, and this can occasional include reporting to the wrong debtors credit. This could have occurred from a very wide range of reasons from similar names to mistakes in entering the social security number, to more outside problems such as true name fraud.
If there is information reported on your credit that is not accrete and/or correct the best thing to do is send both the listed creditor and reporting bureau a letter disputing the information and/or debt. If this was an active credit line that you had not opened, I would also suggest to contact the creditor by telephone and possibly involve the police because you might be a victim of identify fraud. The creditor and reporting bureau must by law respond to your dispute with confirmation that the information has been verified or removed.
Generally speaking if it was just an error it will most likely be removed upon first dispute, however if it is more of a complex dispute it may take some more hard work to get it removed. You can contact a credit and collections attorney who may be able to help clear up the problem, however I would not suspect that there would be anything you could file suit regarding. To prevent these types of problems I suggest signup with a credit monitoring service, since most would send you alerts when any new information is added to your credit files, and can help with quickly detecting mistakes or fraud attempts.
What else can I help you with?
What you do if you cannot locate a creditor?
That depends on what you mean by "can't find or locate a creditor". If you get a copy of each of your credit reports, they will list the contact information for each of the creditors that are reporting any type of information about you on your credit report. if you cannot get a response from the creditor after locating their contact information on your credit report, then you may want to "dispute" the information with the credit bureau that is reporting the information. Simply write a letter to the credit bureau stating that the information being reported on XYZ account is not accurate. Please remove this information from my credit file. The bureau will contact the reporting creditor...if the creditor does not respond within a timely fashion, the information will be removed from your credit file.
Can a debt collector remove negative information from my credit report?
No, a debt collector cannot remove negative information from your credit report. Only the credit reporting agencies or the original creditor can remove or update information on your credit report.
How will voluntary repossession of a vehicle affect a persons credit score?
Same as a regular repo. The creditor may still put the repossession on your credit report and it would stay there for up to seven years. Notice the word "may", because it is at the creditor's discretion...
Is there a way to get a repossession out your credit?
Information only comes off the credit report when the original creditor who reported the information requests the credit bureau to remove it, or if the credit bureau removes it after they have made the attempt to contact the creditor to request them to remove it and the creditor fails to respond. If the creditor cannot be located which is another way they may fail to respond, the credit bureau may remove it after a period of time. In all cases, you the consumer must initiate the process to contest the information in writing. Because the credit bureau customers are the creditors and not you, the credit bureau will only make changes when their customers (the creditors) ask them to. The creditors all pay annual fees to the credit bureaus to be a member and have the ability to put payment history information into your credit file. That's why the consumer must contest the information, then force the credit bureaus to validate and confirm the information with their customer first, then take the appropriate action once they get a response or fail to get a response.
What is the procedure for a creditor to be listed on a credit report?
== == Call that creditor and request for them to report your information with all three bureaus. Be aware that not all creditors will do this, but it does not hurt to try.
Can a creditor misrepresent themselves on the credit report?
Misrepresenting any form of information in a credit report is incorrect and a crime too. Irrespective of who is misrepresenting the information, doing so is wrong.
What is the purpose of credit application?
The purpose of a credit application is to give the creditor information on the person who wants them to extend credit to them in order to decide the best way to limit their risk in extending that credit.
How do you find the date of last activity on an account on your credit report?
Where to find this information on a credit report unfortunately depends on where you obtained your credit report from since they (credit bureaus, mortgage lenders, etc.,) can all use different formats. However, there should be a column or section under each creditor/credit item listed that shows "Date of Last Activity", "DLA" or "Last Active". The three major bureaus are pretty good about putting this information in a separate column (near or underneath the Date Opened or Last/Date Reported). If all else fails, contact the creditor/collector directly (not the credit bureaus) for the most accurate information about the Date of Last Activity.
How do I report a debt to a credit agency?
To report a debt to a credit agency, you can contact the agency directly and provide them with the necessary information about the debt, such as the amount owed and the creditor's details. The agency will then update your credit report with this information.
Who is a creditor?
The creditor is the person who provided services, goods, or credit.
Your credit report has two creditors with the same credit card number?
usually this is because the original lender sold the account to a new lender which takes on the loan/debt, but the paper trail is still left on a persons credit report. If a company goes out of business they also liquidate their assets/accounts to another creditor. It also can be because the person did not pay on the account and it was sold to another creditor or a collection company. The most rare case would be that there is a mistake on a persons credit file and should contact the credit report company.
Can a credit application request information about bankruptcies or judgments in California?
Yes, there are no consumer laws preventing a creditor from requesting financial information from the applicant.
