Source: https://checking-plus.com/challenging-the-banks
Timestamp: 2020-08-03 08:33:06
Document Index: 263584593

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 809', '§ 611', '§ 623', '§ 807', '§ 623', '§ 1681']

Challenging the Banks | Checking-Plus
Challenging the Reporting Bank
WHEN YOU MAKE A COMPLAINT TO THE OCC...GENERALLY THIS WILL GET
THE BANKS ATTENTION VERY FAST !!! THEY DO NOT LIKE COMPLAINTS
The OCC's Customer Assistance Group is ready to help customers of national
banks with questions or complaints they have about their financial institution.
call: 1-800-613-6743.
If You Have a Problem With a National Bank or its Operating Subsidiary
The OCC Customer Assistance Group was created to answer questions, offer
guidance,and assist consumers in resolving complaints about national banks
and the subsidiaries.
The first step is to try to resolve a complaint directly with your bank or its
operating subsidiary before involving an outside agency. If you are unable to
do so or are uncertain about whether your complaint involves an organization
that the OCC supervises and regulates, the OCC Customer Assistance Group
General inquiries about banking laws or practices often can be answered on
the phone or through email by a Customer Assistance Specialist. The
specialist may all be able to suggest other ways for you to try to resolve your
problem directly with the bank or its subsidiary.
The OCC is the prudential regulator for national banks and federal savings associations. They also have responsibility for all consumer complaints against national banks and federal savings associations with less than $10 billion in assets and for certain consumer complaints for banks and savings associations with assets in excess of $10 billion. If you are having issues with a bank that you feel has wrongfully reported you, I suggest you go online and fill out a complaint with the OCC right away.
Can I really Sue?
It is your legal right to dispute any item on your credit report, for any reason. If documented proof that discredits your dispute isn't provided within 30 days, it MUST be removed by law. This is why it is so important to send the dispute form via certified mail. Not only to insure its delivery, but to have documented time of when it was sent.
If they do happen to verify your debt within 30 days, the next step is to send a dispute/validation letter to the bank that is reporting the negative information about you to Chexsystems. Proof being in the form of something tangible, which is indisputable, not the form letter that they generally send out to everyone that states that it has been verified.
Simply saying, "Yes, this debt is yours" is not acceptable. Even if they do verify with indisputable evidence, they are required to report to Chexsystems that you disputed the information in your Chexsystems file from this bank. They never do. Again, get your latest Chexsystems report and see if they have now reported your information to Chexsystems as "Consumer disputes as per FCRA". If they didn't, you have them in a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 623.
Next, send an intent to sue letter to the bank, offering that you will accept deletion of the entire debt in exchange for you dropping the suit. If they do not respond to your liking, take them to Small Claims court, which only costs around $50.00
When they are served notice of a court date, they will settle 99.9% of the time. If they do appear in court, you will win because you are not suing for proof of the debt, you are suing them for violating the FCRA.
You should know that Chexsystems is a consumer reporting agency, just like Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Therefore, you are protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Here are they 3 most common ways to catch banks (that use Chexsystems) in violation of the law:
1) Dispute the debt with the Chexsystems reporting bank using letter # 4 sent via certified mail, return receipt requested. If they fail to respond to your dispute within 30 days, they are in violation of Section 809 of the FDCPA.
2) The bank verifies your debt as valid with a Consumer Reporting Agency (Chexsystems) without being able to validate the debt with you as per FDCPA § 809, which is a violation of the FCRA § 611.
3) The bank does not notify any such said Consumer Reporting Agency (Chexsystems) that the consumer is disputing the debt, which is a violation of the FCRA § 623(a)(3) and the FDCPA § 807(8).
# 3 is usually the most common violation. If you dispute your debt, the bank or collection agency is required by law to report your debt as disputed. If you get your Chexsystems report 30 days after the bank or collection agency receives your dispute letter, check to see if it is listed as disputed. If not, they are in violation of the FCRA. You can then file a claim against them in Small Claims Court, which is very simple and will only cost you around $20-$30.
99.9% of the time, they will immediately delete the entire listing in your Chexsystems file in exchange for you dropping the lawsuit. They don't want to spend more money to hire a lawyer to appear in court on their behalf. Even if they did show up, you are suing for violation of the FCRA and/or FDCPA, which you will have proof of. You are not going to court to try to prove that the debt isn't yours.
§ 623. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2](a) (3) Duty to provide notice of dispute. If the completeness or accuracy of any information furnished by any person to any consumer reporting agency is disputed to such person by a consumer, the person may not furnish the information to any consumer reporting agency without notice that such information is disputed by the consumer.
What if ChexSystems Stands by Its Report?
You have the right to present your side of the story in a brief statement (100 words or less), which chexsystems must attach to your credit file. Your statement should be used to clarify inaccuracies, not explain reasons for delinquency. Anyone requesting a copy of your credit report would also automatically receive your statement (or a summary of it), unless the credit bureau decides that it is irrelevant or frivolous.