Consumer complaint received 2025-04-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
FINAL RESPONSE FAILURE TO ADDRESS FCRA VIOLATIONS & NOTICE OF LEGAL ACTION Credit Acceptance Account No. XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX XXXX, I am writing to formally address your failure to adequately respond to my dispute regarding Credit Acceptances inaccura

te reporting. Your letter is filled with contradictory statements, evasions, and a clear attempt to deflect responsibility under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). I will now outline your violations in detail. 1. Credit Acceptances Use of Scare Tactics Instead of Factual Responses Your letter references an alleged judgment without providing any substantiating documentation. I demand immediate proof of this judgment, including : A certified copy of the judgment, complete with case number and the court where it was filed.

Documentation proving that I was properly served and notified of the case. 

An explanation of why this information was never disclosed to me earlier. 

If you can not provide the requested documents, your mention of a judgment is misleading and unlawful under the FCRA. 

2. Intimidation Tactics Rather Than Dispute Resolution FDCPA & FCRA Violations Instead of addressing my dispute, your letter attempts to use legal threats to intimidate me into abandoning a valid dispute. This is a clear violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) 807, which prohibits misleading representations intended to intimidate consumers.

Whether or not the lawsuit exists, it is irrelevant to your obligations under the FCRA to report accurate information.

3. Contradictory Statements & Shifting Blame Your letter contains numerous contradictions : You claim Credit Acceptance has no control over how the credit bureaus report information, yet you insist the information is accurate. 

If you truly have no control over how the information is reported, how can you claim accuracy? 

This deflection contradicts FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ), which makes furnishers ( like Credit Acceptance ) responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information they report. The case Johnson v. MBNA America Bank, 357 F.3d 426 ( 4th Cir. 2004 ) further confirms that furnishers must perform independent investigations, rather than relying solely on the credit bureaus. Moreover, your claim that Credit Acceptance " has n
ever reported this account as closed '' directly contradicts my XXXX report, which shows the account as CLOSED. If Credit Acceptance never reported it as closed, who did? This inconsistency violates FCRA 1681e ( b ), which requires the reporting of accurate information. 

4. Credit Acceptance is a Furnisher of Information and Must Follow the FCRA While Credit Acceptance is not a credit reporting agency, you are still a furnisher of information to credit bureaus. FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ) holds furnishers responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide. Your attempt to absolve yourself of responsibility by stating that you are not a credit reporting agency is not legally acceptable.

Your suggestion that I should contact the credit bureaus directly is a clear violation of FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ). It is Credit Acceptances l

egal duty to investigate and correct any inaccuracies, not the consumers or the credit bureaus '. 5. Failure to Provide Proof of Alleged Judgment Referencing an old lawsuit or judgment without addressing the actual dispute is a scare tactic and violates FDCPA 807. Your failure to properly investigate my dispute, while attempting to intimidate me with threats of legal action, constitutes a violation of federal law. 6. Failure to Conduct a Meaningful Reinvestigation FCRA 1681i ( a ) You
claim that Credit Acceptance " confirmed that we have furnished accurate account information, '' but you provide no evidence that a proper reinvestigation was conducted. The case Cushman v. TransUnion Corp., 115 F.3d 220 ( 3rd Cir. 1997 ) makes it clear that furnishers can not merely verify incorrect information without conducting a thorough and meaningful investigation. Your failure to provide such evidence further demonstrates your noncompliance.

7. Reopening a Closed Account as New Potential Credit Fraud My records show that this account was closed as of XX/XX/XXXX. Yet, your company has falsely reopened this account in XXXX and reported it as new. This action appears to be an attempt to re-age the account, extending its presence on my credit report, which is illegal under the FCRA. 

Under FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ), furnishers are required to report accurate information, and by falsely reopening an old account as a new one, Credit Acceptance is in violation of the law, exposing itself to significant legal liability.

8. Manipulation of Credit Data in Response to a Dispute FCRA Violations Manipulating credit data in response to a dispute constitutes willful noncompliance under FCRA 1681n. Credit Acceptances actions in reopening an account in XXXX under misleading terms are a blatant violation of federal law and have caused direct harm to my credit profile. 

9. Failure to Address Payment History Inconsistencies Your response ignored my claim that late payments are reported inconsistently across credit bureaus. FCRA 1681i ( a ) requires a reasonable reinvestigation of such issues, which you clearly failed to perform.

10. Blaming the Credit Bureaus Fails Under the Law You claim that discrepancies in reporting are due to the credit bureaus, but : FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ) holds furnishers, not credit bureaus, responsible for the accuracy of reported information.

The credit bureaus merely report the data they receive. If discrepancies exist, it is because Credit Acceptance has failed to provide accurate and consistent data. 

11. Failure to Provide Proof of Investigation You state that you have confirmed the accuracy of your reporting but provide no supporting evidence. You have failed to provide : A detailed report of your investigation.

Documentation proving the information furnished to each bureau.

This is a direct violation of FCRA 1681i ( a ), which mandates that furnishers conduct a reasonable investigation and provide evidence to the consumer. 

12. Using a Judgment to Justify Reporting Violations Referencing a judgment does not absolve you of your FCRA obligations. If the balance reported after the judgment differs from the actual judgment amount, this constitutes another violation of the FCRA.

13. Ignoring Formal Dispute & Expecting Informal Contact Your request to call XXXX directly at ( XXXX ) XXXX is unacceptable. 

You ignored my formal dispute and failed to commit in writing to correct errors.

You failed to meet the 15-day response requirement, instead attempting to stall with informal communication.

Demand for Immediate Action I hereby demand that Credit Acceptance immediately correct all inaccuracies and compensate me {$100000.00} for statutory and actual damages.

Should you continue to refuse to comply with federal law, I will be forced to take legal action. To respond # 2 : Dear Credit Acceptance Corporation, I am writing to formally dispute the validity of the debt you claim I owe and demand a full and proper validation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), and Marylands Consumer Debt Collection Act ( MCDCA ). Your responses to my previous disputes have been inadequate, misleading, and noncompliant with federal and state laws.

1. Misrepresentation of Communication Preferences You incorrectly stated that my request to communicate through the CFPB Portal was an attempt to stop reporting to credit bureaus. This is a misrepresentation. My request specifically pertains to receiving communication through the CFPB Portal for complaints and disputes, not for your obligation to report credit information. This constitutes a violation of the MCDCA and FCRA.

2. Violation of Debt Validation Requirements You claim a debt validation notice was sent in XXXX, yet you continue to engage in collection actions, including legal suits and reporting to credit bureaus in XXXX. Federal and Maryland law requires renewed debt validation upon request, especially when active collection is ongoing.

Legal Violations : Md. Code, Com. Law 14-202 ( MCDCA ) 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( FDCPA ) Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act ( MCALA ) ( Md. Code, Bus. Reg. 7-101 et seq. ) Requires licensing for any entity engaging in debt collection, including legal actions. If you are not licensed, you are illegally collecting debt in Maryland.

Please provide a full and itemized breakdown of charges, fees, payments, and proof of the alleged balance.

3. Failure to Address Inaccuracies and Contradictory Statements In your response, you have failed to address the inaccuracies that I disputed, particularly regarding the discrepancies in the credit reporting. Instead of providing clarification or documentation related to these inaccuracies, you focused on discussing a court casean issue entirely separate from the disputes I raised about the credit reporting errors. 

Moreover, you stated that the data provided is accurate, yet simultaneously claimed that we can not control how the credit bureaus report the information. This is a clear contradiction. As a data furnisher, you are responsible for ensuring accurate and consistent reporting. Your inability to explain how the credit bureaus report the data does not absolve you from your legal obligation to correct any inaccuracies you may have caused.

This contradictory response further demonstrates noncompliance with 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( FCRA ), which mandates that data furnishers investigate and correct inaccuracies within 30 days. Your failure to directly address these discrepancies and your conflicting statements are unacceptable.

Legal Violations : 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( FCRA ) Md. Code, Com. Law 14-1201 ( Maryland Credit Reporting Agencies Law ) Please correct any inaccuracies and provide proof of accuracy within 30 days.

4. Repossession and Vehicle Sale Concerns You sold my repossessed vehicle for {$10000.00}, significantly below the original balance of {$29000.00}. Under Maryland law, repossession sales must be commercially reasonable. Please provide proof of the sales fairness and an itemized breakdown of any credits applied, including GAP insurance.

Legal Violations : Md. Code, Com. Law 12-1021 ( Repossessed Vehicles Sale ) 15 U.S.C. 1692f ( FDCPA ) 5. Threatening Legal Action Without Resolution Options Your reliance on the court judgment as a threat instead of offering payment plans or settlement options is unlawful. If I was not properly served, the judgment is subject to vacatur.

Legal Violations : Md. Code, Com. Law 14-202 ( MCDCA ) 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( FDCPA )

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation