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Those most affected by incorrect credit scores will have no financial ability to sue a multibillion dollar credit agency. Those with the financial ability will

Those most affected by incorrect credit scores will have no financial ability to sue a multibillion dollar credit agency. Those with the financial ability will have little incentive to do so.

Maakuth 4y ago
Isn't that what class action suits are for?
- Frost1x 4y ago
  How do you class action "my specific credit report is false because of this specific information." There needs to be a third party regulatory agency with real teeth where you don't need a pile of money to refute claims, just a little time for the regulatory agency to pressure them on your behalf. The courts aren't it although they probably should be. The problem with our legal system is that in large part pointed out by GP, there's often a financial correlation in just how much you can utilize it which makes it ripe for exploitation by those with piles of capital laying around.
  - zie 4y ago
    You are right, in an individual case like that, it's hard to make it a class action, but I'm sure there are plenty of cases where they get some bad data from some vendor, and then promptly update 100k accounts with this bad data. Well that's 100k class action participants. :)
  - dvtrn 4y ago
    > There needs to be a third party regulatory agency with real teeth The CFPB could probably use sharper teeth
- swat535 4y ago
  Right and how did it out ended up working in case of the Equifax breach? "Class actions" achieve very little; the only thing they do is make lawyers wealthier and if by some miracle the case succeeds, everyone else will get a 5$ coupon. Real change requires changing laws by the democratic process and that can only happen when the population unites to hold the government strongly accountable. I would argue that any other solution is a bandaid.
BobbyJo 4y ago
This is simply not true. Plenty of lawyers work for a cut of the proceeds, and big companies don't like going to court. My sister, who works for 15$ an hour, has successfully sued two very large companies when they don't hold up their end of a contract. Even if only 'some' of the people wronged sue, it will lead to better practices for everyone.
- orzig 4y ago
  I would love to hear more of that story. I’d also assumed it was impossible and could definitely be convinced by evidence
  - kube-system 4y ago
    Any ad you see in the US for a lawyer is a lawyer that operates this way. (otherwise we wouldn't have ads on the side of bus stops for them) It's an arrangement called "contingency": https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/contingency-lawyers.html https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/contingency-l... The downside is that a lawyer is likely not going to work with you unless they're sure they can get some decent money out of the case.
    - dixie_land 4y ago
      Better Call Saul! it’s a fictional character but that really sums up the type.
    - mikestew 4y ago
      The downside isn't a downside. For no charge to you, a professional will tell you that it's a good thing there are contingency lawyers because otherwise you would have wasted a bunch of money to find out that you don't have a case. And even the "wasted money" part isn't true, because my limited understanding and experience says that just about any lawyer will give you a visit for free, even if they intend to charge for every 1/16th of an hour afterward.
    - jrockway 4y ago
      "Works on contingency? No, money down!"
mywittyname 4y ago
These kind of cases can be streamlined by law firms. Not every case drags on for years. People regularly sue, for example, insurance companies. Both parties kind of know where they stand, and judges prefer that parties find a settlement that works.
- nevi-me 4y ago
  Or simpler than law firms, an ombud process that fights for the consumer. We have something like this in my country, where we have laws against reckless lending. My mom is unemployed and medically unfit to work. She was given a credit card, which I found out about after a few years. I spent 2 years passively trying to sort the issue out with the bank, to no avail. I finally went to the banking ombud earlier this year, and the bank wrote off her debt a few days after. I could have gone further and tried to get her "bad credit" from the bank expunged (there's a complaints process), but it disappears after 2 years, so I just left it to be.

Those most affected by incorrect credit scores will have no financial ability to sue a multibillion dollar credit agency. Those with the financial ability will have little incentive to do so.

Maakuth 4y ago

Isn't that what class action suits are for?

Frost1x 4y ago
How do you class action "my specific credit report is false because of this specific information." There needs to be a third party regulatory agency with real teeth where you don't need a pile of money to refute claims, just a little time for the regulatory agency to pressure them on your behalf. The courts aren't it although they probably should be. The problem with our legal system is that in large part pointed out by GP, there's often a financial correlation in just how much you can utilize it which makes it ripe for exploitation by those with piles of capital laying around.
- zie 4y ago
  You are right, in an individual case like that, it's hard to make it a class action, but I'm sure there are plenty of cases where they get some bad data from some vendor, and then promptly update 100k accounts with this bad data. Well that's 100k class action participants. :)
- dvtrn 4y ago
  > There needs to be a third party regulatory agency with real teeth The CFPB could probably use sharper teeth
swat535 4y ago
Right and how did it out ended up working in case of the Equifax breach? "Class actions" achieve very little; the only thing they do is make lawyers wealthier and if by some miracle the case succeeds, everyone else will get a 5$ coupon. Real change requires changing laws by the democratic process and that can only happen when the population unites to hold the government strongly accountable. I would argue that any other solution is a bandaid.

BobbyJo 4y ago

This is simply not true. Plenty of lawyers work for a cut of the proceeds, and big companies don't like going to court. My sister, who works for 15$ an hour, has successfully sued two very large companies when they don't hold up their end of a contract. Even if only 'some' of the people wronged sue, it will lead to better practices for everyone.

orzig 4y ago
I would love to hear more of that story. I’d also assumed it was impossible and could definitely be convinced by evidence
- kube-system 4y ago
  Any ad you see in the US for a lawyer is a lawyer that operates this way. (otherwise we wouldn't have ads on the side of bus stops for them) It's an arrangement called "contingency": https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/contingency-lawyers.html https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/contingency-l... The downside is that a lawyer is likely not going to work with you unless they're sure they can get some decent money out of the case.
  - dixie_land 4y ago
    Better Call Saul! it’s a fictional character but that really sums up the type.
  - mikestew 4y ago
    The downside isn't a downside. For no charge to you, a professional will tell you that it's a good thing there are contingency lawyers because otherwise you would have wasted a bunch of money to find out that you don't have a case. And even the "wasted money" part isn't true, because my limited understanding and experience says that just about any lawyer will give you a visit for free, even if they intend to charge for every 1/16th of an hour afterward.
  - jrockway 4y ago
    "Works on contingency? No, money down!"

mywittyname 4y ago

These kind of cases can be streamlined by law firms. Not every case drags on for years. People regularly sue, for example, insurance companies. Both parties kind of know where they stand, and judges prefer that parties find a settlement that works.

nevi-me 4y ago
Or simpler than law firms, an ombud process that fights for the consumer. We have something like this in my country, where we have laws against reckless lending. My mom is unemployed and medically unfit to work. She was given a credit card, which I found out about after a few years. I spent 2 years passively trying to sort the issue out with the bank, to no avail. I finally went to the banking ombud earlier this year, and the bank wrote off her debt a few days after. I could have gone further and tried to get her "bad credit" from the bank expunged (there's a complaints process), but it disappears after 2 years, so I just left it to be.