If acompany incorrectly submitted my name to a collection agency and my credit score was affected as a result, can I sue?
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If acompany incorrectly submitted my name to a collection agency and my credit score was affected as a result, can I sue?
I recently requested a credit score and found out that a company had incorrectly submitted my name to a collection agency. This affected my credit score. They have since fixed it. However, I wanted to know if I have any legal repercussions to take against them??
Asked on January 12, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Georgia
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
You can theoretically sue them but you need to prove damages and that they were negligent in submitting your information instead of the correct person's name. For example, if someone wrote a bad check and then the company submitted the debt to a collection agency by selling the debt to a collection agency (usually how it goes) but then reversed the numbers and by doing so wound up with your name (the reversed numbers equate to your account on the check), then it is not the collection agency's fault. So you need to make sure you know exactly who to sue and make sure that your credit report has not gone back up. The simplest and least expensive thing to do is to have the agency write you a letter on the company's letterhead addressing and admitting the company made a mistake. The company sends this to you and you submit to all three credit reporting agencies to make the score go back up. What will happen is the debt or record of it will be erased, which should automatically help your score.
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