Unauthorized Credit Pulls

When you examine your credit report, it will list the names of all credit pulls: the parties who have obtained a copy of your credit report information. As these credit reports contain valuable private information, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that parties can only use, obtain, or examine your credit report for a permissible purpose. You would be shocked at how much information someone can learn about you and your family by accessing your credit report. It is just like digging through your garbage. This is why there are laws in place to allow you to protect yourself if someone pulls your credit without permission. Our firm recently resolved a matter for $125,000.00 on behalf of a couple who had their credit pulled for an impermissible purpose by a large auto company.

The most common permissible purpose is that the business intends to use the information in connection with a credit transaction. A party seeking to collect debt on an account can pull a copy of your credit report (as long as your debt hasn’t been paid in full or discharged by bankruptcy).

However, businesses will occasionally do a “soft pull” or a “hard pull” of your credit information without such a permissible purpose. For example, it is common for spouses in divorce cases to attempt to use credit pulls to obtain consumer information about their ex. Private investigators utilize their contacts at businesses that can get credit information where the company lacks the requisite controls to ensure the consumer report generated is for a real customer. This is NOT a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Other than in connection with the collection of an account, you cannot pull a credit report in connection with civil litigation, including family court cases. Similarly, insurance companies can pull your records when deciding if you are eligible for their product. What they cannot do is pull your consumer report when evaluating a claim for benefits.

We may be able to help you if we can identify companies that engage in credit pulls without a business justification. Keep a copy of the credit report identifying the wrongful pull of your information. Businesses and individuals should not be allowed to access your personal, private information without a legal reason. Contact the firm if you believe you have such a situation. Consultations on Fair Credit Reporting Act claims are free. If we can take the case, we are always to take the case on a contingency basis, meaning that no fees are owed unless you can recover funds from the party who invaded your privacy. We serve clients across the Carolinas from our offices in Charlotte, Fayetteville, and Raleigh.