Woman Claims Experian Fails to Update Consumer Reports After Obligations Have Been Satisfied

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Experian Information Solutions, Inc. is on the receiving end of a proposed class action that alleges the consumer reporting agency falls short of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requirements by failing to ensure that it reports the most accurate tax lien information. The case claims the defendant “does not follow the same automated and systematically rigorous processes to obtain all satisfactions and releases of tax liens that it follows to obtain the original tax lien information,” thereby harming consumers whose records continue to display obligations that have already been paid.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff fully satisfied her tax lien in March 2017 but her credit report failed to reflect the release until at least October 2017, the case says, the month when the woman supposedly checked her record and noticed it still displayed her lien as unsatisfied. She claims the defendant’s inaccurate report was provided to potential creditors, including the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, which the case says evaluated her creditworthiness in July 2017.

The lawsuit argues that Experian purchases its public records information from a third-party vendor instead of from government offices, and obtains a “condensed, summary version” of the records that are incomplete and lack the most up-to-date information. As a result, the case alleges, the credit reporting agency often relays inaccurate information in consumer reports, namely obligations that have been satisfied and should be cleared from consumers’ records.

The FCRA requires the following of Experian and other consumer reporting agencies, the lawsuit says:

"Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates."

The case argues that the defendant has failed to comply with the federal law’s requirements and has negligently, and even intentionally, continued to report negative information about consumers without following appropriate measures to ensure that the data is accurate.