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An Arizona man says Cox Communications has been making unauthorized credit report inquiries in violation of federal law.
In a Cox class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday, plaintiff Amichai Bergman alleges the cable TV and internet provider has been pulling credit reports on persons who only inquire about service without actually purchasing service.
Bergman says that in July 2016, he called Cox to inquire about services and pricing. He didn’t agree to purchase any services that day, he says. He also claims the Cox representative he spoke to did not tell him Cox would pull his credit report, nor was he given any reason to think his report would be pulled.
The next day, he claims, he got a notice that Cox had made a hard inquiry on his credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
A “hard inquiry” occurs when a prospective creditor requests a credit report for use in making a lending decision. Hard inquiries typically appear on the credit report for two years. This type of inquiry may lower the consumer’s credit score.
Bergman says he wrote Cox a letter saying the inquiry was not authorized, and he asked Cox to remove the inquiry from his report. Cox did nothing in response, he claims, leaving the hard inquiries on all three of his credit reports.
Other individuals have reported similar experiences, according to Bergman. He quotes one complaint submitted to an online consumer credit discussion forum by a person who says their report was pulled after speaking to a Cox salesperson. The customer says they never would have accepted the salesperson’s offer had they known Cox would do a hard pull of their credit report.
According to Bergman’s Cox class action lawsuit, these unauthorized hard inquiries violate the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA allows companies like Cox to solicit consumer credit reports only for a limited number of specific purposes.
None of those purposes applied to the inquiries Cox made, Bergman says. He argues that merely inquiring about available services does not give Cox the right to obtain a consumer’s credit reports.
Bergman proposes to represent two plaintiff Classes. The Impermissible Access Class would cover all U.S. residents whose consumer reports display an inquiry by Cox and for whom Cox has no record of an open account or a request to open an account. The Impermissible Use Class would cover all U.S. residents whose consumer reports Cox received and for whom Cox has records showing their report was reviewed.
He seeks a court injunction barring Cox from illegally pulling and using credit reports. He is asking the court to award statutory and punitive damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees, and any other relief the court deems warranted.
Bergman is represented by attorney John Prather.
The Cox Unauthorized Credit Report Check Class Action Lawsuit is Bergman v. Cox Communications Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-04721, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
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93 thoughts onCox Class Action Says Consumer Credit Reports Pulled Without Consent
i would like to be contacted please
Please add me
I inquired about their service only because CL had no svc in the new housing community i moved. I called a couple times and each time they wanted my SSN, I said no. At the end they said I gave it to them. CL WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE SVC my area. Called Cox and found out I had an acct and received a ltr from Cox later that had a bad cred report dated the day i called them that i did not need them.They must make money out the deposit, repairman. Yeah right I just bought a house. Cox is deceitful and so are the employees I spoke with. Distrustful. Must be desperation. I can count on CL. Always they came thru. 15 yrs.
yes they pull fast as they can wrecking your score without any considerations for a Seniors Welfare. they truly cross the Line damagingvpeople Abilities, now im stuck in a broken down rental unable to qualify nice home Like I had. Very Disturbing, add me to your “Class Action” list.
I just saw that Cox did this to me as well however, I have had a Cox account since 2008 – when we moved here from out of State – that I could have understood BUT that is not what they did. They pulled mine in February 2019 – all I did was move my SAME EXACT SERVICE to a new apartment. I HAD NOT MISSED A PAYMENT WITH COX. Nope, what I DID NOTICE in February 2019 was that the $200.00 DEPOSIT “REQUIREMENT” that Cox made us put down when we moved here in 2008 HAD NEVER BEEN GIVEN BACK TO US AS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN. So I questioned why and demanded they refund me that deposit from 11 YEARS PRIOR (in 2008 when they made us pay that, we were told that after living here for a year we would get it back) THIS IS WHY I TOOK MY ACCOUNT OFF OF AUTOPAY – so that I make myself look at each bill and even though NOTHING has changed from my end – I still catch errors from them or rate hikes they hit us with out of the blue and for no added benefit.
PLEASE ADD ME TOO – is there any chance that you could get them to pay me INTEREST for holding onto my money for 11 YEARS?
I just saw that Cox did this to me as well however, I have had a Cox account since 2008 – when we moved here from out of State – that I could have understood BUT that is not what they did. They pulled mine in February 2019 – all I did was move my SAME EXACT SERVICE to a new apartment. I HAD NOT MISSED A PAYMENT WITH COX. Nope, what I DID NOTICE in February 2019 was that the $200.00 DEPOSIT “REQUIREMENT” that Cox made us put down when we moved here in 2008 HAD NEVER BEEN GIVEN BACK TO US AS IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN. So I questioned why and demanded they refund me that deposit from 11 YEARS PRIOR (in 2008 when they made us pay that, we were told that after living here for a year we would get it back) THIS IS WHY I TOOK MY ACCOUNT OFF OF AUTOPAY – so that I make myself look at each bill and even though NOTHING has changed from my end – I still catch errors from them or rate hikes they hit us with out of the blue and for no added benefit.
P.S. PLEASE ADD ME TO THE CLASS ACTION and is there any chance that you could get them to pay me INTEREST for holding my money for 11 YEARS?
They did it to me as well. No disclosure. I was told l needed a deposit for the equipment to get started. Didn’t notice it on my report until today 6.14.2021but looks like it was ran through equifax. Add me to that list because they had no right!
Please add me to the list. I show a HARD inquiry on my credit report as well!
They cold called me at home and on my cell to get me back as a customer. I told them to mail me the information and I would look at it later. One week later, I get a letter from Cox telling me they are going to charge me a deposit for services requested, since they couldn’t get my credit report. First, I never requested service. Second, this is why my credit report is locked down. In order to help prevent identity theft and FRAUD. Cox suckers!
Yes seems very Shifty Im struggling all that money to them & only have One Station , makes one very STRESSED , worried, are they just “Losing it?” Going Ballistic & being totally unethical, ny credit damaged too &had paid them 5 years worth, they are disorganized never disclosed You get No Phone just Landline! So there many trips yet to do for handicap senior Lady ! just trying to find a working phone? they will Lose their Class action case Too many RIP-Offs!
they are difficult to respond just always a TACTIC” your hung up on or put on HOLD no one comes back , the “chat” is just computer NONSENSE…