DirecTV Class Action Challenges Undisclosed ‘Hard’ Credit Checks

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A class action lawsuit alleging that DirecTV violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by running “hard” credit checks on customers and even others without their knowledge was filed in California federal court.

Lead plaintiff, Jon Wulf Amadeus Adler, alleges in his class action lawsuit that the television service not only runs credit checks on customers, but also on those who have not even contacted the company about purchasing TV packages.

Adler says that the credit checks run “routinely and systematically” by DirecTV negatively affect credit reports and are done without consumers’ consent or knowledge.

The plaintiff claims that he noticed several “hard” pulls on his credit report stemming from DirecTV. He says that his credit score was negatively affected by the unpermitted credit pulls from the company. Additionally, he says that he and other potential Class Members hadn’t had any interest or made any inquiry into DirecTV services.

“After noticing the unauthorized hard pulls from defendant and that these pulls would negatively affect credit scores, plaintiff and the proposed class members were shocked, embarrassed and felt a sense of personal and identity insecurity due to defendants’ willful conduct,” alleges the DirecTV class action lawsuit.

The plaintiff says that when he contacted DirecTV to remove the credit pulls, he became aware that the company knew it was making these damaging hard pulls on individuals’ credit scores without consumers’ consent or knowledge.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits companies from pulling individuals’ credit scores without a legitimate purpose. Companies can ask for credit reports in an effort to advertise credit to qualified consumers, but these pulls are considered “soft” and do not affect credit scores.

The DirecTV class action lawsuit alleges that DirecTV has instead been pulling “hard” credit scores. Hard credit scores give creditors a reason to deny the extension of a loan or credit and have a negative affect on a person’s credit score. Negative reports on a person’s credit score can make it more expensive for them to obtain everything from a home or car loan, get a job offer, or even rent an apartment.

“Defendants, without permission, conducted hard credit pulls … on plaintiff and proposed class members’ credit histories, without any authorization, prior relationship or interactions initiated by plaintiff or proposed class members, which necessarily adversely affected their credit scores,” alleges the DirecTV class action lawsuit. “Defendants’ misleading and arbitrary conduct violates both federal and California law.”

Adler seeks to represent a nationwide Class of those who were subject to a hard credit inquiry by DirecTV within the past five years. The plaintiff says that DirecTV’s action violates the FCRA as well as California law.

The plaintiff is seeking statutory and punitive damages, as well as a court order stopping DirecTV from making hard credit pulls.

Adler is represented by Eric B. Kingsley, Kelsey M. Szamet and Arthur N. Four of Kingsley & Kingsley APC.

The DirecTV Hard Credit Pull Class Action Lawsuit is Jon Wulf Amadeus Adler v. DirecTV LLC, et al., Case No. 2:18-­cv-­01665, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.