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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’ve never even heard of this company until I saw them on my credit report, now I can’t get anyone there to help me. I filed a dispute on my credit report but cox communications told them it was a valid pull. I’ve tried calling their fraud hotline but it took them over a week to call me back then left a message because I missed the call saying the person handling my claim will be on vacation for another week. Tried calling ‘customer service’ and they wouldn’t help, asked for a supervisor and they transferred me to yet another voicemail. I’m at a loss here on what to do now.
Cox got me today ..they checked my score with out me knowing.
They ran mine without my permission. Said I would have to subpoena them in court when I asked to hear the recording were the guy said he was gonna run back credit.
I didn’t even contact Cox communications but found a hard inquiry on my credit report on 7/20/18. I didn’t even know Cox communication before they pull a hard inquiry! I filed a dispute on Equifax but they told me it’s a factual inquiry. I know it’s factual cuz it’s done already. But it’s unauthorized! How can they run my credit report without even contacting me for my personal information!
Add me to the list please.
Add me to the list. I wouldnt have signed up had i known it was a hard pull. So dumb.
I just received a notification from My Fico regarding a unauthorized hard pull on my credit report. On Thursday the 29th I called cox communication inquiring about a $89 package deal they had on cable, internet and phone. During the call I gave them my address and birth date but when I was asked for my social, red flags started going off, so I asked if there would be a hard pull on my credit report, the representative said yes and I quickly said “no thank you” and ended the call. How where they able to pull my credit without giving them my social and consent to have credit pulled? I’ve been very diligent in keeping credit clean, so to have Cox run my credit unauthorized is very upsetting. How can I be apart of this lawsuit?
Add me too please. Hard hit with no authorization to do so. Apologies from Cox but still on my report. Ugh.
When i contacted Cox to inquire about services, i noticed that i had two hard inquires from Cox show up on my Credit report. I was pissed. I called Cox’s and they said One was for Cable and One was for Internet… Who the hell does that….. That lowers your Credit score!! Mine you, I have an excellent credit score, but no one told me that they were running my credit twice until i saw that on my credit report. I get notified when anyone runs my credit … That should be against the law.
Why would he give Cox his SSN to inquire about services?
I didn’t give cox my social and some how they ran it..weird?
Same here.
Please add me hard inquiry have been to….
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
I’d like to find out how to be added to this as well please. I have a “hard inquiry” from cox that also lowered my credit score!
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
Please add my name to the list.
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!