TransUnion, Experian Class Actions Say Civil Judgment Info ‘Woefully Deficient’

Trans Union LLC and Experian Information Solutions Inc. have each been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing them of failing to obtain up-to-date information about civil judgments because they rely on third-party vendors rather than getting the information directly from the courts.

Plaintiff Rebecca Anne Peters filed the class action lawsuits against the credit reporting agencies on Friday in Alabama federal court. She claims that TransUnion and Experian failed to report that she had paid a civil judgment, an omission she says violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Peters alleges TransUnion and Experian obtain consumer information regarding federal bankruptcies, civil judgments and tax liens from private businesses that provide this type of information to credit reporting agencies.

Even though TransUnion and Experian obtain their information from these third-party vendors, they continue to list the names of courthouses and other government offices as the source of the public records information, according to the credit reporting class action lawsuits.

The information provided by third-party vendors is not as up-to-date or detailed as the information provided by the courts and government offices, Peters alleges. As a result, it becomes increasingly possible that the payments consumers make on civil judgments will not be recorded.

“Defendant’s practices and procedures regarding the reporting of civil judgment information, specifically its failure to report the most up-to-date status of paid or satisfied civil judgments, causes widespread harm to Alabama consumers,” the TransUnion and Experian class action lawsuits allege.

Peters claims that, in 2016 and 2017, TransUnion and Experian delivered consumer reports about her to various entities, which used the information to evaluate her creditworthiness. She says that the credit reporting agencies failed to update their records about a judgment that was deemed fully satisfied in September 2016.

The judgment had been entered against Peters in 2011 in the amount of $5,207.51, and she paid the judgment in full in August 2016, the TransUnion and Experian class action lawsuits allege.

In June, Peters says she requested a copy of her credit report from TransUnion and Experian, both of which allegedly reported that she had an outstanding civil judgment in the amount of $5,207. She says this civil judgment information was “woefully deficient” and that her credit score was hurt as a result.

Peters has filed the TransUnion and Experian class action lawsuits on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of consumers who had a civil judgment recorded in Alabama that appeared on a TransUnion and/or Experian consumer report within the last five years, and the Alabama public record indicated the civil judgment had been paid or satisfied prior to the date of the consumer report.

She seeks actual, statutory and punitive damages; pre- and post-judgment interest; attorneys’ fees and costs; and other relief the court deems proper.

Peters is represented by Micah S. Adkins of the Adkins Firm PC and James A. Francis and John Soumilas of Francis & Mailman PC.

The TransUnion Class Action Lawsuit is Rebecca Anne Peters v. Trans Union LLC, Case No. 2:17-cv-01273, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The Experian Class Action Lawsuit is Peters v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-01270, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.