Experian Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Company Illegally Reported Medical Debt Incurred by Children

Experian Medical Debt Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A Louisiana woman is suing the credit reporting agency Experian.
• Why: She says the company wrongly reported that she was obligated to her parents’ medical debt, a debt incurred when she was a child and incapable of making a contract.
• Where: The class action lawsuit seeks to represent other Louisiana residents.

Credit reporting giant Experian wrongly reported that a Louisiana woman has a medical debt, when that debt was incurred by her parents when she was just a child, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff McKay Crews filed the class action complaint against Experian Information Solutions, Inc. on Dec. 22 in a California federal court, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Crews alleges that Experian has been listing on her credit report that she owes $392 on a medical debt that was reported to it by Paramount Recovery Systems.

However, Crews says Experian knows she was born in 1999, so should also have known she was a child when that debt was incurred. 

“Because the plaintiff was a minor at the time that this medical debt was incurred, plaintiff lacked the capacity to contract or be obligated on this debt,” the lawsuit stated.

“Instead, Experian continues to report this debt – incurred by the plaintiff’s parents while the Plaintiff was still a minor – on the plaintiff’s credit report.”

Experian Lacks ‘Adequate Policies’ To Prevent Minors From Having Debt Show Up on Credit Report, Class Action Alleges

Crews says Experian does this because it does not have adequate policies and procedures in place to ensure that it prevents the reporting of debts incurred while a consumer was still a minor and legally incapable of entering into contracts. 

“In fact, Experian does not take a consumer’s date of birth into account at all, when determining whether to report a specific account on a consumer’s credit report,” Crews said in the lawsuit.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting companies like Experian are required to have procedures in place to ensure maximum possible accuracy, and a significant portion of the information they report should be accurate. 

Crews says, compounding the inaccuracies in its report, Experian has failed to develop an effective system to allow consumers to remove inaccurate information from their reports.

She’s looking to represent anyone living in Louisiana for whom Experian compiled a credit report containing a balance incurred as a result of medical services provided while that person was a minor, in the last two years.

She’s seeking damages, an injunction, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Last year, Experian agreed to a $5 million settlement with those who alleged  the credit bureau included significant errors on consumer credit reports. Allegedly, Experian had allowed a deceptive and illegal loan scheme to impact consumer credit scores.

The plaintiff is represented by Jonathan A. Stieglitz of the Law Offices of Jonathan A. Stieglitz, Esq.

The Experian Minor Incorrect Credit Report Class Action Lawsuit is McKay Crews et al., v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., Case No. 8:21-cv-02103 in the U.S. District Court District of California Southern Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Identity Theft Credit Damage or Inaccuracies Recovery Lawsuit Investigation
• TD Bank Reaches Settlement With Data Aggregator Accused of Trademark Infringement
• Final Approval Given For $28 Million Settlement Between Wells Fargo, Customers Who Claim They Were Recorded Without Consent
• How Many Credit Card Numbers Is It Legal to Print on a Receipt?