Pennsylvania Complaint Against Credit Plus, Inc., Capital One Bank for Reporting Paid Account as Unpaid

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

 

JANE DOE,              Plaintiffs,   v.   CREDIT PLUS,  INC. and CAPITAL ONE BANK , N.A.             Defendants.

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Civil Action No.

 COMPLAINT

1. This is an action for damages brought by an individual consumer against Defendants for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq., as amended.

Jurisdiction and Venue

1. Jurisdiction of this Court arises under 15 U.S.C. § 1681p and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331.
2. Venue lies properly in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

PARTIES

1. Plaintiff  is an adult individual who resides in Baltimore, Maryland.
2. Defendant Credit Plus, Inc. is a consumer reporting agency and reseller of credit information that regularly conducts business in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and which has a principal place of business located at 31550 Winterplace Parkway, Salisbury, MD  21804.
3. Defendant Capital One Bank (USA) N.A. (hereafter “Capital One”) is a business entity that regularly conducts business in Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and which has a principle place of business located at 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102.

Factual Allegations

1. Defendants have been reporting derogatory and inaccurate statements and information relating to Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s credit history to third parties (hereafter the “inaccurate information”).
2. The inaccurate information includes, but is not limited to, reporting a Capital One account on Plaintiff’s credit reports purporting to be unpaid.
3. The inaccurate information negatively reflects upon the Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s credit repayment history, Plaintiff’s financial responsibility as a debtor and Plaintiff’s credit worthiness.  The inaccurate information consists of accounts and/or tradelines which misrepresents the payment history and/or status of accounts.
4. Defendant Credit Plus has been reporting the inaccurate information through the issuance of false and inaccurate credit information and consumer credit reports that they have disseminated to various persons and credit grantors, both known and unknown.
5. Plaintiff has disputed the inaccurate information with by written and oral  communications to Credit Plus which was forwarded to Capital One’s representatives and by following Credit Plus’ established procedures for disputing consumer credit information.
6. Plaintiff has disputed the inaccurate information with Credit Plus from September 2011 through the present.
7. Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s efforts, Credit Plus has sent Plaintiff correspondence indicating its intent to continue publishing the inaccurate information and Credit Plus continues to publish and disseminate such inaccurate information to other third parties, persons, entities and credit grantors.  Credit Plus has repeatedly published and disseminated consumer reports to such third parties from at least September 2011 through the present.
8. Despite Plaintiff’s efforts, both Credit Plus and Capital One  failed to conduct timely and reasonable investigations and/or reinvestigation of Plaintiff’s disputes after being contacted by Plaintiff and/or the relevant consumer reporting agency concerning Plaintiff’s disputes which includes but not limited to a telephone communication between Plaintiff, Credit Plus and Capital One where Capital One’s representative openly acknowledged that the account at issue was reporting erroneously as unpaid yet advised Plaintiff that neither Credit Plus nor Capital One intended to take any action to delete, modify or otherwise correct the manner in which the account is reporting and have willfully continued to report such inaccurate information to various credit reporting agencies, and has failed to mark the above accounts as disputed.
9. Despite Plaintiff’s exhaustive efforts to date Defendants have nonetheless deliberately, willfully, intentionally, recklessly and negligently repeatedly failed to perform reasonable reinvestigations of the above disputes as required by the FCRA, have failed to remove the inaccurate information, have failed to report on the results of its reinvestigations to all credit reporting agencies, have failed to note the disputed status of the inaccurate information and have continued to report the derogatory inaccurate information about the Plaintiff.
10. As a result of Defendants’ conduct, Plaintiff has suffered actual damages in the form of (a) lost credit opportunities, (b) harm to credit reputation and credit score and (c) emotional distress.
11. At all times pertinent hereto, Defendants were acting by and through their agents, servants and/or employees who were acting within the course and scope of their agency or employment, and under the direct supervision and control of the Defendants herein.
12. At all times pertinent hereto, the conduct of the Defendants, as well as that of its agents, servants and/or employees, was malicious, intentional, willful, reckless, and in grossly negligent disregard for federal and state laws and the rights of the Plaintiff herein.

First Claim for Relief – CREDIT PLUS

VIOLATIONS OF THE FCRA

1. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as though the same were set forth at length herein.
2. At all times pertinent hereto, Credit Plus was a “person” and “consumer reporting agency”  and “reseller” as those terms are defined by 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681a(b), (f)  and (u).
3. At all times pertinent hereto, Plaintiff was a “consumer” as that term is defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(c).
4. At all times pertinent hereto, the above-mentioned credit reports were “consumer reports” as that term is defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d).
5. Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1681n and 15 U.S.C. §1681o, Credit Plus is liable to the Plaintiff for willfully and negligently failing to comply with the requirements imposed on a consumer reporting agency of information pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681e and 1681i.
6. The conduct of Credit Plus was a direct and proximate cause, as well as a substantial factor, in bringing about the serious injuries, actual damages and harm to the Plaintiff that are outlined more fully above and, as a result, Defendants are liable to the Plaintiff for the full amount of statutory, actual and punitive damages, along with the attorneys’ fees and the costs of litigation, as well as such further relief, as may be permitted by law.

Second Claim for Relief – Capital One

VIOLATIONS OF THE FCRA

1. Plaintiff incorporates the foregoing paragraphs as though the same were set forth at length herein.
2. At all times pertinent hereto, Defendant Capital was a “person” as that term is defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(b).
3. Capital One violated sections 1681n and 1681o of the FCRA by willfully and negligently failing to comply with the requirements imposed on furnishers of information pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §1681s-2(b).
4. Capital One’s conduct was a direct and proximate cause, as well as a substantial factor, in causing the serious injuries, damages and harm to the Plaintiff that are outlined more fully above, and as a result Capital One is liable to compensate Plaintiff for the full amount of statutory, actual and punitive damages, along with attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as such other relief, permitted by law.

Jury Trial Demand

1. Plaintiff demands trial by jury.

 Prayer for Relief

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff seeks judgment in Plaintiff’s favor and damages against the Defendant, based on the following requested relief:

1. Actual damages;
2. Statutory damages;
3. Punitive damages;
4.  Costs and reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o; and
5. Such other and further relief as may be necessary, just and proper.

 

Respectfully submitted,

FRANCIS & MAILMAN, P.C.

BY:        /s/ Mark D. Mailman                        

MARK D. MAILMAN

GREGORY GORSKI

Land Title Building, 19^th Floor

100 South Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA 19110

(215) 735-8600

Attorneys for Plaintiff