Legal advice - credit rating, consumer protection, etc.

[rubecube]

Hey gang, I was wondering if any of the lawyers on CP would have any expertise in this matter or could point me in the direction of someone who does. I've had a company I do business now twice make clerical errors on my account and then send a collections agency after me to deal with an erroneous overdue account balance. This has subsequently had an effect on my credit rating and actually caused me to be declined for a personal line a of credit the first time it happened. I'm wondering two things:

1) Do I have any legal recourse here?
2) Is there a government agency that I can file a complaint with?

If you don't feel comfortable answering in the thread or need more info, feel free to PM me. Thanks in advance.

[iggy_oi]

I would contact the Better Business Bureau, they might not be able to do much themselves but they can probably point you in the right direction

[troutman]

In BC:

https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/...dit-reporting/

If your credit report shows the wrong personal information, or has incorrect details of your debt, here’s what to do:

Step 1: If there is an error for the amount owing, contact the original creditor to try and make the correction.
Step 2: Contact the reporting agency, either TransUnion or Equifax, to ask that they fix the error.
Step 3: You have the option to enter a 100-word statement on your credit report to explain the error. Contact the reporting agency directly to submit your statement. This is included every time your credit report is accessed.
Step 4: If you have tried the above steps, and you have concerns about the accuracy of your personal information on your credit report, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC) may be able to assist.
Make a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by troutman

In BC:

https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/...dit-reporting/

If your credit report shows the wrong personal information, or has incorrect details of your debt, here’s what to do:

Step 1: If there is an error for the amount owing, contact the original creditor to try and make the correction.
Step 2: Contact the reporting agency, either TransUnion or Equifax, to ask that they fix the error.
Step 3: You have the option to enter a 100-word statement on your credit report to explain the error. Contact the reporting agency directly to submit your statement. This is included every time your credit report is accessed.
Step 4: If you have tried the above steps, and you have concerns about the accuracy of your personal information on your credit report, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC) may be able to assist.
Make a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Thanks. I guess I'm also of the belief that company in question should face some consequences for what they've done. Is there any way to make this happen?

[troutman]

Maybe OIPC can tell you if there is a complaint/consequence process. A litigation lawyer could tell you if you have a civil claim for damages through some tort like negligence/economic interference. What are your damages?

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by troutman

Maybe OIPC can tell you if there is a complaint/consequence process. A litigation lawyer could tell you if you have a civil claim for damages through some tort like negligence/economic interference. What are your damages?

Yeah that's the issue. Not really sure how to prove damages in this instance.

[Kjesse]

EDIT: n/m this is BC as troutman pointed out. I had set out the Alberta regulation and that while you could get the province to step in they probably wouldn't because of resources.

Here is a snippet of my prior comment:

You could sue in small claims court. The damages are questionable as you'd need an expert to project the amount of damage occasioned to you by the false credit report. The damage is, the value of the loss of credit you've experienced, or/and the increased cost of credit and the financial implications in the future. That's hard to nail down. But you have the benefit of needing to prove it on the balance of probabilities, not to the level of certainty. Its probably a lot of work for a small amount of money which is why this happens regularly-- there are few consequences to those who make false reports.

EDIT 2: There would also be reputation type damages but they wouldn't be a lot in Canada, that's just off-the-cuff information however.

[MillerTime GFG]

Has the creditor/company admitted it was their fault? If you can get them to write a letter stating that, the institution you’re looking to get the LOC with should make an exception if the rest of your credit is clean.

You can also then take that letter to Equifax/TransUnion to see if they can do anything.