A District Court judge in Michigan has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss after it was sued for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act because it allegedly failed to adequately investigate and report on a dispute that had been filed by the plaintiff, but ultimately how the data is reported is the responsibility of the credit reporting agency, not the furnisher.
A copy of the ruling in the case of Rider v. Equifax Information Services, University of Detroit Mercy, and Michigan First Credit Union can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff obtained a copy of her credit report and noted a tradeline on it that indicated she had a $151 monthly payment that was being made to the credit union. She filed a dispute with Equifax about the tradeline, which notified the credit union. But the plaintiff never received a response from either party. Months later, the plaintiff looked at her credit report and the tradeline was still there, not showing a $0 monthly payment.
In looking at other cases filed against the credit union, the judge asked the plaintiff to submit the credit reports referenced in her complaint. The first credit report, which shows the $151 monthly payment also included the following notations: “Balance Amount $0,” “Date Closed 06/2015,” and “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION — Closed or Paid Account/Zero Balance.” The second credit report said: “Monthly Payment $151” and “Payment Status Current.” But it also included: “Account Status Closed,” “Closed Date Jun 01, 2015,” and “Balance $0.”
Who could be misled by either report, asked Judge Laurie Michelson of the District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division? Likely nobody. But even if someone could be misled, the credit union has no control over how the information in a credit report is compiled and displayed, Judge Michelson noted. It is “not reasonable to infer that in response to Rider’s dispute, Michigan First did an inadequate investigation or failed to accurately report the results of its investigation to the credit reporting agency,” she wrote in granting the credit union’s motion to dismiss.
