Legal recourse for Dell error?

No, this isnt about their laptops or delays.

Dell called me on 8/1 to tell me about my delay to 8/28. While on the phone, the rep said I could modify my order and change to black and get it faster. She said she would transfer me to order modification.

So the phone rings, and I get an automated system, which asks me for my social security number, and street address, which I provided, thinking they were doing the same identity validation they had done every other time.

But then, after a pause, I hear "Dell blah blah financial will send you a letter indicating why we were not able to extend credit to you at this time"

Dell, without notifying me, and without my authorization, ran a "hard" credit check on me. Now, I have been paying thousands of dollars over the past two years to clean up my credit and raise my score, and every "hard" credit check that is run -lowers- my score.

Sure enough, today I get an email from my credit-monitoring service - Dell's unauthorized credit check lwoered my credit rating. That is exactly why I refuse to allow credit checks to be done on my account.

The long delay is bad enough, but that's just annoying. What dell did here was just plain illegal, and damaging to me financially.

Are there any lawyers or legal types here that can offer me advice on what to do? Do I contact Experian and tell them the credit check was unauthorized? Do I contact Dell and have -them- contact Experian?

Dell's mistake could end up costing me tens of thousands of dollars in loan points.

Any advice would be helpful.

 

Well two things here, one - it was an honest mistake and the rep mistakenly transfered you to the wrong extension. As for legal recourse? You have got to be kidding me...

As you seem to have some bad experience with credit, I think you understand that there is nothing you can do. The best thing I can say, is red flags should of gone off in your head when being asked for your social security number. You are trying to modify your order, which one has nothing to do with your SSN and two - they don't have it on file, so they have nothing to check it against.

Having your credit score lowered by 8 points isn't damaging, and regardless of even if it lowered it by 100 points you have no legal recourse. In one way or another you provided authorization to Dell to run this, and that's it.

 

I'm no attorney but my credit is beyond porked. So I buy everything with cash. FYI anytime a company ask for your SSN to complete a financial transaction they use that to run a credit check 100%. I would not have done that based on the info you stated especially if you are trying to rebuild your credit.

I could be wrong but Dell is just trying to make sure you qualified for the transaction and that's why they asked for your SSN#. I would have hung up period. I'm no attorney but I don't see what they did was wrong.

 

You're in luck. Before I joined NotebookReview.com I was employed by Experian.

You don't have to immediately jump to taking legal action ... although that is your right. Just keep in mind that taking legal action at this point will just cost you money in terms of legal fees and add to the amount of time it takes to get the problem fixed.

Thanks to the FCRA and FACT Act you have many legal rights which are protected by all three of the major US credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and under federal regulation. I'll get to those details in a second.

First, if you haven't already, contact Dell. Let them know what happened and that you want the inquiry removed immediately. They are obligated to contact Experian (and/or any other credit bureau they checked with) to remove the inquiry if you didn't intentionally apply for credit.

Next, contact Experian and dispute the inquiry. Explain the same thing that you did here, that you received an automated call from Dell after making a purchase and that you gave your information without being told this was an application for credit. Dell then has 30 days to either prove that you knew you were applying for credit or the inquiry must be removed as if it never happened.

Again, pay close attention to that last sentence. If you were informed that you were applying for credit then Dell has the legal right under both the FCRA and FACT Act to have the inquiry reported on your credit file.

I don't know your specific situation, but many times people end up with legitimate hard inquiries on their credit file without realizing it. For example, if I go to the Dell website to purchase a Dell Inspiron 1501 and click on the button that offers payments "as low as $15 a month" that is actually a request for a line of credit from Dell. In order to qualify for those $15/month payments Dell has the legal right to pull my credit file (a hard inquiry).

So, if you told a Dell sales rep over the phone that you wanted to have extended payments or if you clicked on an extended payment option on the Dell website that is legally considered you giving your permission to have your credit checked.

One last thing, I know you're upset, but 8 points on a FICO or similar credit score is not the end of the world. On any given day your FICO score varies MORE than 8 points between all three credit bureaus ... this is because "the" FICO score is actually multiple FICO score models which are formulated by each of the three bureaus working independently with the Fair Isaac corporation (the company that "owns" the various FICO score models).

So for example, right now my Experian FICO score could be 728, my TransUnion EMPIRICA score (their version of FICO) could be 715, and my Equifax Beacon score (their version of FICO) could be 731.

Tomorrow, without me taking any action of any kind, my scores could go up or down 5 points.

 

Wow. Thank you Jerry. This is exactly the sort of information I was hoping for.

This wasnt my actual FICO score, but my Experian Score. My Fico score was actually "Non Existant" until recently, until I got my first actual credit card last month.

Yeah, I realize the variance in the reporting agencies. I get all three reported and there is a difference.

So thank you for your info. I've emailed dell. This is the email I sent, below. It is somewhat terse, because it was in the "brief explanation of your problem" customer service form thing.

I had zero idea they would run a credit check, nor would I want them to. I had already had my debit card in use for my order, and wasnt looking for any sort of credit. I just wanted to change my 1520's color from blue to black (later changed my mind after talking to another rep) and was under the impression that they were just verifying my identity for the 10th time.

Hopefully, this will all get cleared up. Every point helps.

Thanks again for the help.

 

I dont want a lawsuit. I wanted legal recourse - basically, I wanted to know the legal path to correcting the error. Not a lawsuit to force them to pay me anything. Jerry has given me the information I need.

 

I'm just glad to help any way I can. That email you sent to Dell should get the process started but don't be surprised if you have to call and speak to a customer service manager or supervisor to get this problem resolved. These type of credit inquiry removals usually have to be escalated before anyone does anything about it.

You also have a better chance of getting it taken care of quickly if you hound Dell at least once a week within the first month of the erroneous inquiry.

If no one at Dell promises to have the inquiry removed immediately after your second communication with Dell I would recommend contacting Experian and disputing the inquiry. You can do it over the phone at 1 888 EXPERIAN (1 888 397 3742) or online at:

http://www.experian.com/disputes2/index.html

To file a dispute online you usually need the report number (which Dell legally has to mail to you) with the reason you where declined credit.

I'm not sure if this email is still open but before I left Experian there was also a general email address for Experian's National Consumer Assistance Center (NCAC) at:

[email protected]

If that general NCAC email still works that's also a good way to get immediate help disputing an erroneous inquiry.

 

Good luck filing a dispute with any credit reporting agency. First you have to get a copy of your credit report, which is like pulling teeth if you expect it for free. Second, you have to find a way to dispute it, which can be easy with some companies and IMPOSSIBLE with others. My Equifax and TransUnion credit reports are managed by some outside company called Consumer Credit Services. I have a fraudulent collections on my credit report that plummets my score from 760 (on my Experian report, which is NOT reporting the collections) to 650 (on my Equifax report, which is reporting it). Even though the collections is not reported on my TransUnion report, because CSC handles my credit with both companies, they add the collections to my TransUnion report. This has cost me in interest, in denials for credit, etc. I have tried repeatedly to dispute the charges both by phone and online without success, and I am now 45 days from the mailing date of a letter of dispute with no action taken on my credit report, not even marking the account as disputed. CSC is saying they did not receive the letter I mailed on June 17th until July 15th.

Basically, credit is a racket, and YMMV in trying to get something removed from your report. I really wouldn't count on it.

 

You have to be kidding right? This is so retarded that I almost puked. Good luck trying to sue dell, It would be like seeing pigs fly.

 

really though, if your beacon score isint over 650 your going to have a hard time getting credit from chartered banks

 

Ditto....

I agree with peter740...

Time to read up on how credit scores work......

Ignorance is no excuse.

Take the time to figure it out things work now before you really need credit (e.g. house).

Here is a start...

http://money.howstuffworks.com/credit-score.htm

The bottom line:
Take SOME responsibility for YOUR OWN actions......

BTW, many states provide the ability to obtain your FREE credit report yearly....

You should start looking into it now before you end up on an infomercial

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.shtm

-LQ

 

yea totally right on with this. You should have been listening to what questions the auto-system was asking you. why on gods green earth would they need your social for order mod? credit scores are over rated anyways, dont buy into it. just keep paying your bills, and never get delinquent accounts on file, thats it.

something shoulda gone off in your head though, for sure

 

Thread should be made a sticky for future people in your situation to have this understanding

 

peter740, you post was a bit bizzare, since I had already stated I had no desire to sue, but was just looking for the proper channels to fix it. Im assuming you just didnt finish reading before posting.

laptopquestions2007, your post was especially moronic - I dont think there is much more to say about that.

Anyway, the problem has been taken care of. Thanks again JerryJ.

 

After having my identity verified 10 to 12 times by variors reps and agents, and having been just told that I was being transferred to "order modification", I didnt think twice. Should I have? Maybe. Are you being a bit of a twit for rubbing that in? Yeah.


I think you can tell who the helpful people are in this forum, and who the "I just want to say something snarky and not at all helpful" people are. Lol.

But I guess I deserve it. I do the same sometimes

 

BTW, it was JerryJ not JerryK.....

If you think that that this Dell incident is the end of the world, you really need to get a bigger picture...

-LQ

 

Yeah. It is a racket. It is a long process to repair. Ive always sent letters via certified mail for exactly the reasons you describe. Ive had a few situations like youve described and they are indeed a hassle to oevrcome.

 

Look, no one needs to puke, no one needs to be melodramatic, and no one needs to think this is the end of the world. It was a problem that came up, and was rectified thanks to some helpful people.

 

kgeier82 - Sorry for calling you a twit. I guess I do feel pretty stupid for not instantly realizing something was different.

 

One thing you should know is that dings to your credit from credit inquiries do not last for very long and after a matter of months they go away. So unless you actually plan to apply for credit of some sort in the near future, this shouldn't actually make any long term difference in your credit rating. (I'm 95% this information is true, I used to regularly pull people's credit for a loan company)

 

Im moving to Italy in three months. I'll be needing to buy a new car, needing to rent a new home, etc. It took 6 months for my score to rise 20 pts. Thats why I was annoyed at losing 8 of them this way. But I guess the consensus is that I overreacted, and maybe I did. I was just upset, and felt stupid.

 

Lesson learned and you move on...

That is what life is about right

-LQ