Yopu never know

[CreditBum]

Just to show you how unfair and ignorant the system is, a few years ago my X wife worked for a company that had access to credit reports. I couldn't figure why my credit score kept going down. I found out she was checking me several times a month to see if my income changed to see if she could go to court to get the child support raised.

I reported it and received no response as they said that her company had a right to run credit checks. So much for fairness, I can't wait till the legislator jumps in and starts to regulate this credit industry.

I wonder if they delete this message. My lawyer is standing by my side watching me, so maybe.....

[haulingthescoreup]

Why on earth would we delete this message? You're certainly not the first member to have had an ex-something (wife, husband, mother-in-law, GF, you name it) deliberately screw them over by illegally accessing their credit reports. You must not have read very many posts, or you (and your attorney) would realize that we're very pro-consumer around here.

I hope you sue her a$$ off, and win.

And by the way, we sorta enjoy being the positive credit information forum. I hope that when you can get past your understandable bitterness, you'll join in the fun.

[Anonymous]

Don't bother suing her - SUE her company at $1K for each PULL

FCRA is very clear about Permissable Purpose.

[llecs]

How would she find out if your income changed via your CR? Payment habits?

[Anonymous]

Never underestimate the Ex.

[Lel]

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@CreditBum wrote:

Just to show you how unfair and ignorant the system is, a few years ago my X wife worked for a company that had access to credit reports. I couldn't figure why my credit score kept going down. I found out she was checking me several times a month to see if my income changed to see if she could go to court to get the child support raised.

I reported it and received no response as they said that her company had a right to run credit checks. So much for fairness, I can't wait till the legislator jumps in and starts to regulate this credit industry.

I wonder if they delete this message. My lawyer is standing by my side watching me, so maybe.....

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Can you place an extended fraud alert on your credit file with all 3 agencies? I would think that unauthorized checking of your credit report falls into the fraud category. With an extended fraud alert, no one would be able to get access to your credit report without your verbal or written consent.

Unfortunately, if you ex knows all the information that they would ask to to verify your identity, then you may be out of luck....

And I agree - a crime has been committed (repeatedly). Someone should pay.

[RobertEG]

Wow!  Wow!  and more WOW!  I hope your attorney is reading all of this, for the now-X had NO permissable right, whatsoever, even though your spouse at the time, to pull your full credit report!  Clear violation of the FCRA!!!!  Unless your permission was granted, the best they could do is a soft pull, limiting their access to only name, address in order to do an unsolicited offer of credit.  They cannot get a full CR without your PERSONAL permission (I just hope that you have never executed a full power of attorney to her, which would appear to be her only legal way out).

Dig out the FCRA.  It is not ambiguous.

And, as prior posts have said, she cannot receive any income data from any CRA, for they simply do not obtain any such data, period.

Also, you are not "out of luck" simply because she may have had enough personal information in order to pull your report.  That is still fraud, for she could only use that information by purporting that she was you at the time of the request.  If you have fear of further persistent of such actions, placing a lock would not appear to matter, for if enough information is provided to show that the inquiree is you, then it wont matter.

I wish I was a member of the bar in your state!

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-08-2008 12:32 AM

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-08-2008 12:36 AM

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-08-2008 12:39 AM

[RobertEG]

CreditBum, get them to put in writing ther oral assertion that "they have the right to pull your CR without your permission!"  You will instantly see their legal staff spring into panic mode, and I can guarantee you that you will NEVER get any such letter from them!

Dont fault the legislators for failing to regulate such practices.  They already have.  It is called the Fair Credit Reporting Act  (FCRA).  Your recourse now is the courts.

[Lel]

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@RobertEG wrote:

Also, you are not "out of luck" simply because she may have had enough personal information in order to pull your report. That is still fraud, for she could only use that information by purporting that she was you at the time of the request. If you have fear of further persistent of such actions, placing a lock would not appear to matter, for if enough information is provided to show that the inquiree is you, then it wont matter.

That's my point exactly - a fraud alert won't do the OP any good if his ex knows the answers to all the questions that would be used to verify identity. In that sense alone, he's "out of luck."

But still, if he is able to prove that it was his ex who was pulling the credit reports, then he should pursue criminal and civil penalties against her.

It's curious, though, as you've noted - the credit report contains absolutely nothing about income. How many times does the OP's ex have to pull his credit to figure that out? Maybe she was looking for balance changes to indicate different spending habits that would point to a higher income.

Hell has no fury like a woman scorned.

[marty56]

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CreditBum wrote:

I reported it and received no response as they said that her company had a right to run credit checks.

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I am a little suprised that you would get a response like that from her company since it hardly likely to me that they would knowingly allow an employee to improperly use access to you credit report for fear of lawsuite.

I would also get the name of the person who made that statement to you and either pass it speak to a supervisor and add that person to your lawsuit.

My case he/she/it would fold when threatened with a lawsuit.