A current class action settlement that involves the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) might qualify a class of debtors to receive financial damages. Primary plaintiffs Robert Pastor, Regina Florence, William Florence III, and Scott Van Horn filed the class action lawsuit against Bank of America. According to the allegations made in the class action lawsuit by the lead plaintiffs, Bank of America pulled the credit reports of numerous debtors after the debtors closed accounts. Bank of America allegedly pulled the credit reports, without asking the debtors for permission.
The acts committed by Bank of America violated the FCRA asserted the primary plaintiffs in the filing of the class action lawsuit. Plaintiffs have claimed pulled credit reports do not fall within the limited number of “permissible purposes” mandated by the FCRA. Bank of America allegedly claimed one of the permissible purposes listed in the FCRA involves requesting a periodic review of a current debtor’s credit history, which is also referred to as a soft inquiry. However, the bank requested the credit report review after a bankruptcy court had discharged the debts, which gave Bank of America no permissible purpose to seek the credit report.
Both parties agreed to the Bank of American FCRA class action settlement, which a judge granted preliminary approval in July of 2017. Terms of the class action settlement require Bank of American to set up $1.645 settlement fund. Although Bank of America settled the class action lawsuit, the company continues to deny all of the allegations.
What You Need To Know
According to class counsel, eligible class members “include all persons with a U.S. address whose credit report was obtained by Bank of America or FIA Card Services for an account review inquiry between Aug. 21, 2010 and July 7, 2017, and whose account relationship with the bank was terminated either because the debt on the account had been discharged via bankruptcy, the account was closed with a zero balance, or the account was sold or transferred to a third party.” The potential award depends on the number of valid and timely claims submitted. Class members who did not receive a postcard informing them of the class member status must submit either their Bank of America account number, the date the account closed at a zero balance, the date a third party bought or transferred the account, or the date of the debt discharge in bankruptcy court.
The deadline for submitting a valid claim form is November 14, 2017. The judge presiding over the case Pastor, et al. v. Bank of America, NA, Case No. 3:15-cv-03831-VC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has scheduled the final hearing on January 11, 2018. To learn what happened at the final hearing, visit the class action settlement website www.pastorBANAFCRAsettlement.com.
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