An Eastern District of Pennsylvania court found that, if a consumer reporting agency (CRA) fails to initiate a reinvestigation in response to a consumer disputing the accuracy of information in his file, then the CRA can be found liable under section 1681i, even if the disputed information was accurate. In the case of Norman v. Trans Union, LLC, a home security company made a call to a consumer and asked to obtain his credit report. Despite his refusal to grant permission, the company pulled one from Trans Union anyway, resulting in a “regular inquiry” and reducing his credit score. He sued on behalf of a putative class when Trans Union declined to remove the record from his file. The CRA argued that its refusal to reinvestigate the consumer’s dispute did not violate any duty imposed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) because his file accurately noted the home security company’s inquiry.
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