Question 1

What is the SOL?

Accepted Answer

Two years from discovery of the violation, max five years from the violation itself (15 U.S.C. § 1681p, post-FACT Act). Discovery rule means the clock starts when you knew or should have known about the violation — not when the inaccurate report first appeared. But the 5-year hard cap applies regardless of discovery.

Question 2

CRA vs furnisher — who do I sue?

Accepted Answer

Both, where applicable. CRAs (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) are liable under § 1681e(b) for failing to follow reasonable procedures and under § 1681i for failing to reinvestigate. Furnishers (the creditor or collector that originally reported the bad info) are liable under § 1681s-2(b) for failing to investigate after notice from the CRA. Furnisher claims REQUIRE a prior CRA dispute — you can't go straight to the furnisher with a private right of action.

Question 3

How much can I actually win?

Accepted Answer

WILLFUL violations under § 1681n: actual damages OR statutory $100-$1,000 PER VIOLATION (no per-action cap unlike FDCPA), plus punitive (no cap), plus costs and reasonable fees in a successful action (§ 1681n(a)(3)). NEGLIGENT under § 1681o: actual damages, plus costs and reasonable fees in a successful action (§ 1681o(a)(2)), and no statutory damages at all. Class actions can recover the same per-class-member statutory amounts. Punitive awards in serious cases routinely run into 6-7 figures (Sloane v. Equifax, Cushman v. Trans Union are classic examples).

Question 4

How do I prove "willful"?

Accepted Answer

Safeco v. Burr (2007) is the controlling Supreme Court case: 'willful' means knowing OR reckless disregard of FCRA duties. Reckless disregard requires showing the defendant's interpretation of the FCRA was 'objectively unreasonable.' Repeat offenses by the same defendant are the strongest evidence — if a CRA verifies the same disputed item three times in a row using the same flawed e-OSCAR pipeline, that's reckless disregard.

Question 5

Do I need to dispute first?

Accepted Answer

For § 1681s-2(b) furnisher claims: YES. The private right of action only exists AFTER you dispute with a CRA AND the CRA forwards the dispute to the furnisher AND the furnisher fails to reasonably investigate. For § 1681e(b) and § 1681i CRA claims: § 1681i is dispute-triggered (you must have disputed with the CRA); § 1681e(b) is NOT dispute-triggered but a dispute trail strengthens the case enormously.

Question 6

What about state credit-reporting acts?

Accepted Answer

Many states have parallel acts — California CCRAA, Massachusetts Chapter 93A, Maine and Vermont have stricter rules than federal FCRA. Sue under state law alongside FCRA in federal court via supplemental jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1367). California's CCRAA in particular allows broader remedies and longer SOLs.

The FCRA private right of action.

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FCRA dispute letter — free

The FCRA private right of action.

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FCRA dispute letter — free