Duplicate Debt Reporting Errors

What is a Duplicate Debt and How Does it Affect My Credit? 

There are two types of duplicate debt reporting that could be affecting your Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion credit report. 

The first is the easiest to explain, but from our experience, is not as common.

The first type of duplicate debt reporting occurs when a creditor simply reports a single account two or more times to a credit reporting agency and the credit reporting agency fails to prevent the account from reporting more than once. This type of duplicate debt reporting could cause consumers to be left to deal with multiple negative accounts on their credit reports when only one account should be reporting. This reporting error causes damages to consumers as it can negatively affect their debt to income ratio. Due to the fact the debt is reported twice, many credit scoring formulas will then count the debt twice in their calculations. This could damage a consumer’s buying power and credit score. 

The other type of duplicate debt reporting occurs when the original creditor sells their debt to a debt collector or debt buyer. While both the original creditor and the debt collector are allowed to report the account in this scenario, only the debt buyer or debt collector should typically continue reporting the account balance. This means the original creditor and the debt buyer cannot report the same balance due at the same time.

A more complicated scenario arises where the creditor reports the balance on the consumer’s Experian credit report, but the debt collector reports the balance on the consumer’s Equifax or TransUnion credit report. This would still be a credit reporting error because both the creditor and the debt collector are relaying to third parties that you, the consumer, owe them a balance on the same account. The third parties viewing this inaccurate credit reporting could be auto lending entities, credit card companies, or mortgage officers. 

If you believe your credit has been affected by duplicate debt reporting errors, then you should speak with an experienced lawyer to learn what legal options may be available to you. Many consumers do not realize they might be entitled to compensation for this type of credit reporting error under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). 

At Raburn Kaufman, our experienced credit reporting attorneys know how to handle duplicate debt reporting cases and are just one call away! We are looking forward to your free consultation to help you come up with a plan on how to handle your credit reporting errors.

Contact Raburn Kaufman to Help Litigate Your Credit Reporting Inaccuracies Under the FCRA

At Raburn Kaufman, we focus our practice on litigating credit reporting errors and mistakes. Our attorneys have nearly 25 years of combined legal experience helping consumers like you, and our staff is ready to set up your free consultation. Please call 877-662-2455, fill out one of our convenient intake forms on this website, or email us at info@raburnkaufman.com to get started.