Transunion Law Suit! $75 Million

stivo75 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:20:35 +0000

LEGAL NOTICE
A settlement worth at least $75 million has been reached with Trans
Union LLC and Acxiom Corporation (“Defendants”) in a class action
lawsuit that claims the Defendants violated state laws and the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (“FCRA”) when they sold lists containing personal and
financial consumer information to third parties for marketing purposes.
The settlement does not mean the Defendants violated any laws or did
anything wrong. The Defendants deny any claims of wrongdoing in
this case.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
will have a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the
settlement, so that benefits can be issued. Those included in the class
action, together called a “Class,” may object to the settlement or ask to
speak at the hearing. Eligible Class members may also sign up for credit
monitoring or other benefits from the settlement. For more information,
including a detailed notice, go to www.ListClassAction.com or call,
toll-free, 1-866-416-3470.
WHO’S INCLUDED?
The Court decided that the Class includes all consumers who had
an open credit account or an open line of credit from a credit grantor
(including, for instance automobile loans, bank credit cards, department
store credit cards, other retail store credit cards, finance company loans,
mortgage loans, and student loans) located in the United States anytime
from January 1, 1987 to May 28, 2008.
WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?
The settlement will: (1) establish a $75 million Settlement Fund; (2)
give Class members the option of selecting six or nine months of credit
monitoring services; (3) donate $150,000 to non-profit organizations;
(4) pay for settlements or judgments for damage claims related to
lawsuits brought individually by Class members against the Defen-
dants; (5) pay class counsels’ attorneys’ fees and their expenses; (6) pay
the costs of notice and administering the settlement; and (7) distribute
any money remaining (after deducting the costs for everything listed
above) in the Settlement Fund to Class members who register for a
payment or to non-profit organizations.
The six months of credit monitoring services (which retails for
$59.75) include: (1) the ability to lock your credit report so third
parties, such as lenders or other companies, will not be able to access
your credit report without your consent (unless allowed by law); (2)
unlimited daily access to your Trans Union credit report and credit
score; and (3) credit monitoring with a 24-hour email credit notifica-
tion service. The nine months of enhanced credit monitoring services
(which retails for $115.50) includes all the services listed above, plus
a suite of insurance scores and a mortgage simulator service. If you
get the enhanced credit monitoring you will not be able to get a payment
from the settlement or start an individual lawsuit. More details on all
of the settlement benefits are available in the Settlement Agreement
which can be obtained at www.ListClassAction.com or by calling,
toll-free, 1-866-416-3470.
HOW DO YOU ASK FOR BENEFITS?
To receive credit monitoring from the settlement you must go to
www.ListClassAction.com and register by September 24, 2008. If
you register, you will have six months after the Court grants final
approval to the settlement and all appeals are resolved to activate your
credit monitoring benefit. You may also register at the website or by
mail until September 24, 2008, to receive a possible cash payment.
YOUR OTHER RIGHTS.
Whether or not you seek any benefits being offered as part of this
settlement, all Class members will not be able to participate in a class
action or join multiple plaintiffs in a single action. You may object to
the settlement by August 22, 2008. The detailed notice explains how
to object. Your options for benefits provided by the settlement are as
follow:
• File an individual lawsuit against Defendant(s) for claims
related to target marketing and prescreening: You can also sign
up for six months of credit monitoring.
• Sign up for six months of credit monitoring services: You can
also register to receive a possible cash payment in the event of a cash
distribution or file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.
• Sign up for nine months of enhanced credit monitoring services:
You will not receive any further benefits, including a cash payment, and
you will not be able to file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.
• Register to receive a possible cash payment: You can also sign
up for six months of credit monitoring; however if you receive a cash
payment, you cannot file an individual lawsuit against the Defendants.
• Do Nothing: You won’t get any benefits. You will keep your right
to sue the Defendants individually (see the detailed notice and Settlement
Agreement for more information).
The Court will hold a hearing in this case on September 10, 2008,
at Courtroom 1703, Everett McKinley Dirksen Building, 219 S.
Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60604, to consider whether to approve the
settlement, and set a date to consider a request by Class Counsel for
attorneys’ fees of up to 25% of the Settlement Fund, and reimbursement
of costs and expenses. Class Counsel will also request a payment of
up to $3,750 for each of the Class Representatives who helped the
lawyers on behalf of the whole Class. Class members may ask to appear
and speak at the hearing at their own cost, but they don’t have to. For
more information, call, toll-free, 1-866-416-3470 or go to the website
shown below.
If you had a credit card, loan or
credit account, you could get benefits
from a class action settlement.
www.ListClassAction.com 1-866-416-3470
Para una notificación en Español, llamar o visitar nuestro website.
In re Trans Union Corp. Privacy Litigation, Case No. 00-CV-4729, MDL Docket No. 1350,
U.S. Dist. Ct., N. Dist. Illinois, Eastern Division, Judge Robert W. Gettleman

Credit Repair: Hello & Don’t get “Suckered”!!

stivo75 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:06:14 +0000

Let me start by saying thanks for checking out this blog - the first blog on this site! We will offer at least 2 blogs a month or every other Wednesday (bi-weekly) to give you information on what’s going on in the world of Financing, Real Estate, Credit Repair, laws, and many other important issues.

The credit repair process is a tedious one that can often handcuff a consumer. I like to state that a consumer challenging items on his/her credit report is the same as taking a knife to a gunfight. Restoring your own credit is like repairing your own transmission in your car or representing yourself in court. It is possible, but you have to be willing to invest the time to learn the process, assume the risks of inexperience and realize that it will probably take you longer and you will be less effective than our professional legal team. The consumer just doesn’t have the legal savvy or experience to handle the bureaus or creditors when it comes to challenging derogatory items from a credit report and having them deleted.

Another item I want to discuss today is: Don’t Get Suckered! There are a lot of, what we call, “Mom & Pop” shops claiming to clean up your credit without legal representation. These shops are often working outside of the Law! The very first thing you should ask any credit restoration company is, “Do I get Legal Representation?” Of course, with us, you get a vigorous and aggressive legal team (Attorney, case manager, paralegal) who will be working on your behalf. Often times, these “Mom & Pop” shops have items removed and later put back on your credit bureaus! This doesn’t happen with us at the National Society of Credit Restoration. Watch Out!

Beware of the Non-Profit Organizations out there as well. These companies claim to give out a 30 point guaranteed improvement to at least ONE of the three credit reports. I want all of you to ask anyone in a finance department or a loan officer on how they look at credit scores. These professionals will tell you that they look at a MIDDLE SCORE. The middle score of a credit report is just that, your middle score between Transunion, Experian, and Equifax. One small improvement to one score doesn’t really do you much good. Here at the National Society of Credit Restoration, we repair ALL 3 credit reports with an average increase of 127 points!

Finally, don’t pay for expensive software that claims to give you all the secrets of credit repair and at the same time, has YOU doing all of the legwork! There is a gentlemen out there that offers his “software” for thousands of dollars and it supposedly gives you the “know how” on the process of contacting the creditors and removing items. You get no attorney and you also get to do all the work! Yeah! Let us do the work for you.

-Steven Simonovich