Suits Amended to Claim TRW Broke Law
A Newport Beach lawyer amended a pair of class-action lawsuits Tuesday against TRW Inc. and the nation’s other two leading credit bureaus, alleging that the companies violated state laws aimed at making it easy for consumers to obtain their credit reports and to fix errors.
Gregory Sullivan filed the two companion suits in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of a former Orange County resident who alleges that he was the victim of credit bureau mistakes.
One suit deals with William A. Schultz’s difficulties in obtaining copies of his credit reports at the Orange County offices maintained by TRW Inc. of Cleveland, Trans Union Corp. of Chicago and Equifax Inc. of Atlanta. The other lawsuit alleges that the three major credit bureaus, which each maintain about 150 million computerized credit files on individuals, refused to make corrections in his report.
Sullivan’s action comes a month after the attorneys general of California and eight other states filed their own lawsuit against TRW, claiming that its Credit Data Division based in Orange is violating federal laws by failing to correct errors in consumers’ credit reports and by selling their names to junk mail outfits. In addition, New York filed a separate suit.
Sullivan said he originally filed the Schultz cases in June as class-action suits because he has received similar calls from consumers complaining about their treatment by the credit bureaus. “It sounds like a broken record,” he said. “They don’t care about the average consumer.”
TRW spokeswoman Susan Murdy said the company has a policy of not commenting on specific individuals and that the lawsuits had not yet been reviewed. She added, however, that “TRW complies fully with the state and federal laws and we have no reason to believe this particular consumer was treated in a manner inconsistent with our own policy.”
The suits allege that TRW failed to provide Schultz, now a Riverside County resident, with a decoded copy of his credit report when he made a visit to the company in June. They also say that TRW provided him with an inadequately worded form that did not make him aware of his right to ask that his name and address not be sold to junk mail operations. In addition, according to the suits, TRW tried to dissuade consumers from obtaining credit reports in person by posting a sign that read, “All requested credit reports will be mailed within 24 hours.”
The suits allege that each instance violates California laws regarding credit bureaus and that Schultz encountered similar problems when he went to the Trans Union office in Fullerton and the Equifax office in Brea.
TRW’s Murdy said that her company tries to keep consumers informed about their rights and gives them information to explain its computerized credit reports, which use numbers, letters and symbols to explain credit histories.
“Consumers who come to our office not only obtain a written copy, but also obtain a brochure that explains how to read it, what their rights are, (and) that they can opt off any direct marketing list,” Murdy said.
She said that TRW’s Orange office is open specifically to handle consumers who walk in without appointments. In an average workday, the office handles 150 to 200 requests for credit reports.
Obtaining a Credit Report
To request information about obtaining a copy of your TRW credit report, write or call:
TRW Inc.
P.O. Box 749029
Dallas, Tex. 75374
(714) 991-6000
