The Case: Consumer (Class Action) vs. Major Retail Bank
The Issue: A leading U. S. retail bank has a practice of accessing and reviewing consumer credit reports associated with signators on deposit accounts. Attorneys for the class of individuals whose reports were so pulled claim the access caused damage to the credit of those individuals due to the recording of inquiries and the scoring of inquiries on subsequent credit reports. Is there really such “damage” to a credit score, and is there likely to be similar damage (if any) experienced by all individuals in the class?
Our Approach: We outlined, in a written report, the role of inquiries in consumer credit reporting and how they differ from other elements of a credit report that are commonly reported to all three U. S. credit agencies. We illustrated how the presence of an incremental inquiry may or may not adversely impact a credit score, and how the level of impact, if there is one, may vary individual to individual. An expert report was developed, and opposing expert reports were critiqued. The reports were the subject of depositions completing our contribution to the case.
