Minn. Customer Sues Verizon, Credit Agencies Over Inaccurate Reports
Verizon agreed to accept $165 to fully resolve a billing dispute with a customer, but it continued to report to credit reporting agencies that he owed the carrier money, said plaintiff Jerry Wakeman of Anoka County, Minnesota, in a Fair…
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Credit Reporting Act lawsuit (docket 0:23-cv-02520) removed Wednesday from Minnesota's 10th Judicial District Court to U.S. District Court for Minnesota. Wakeman sent disputes to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to correct the Verizon reports, but defendants “did nothing other than verify Verizon’s previously reported information,” the complaint said. Wakeman lost his mobile phone in 2021, and though he had insurance, it took Verizon three months to issue him a new device, said the complaint. Once he received a new phone, Verizon had difficulty setting it up with Wakeman’s existing contract, then canceled his contract, it said, leaving Wakeman responsible for “hundreds of dollars in charges.” Wakeman and Verizon agreed he would pay $165 to settle the disputed amount, and the customer paid $165 to Verizon on Nov. 2, 2021, it said. Despite the payment, Verizon reported on Wakeman’s credit reports that he was past due for $164. The credit reporting agencies responded to his disputes by continuing to report a false balance owed to Verizon, and Verizon added a $29.61 “collection fee,” said the complaint. Wakeman seeks actual, statutory and punitive damages, plus attorneys’ fees and costs.