California Credit Law Blog

Debt collector Rickenbacker Collections, Morgan Hill, California, collects debts for auto towing companies. Nothing wrong with that except Rickenbacker sometimes targets persons who do not owe the debt. When that happens and the person protests, Rickenbacker does not go away. Instead, at least in some cases Rickenbacker's debt collectors keep harassing the innocent individuals.

Once Rickenbacker thinks it has the debtor's identity, it obtains a copy of the person's credit report from Experian which it has no right to do without there having been a debtor-creditor relationship. The Experian report gives Rickenbacker information on where he lives and how to contact the person. Rickenbacker also reports the debt on the innocent person's Experian credit report thereby damaging that person's credit.

Person victimized by Rickenbacker and Experian may wish to contact KABOB to discuss their legal rights against these companies.

Experian just announced that it will no longer allow public access to FICO scores based on its credit reports, as Public Citizen's blog reported February 16 and the New York Times reported earlier. The other two credit reporting agencies, Equifax and Trans Union, will continue to allow the public to view their FICO scores.

Experian's decision could have disturbing consequences. Because Experian will continue to sell FICO scores to lenders and creditors based on its data, those lenders may base decisions on factors that consumers can no longer see.

Particularly if you are thinking about applying for major credit, you should check your Experian credit report periodically to be sure there are no errors. That way, you should have no surprises, even if you can't view the Experian FICO score that your lender can access.

All consumers remain entitled to a free copy of their credit report, once a year, from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Those reports maybe requested through this Web site .