Can I sue landlord and collection agency?

[towjam]

I declared Chapter 7 in 2008 and it was discharged in April of 2009. I am just now getting around to looking at my credit reports etc. I owned a small business and the final rent payment was included in the bankruptcy. I just received my credit report and the landlord sent this to collections on 5/2009. I month after discharge and it was last updated on my credit report 06/2010. Is that legal? I have read that there is no permissible reason for them to access my credit report and I can sue them for $1000.00. Any advice would be appreciated.

[chane]

I think it depends on when he sent it to collections. I mean, just because it's reporting a month or 2 later, doesn't mean he didn't send it in before.

If he send it to collections after your BK, I'm pretty sure that would be a violation, because he is trying to collect on it after it was discharged.

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what you can do about it. My advice would just be to dispute any "questionable" negatives (any negative could be considered questionable) and take it from there. If that collection doesn't come off, you may want to check with a lawyer to see what else can be done.

[towjam]

Thanks for the reply. The date place for collection was 05/2009. On my Trans Union CR it says the date updated as 06/2010. It seems that means they had no purpose to view my credit report. I am contacting an attorney just to be sure.

[chane]

Permissible purpose, if I'm not mistaken, only has to do with inquiries. They are not "viewing" your report. They are simply reporting your credit history with them.

[towjam]

I'm not sure. I do know that it was put into collections 1 month after my discharge date of 04/2009 and last updated on all 3 credit reports 06/2010. I also was looking through my Experian report and noticed a different company, progressive financial made an inquiry into my credit on 07/06/2010. I have no clue who they are.

[chane]

Well, there are several methods that you can use to remove it. The best way is to dispute it with the CRAs reporting it. Or you can hire one of the credit repair companies to handle the disputes for you.

If you want to do it yourself, make sure you read as much as you can on this forum because disputing it the wrong way will ensure that it will stay on for 7 years. Start here:

Basic Step by Step Beginner's Guide to Credit Repair

[towjam]

I actually decided it was best to contact an attorney who specializes in these matters. After talking to his P.L for 5 mins she said I have a case and I am meeting with him on Friday. Thanks for all your help and I'll let you know what I find out.

[chane]

Awesome! Let us know how it works out!