FTC File a Complaint
https://www.ftc.gov/media/71268
CFPB “Tell Your Story”
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/your-story/
Last week we reported on Oral Arguments that took place in Tanethia Holden and Mark Mayer v. Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Case 6:19-cv-02373-CEM-EJK at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Jacksonville, Florida. Two similar lawsuits have been filed against Westgate Resorts. Plaintiffs accuse Developers of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
During the Holiday Inn lawsuit Oral Arguments, an attorney from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) spoke for five minutes on behalf of Holiday Inn timeshare consumers. Timeshare consumers who feel they experienced unfair and deceptive practices should file complaints with the FTC and “Tell Your Story” to the CFPB, following the links provided above.
The two Westgate Resorts lawsuits are listed below with excerpts from the McCullers v. Westgate lawsuit.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA Luis Lopez, Plaintiff, v. Westgate Resorts, Ltd; Equifax Information Services, LLC; and Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Defendants. CIV-23-561-R, filed June 26, 2023
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CHRISTOPHER MCCULLERS, Plaintiff, v. WESTGATE RESORTS, LTD.; and EXPERIAN INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC. Defendants. Case No.: 8:23-cv-1845, filed September 29, 2023
Complaint for Damages: Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
During the course of repayment of the Account, Plaintiff satisfied the Account in full with Warranty Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Affidavit, and processing fee to release the Plaintiff from foreclosure reporting and contractual obligation with respect to the Account.
In spite of receiving the full benefit of payment in full on the Account, and releasing Plaintiff from liability on the Account, Defendant Westgate continued, erroneously, to report a foreclosure status and balance due on the Account to Experian.
The false information regarding the Account appearing on Plaintiff’s consumer reports harms the Plaintiff because it does not accurately depict Plaintiff’s credit history and creditworthiness and overstates credit utilization.
Equifax and TransUnion deleted the erroneous information associated with the Account.
Upon information and belief Experian forwarded Plaintiff’s Experian Dispute to Defendant Westgate. Upon information and belief, Westgate received notification of Plaintiff’s Experian Dispute from Experian. Upon information and belief, Westgate verified the erroneous information associated with the Account to Experian.
Westgate failed to conduct an investigation, contact Plaintiff, contact third parties, or review underlying account information with respect to the disputed information and the accuracy of the Account. Experian did not conduct an investigation, contact Plaintiff, contact third parties, or review underlying account information with respect to the disputed information and the accuracy of the Account. Upon information and belief, Westgate failed to instruct Experian to remove the false information regarding the Account reporting on Plaintiff’s consumer reports. Experian employed an investigation process that was not reasonable and did not remove the false information regarding the Account identified in Plaintiff’s Experian Dispute.
At no point after receiving the Experian Dispute did Westgate or Experian communicate with Plaintiff to determine the veracity and extent of Plaintiff’s Experian Dispute. Experian relied on their own judgment and the information provided to them by Westgate rather than grant credence to the information provided by Plaintiff. The Plaintiff was denied credit and/or refrained from needed credit applications due to the erroneous information associated with the Account.
Related Articles
Holden vs. Holiday Inn Club Vacation
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra explains in a lecture about companies “too big to fail/too big to jail” and “pay to play” strategies
AIT has always recommended any complaint regarding timeshare, no matter how trivial you may think it is, should always be filed with the appropriate consumer protection authorities. Companies and products get flagged only when a significant rise in similar complaints becomes evident, those tasked with consumer protection cannot do anything if they don’t know there is a problem. Your complaints matter.
It has been a very weird couple of weeks, apologies to those who have emailed or messaged questions if you have not had a full reply yet, we will get one to you shortly. Travel plans don’t always go the way you hoped, spanners do tend to get thrust into the works and delays are inevitable, much to the annoyance of Baby Dog. Apparently, he was misbehaving and sulking while I was away, well, I do spoil him, so he went mental when I walked in. Have a good weekend.
