Sample Credit Inquiry Complaint Letter

The following letter is suitable for complaining about inquiries made on your credit report. Businesses and individuals are not allowed to “pull” your credit without a “legally permissible purpose.” A permissible purpose generally requires your authorization. This letter serves two purposes. First, it may get an inquiry removed from your credit report. Second, it can serve as evidence that you notified a business of an improper or illegal inquiry before bringing suit for the offending inquiry.

May 7, 2011

LEXISNEXIS BUSINESS SER

2885 BRECKINRIDGE BLVD STE 200

DULUTH GA 30096

Re: Unauthorized Credit Inquiry, Experian, 09/23/10

To Whom It May Concern:

I am preparing this letter to build an evidentiary record in connection with a civil suit that I am preparing against your organization. In the event you object to the presentation of this evidence in a court proceeding, please notify me of your objections.

I recently received a copy of my above-referenced credit report(s). The credit report(s) show “hard” credit inquiries (on the above-referenced date(s)) by your company that I do not recall authorizing.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, §§ 616 and 617 makes clear that you are not allowed to make an inquiry on my file unless I have authorized it. The FTC’s “Greenblatt Opinion Letter,” which can be found here and discusses the application of §§ 616 and 617 to the fact herein, https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advisory-opinions/advisory-opinion-greenblatt-10-27-98, dictates that,

“Any person who procures a consumer report under false pretenses, or knowingly without a permissible purpose, is liable for $1000 or actual damages (whichever is greater) to both the consumer and to the consumer reporting agency from which the report is procured.”

Your action constitutes a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and is illegal and injurious to my credit rating.

In the alternative, present me with documentation showing that I have authorized this inquiry. Otherwise, I insist that you immediately contact the above-referenced credit bureau to remove this inquiry from my credit report.

Michael David

thundercow