When Credit Bureaus Break the Law: Here’s How to Make Them Pay

They almost never know that you can actually sue the bureaus. And as I like to call it, a win-win-win situation. And so what that means is these credit repair businesses can actually receive a referral fee for referring their clients to us, and the clients can actually receive some damages. And of course, we get paid by the bad guys. So as I said, it's a win-win-win situation.

Hey, Credit Heroes! Credit bureaus make billions of dollars every year and they spend as little effort as possible actually investigating your disputes. But here's what they don't want you to know: when they fail to do their job, the law gives you the power to sue them. Our guest today works directly with credit repair businesses, helping you spot when a case goes beyond a dispute letter and should turn into a lawsuit. And when that happens, your client could get a cash settlement, you look like a hero, and yes, you can get paid too. So you better stick around.

My name is Daniel Rosen, and welcome to Credit Repair Business Secrets.

Okay, if you're new here, welcome. I'm Daniel Rosen. I'm the founder of Credit Repair Cloud, which is the software that most credit repair businesses in America run on. And every week I show you how to change lives with credit repair. So hit subscribe and let's get into this. The best credit heroes don't just send letters. They actually know when something has crossed the line and becomes a legal case. And that's exactly where our guest today comes in. He's part of a firm that has helped over 78,000 people fix credit report errors. And here's what's wild. They have never lost a legitimate case. And today he's going to show you how to spot these cases so your clients can get paid and so can you. So please welcome to the podcast Ian McGillivray. Hey, Ian. Hey, Daniel.

Hey, Keenan, how are you guys today?

We're doing awesome. Thanks so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

This is going to be great. But before we dive into all your strategies and expert tips, we want to know more about you. Where'd you grow up and where are you now?

So, Daniel, I actually grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. Yes, I am a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan, and I am located now here in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's a little warm out here. Compared to Kansas City.

Very cool. And what do you like most about working with credit repair businesses?

Yes, I like solving issues. That is the number one thing. And as you just aforementioned, when those potential FCRA violations don't get corrected, that's where we step in to assist.

Now, I know you've talked to thousands of credit repair businesses about FCRA violations, but what's one thing they almost never know?

They almost never know that you can actually sue the bureaus. And as I like to call it, a win-win-win situation. And so what that means is these credit repair businesses can actually receive a referral fee for referring their clients to us, and the clients can actually receive some damages. And of course, we get paid by the bad guys. So as I said, it's a win-win-win situation.

That's awesome. And the Credit Hero becomes a real hero to their client.

Definitely. Yeah.

Sounds really good. Okay, so let's talk about McCarthy Law. What is your firm's focus and what all types of cases do you take on?

Yes, Daniel. So our motto is we fight for the little guy and we live up to that every single day. What we primarily focus on is we focus on Fair Credit Reporting Act violations. That's our bread and butter, and that's what we look at day in and day out.

So when it comes to FCR violations specifically, which ones does McCarthy Law actually take to litigation?

So we actually have about a list of 10 different items that we will review during this podcast. But one of the top ones that we see is a balance due on a settled or paid account when that client has paid that auto loan, for example, off. But that is still reporting a balance on their credit report. It's not only affecting that client's creditworthiness, it's also lowering their score. So that is one item that we typically see on a regular basis.

Okay. Well, before we get into your presentation, can you tell us about your affiliate program? What is it and why is it important for Credit Heroes?

Most definitely. So as we previously mentioned, you can actually receive a referral fee for referring your clients that do have potential FCRA violations. The best part about this is you receive that referral fee. And so that referral fee is in the amount of $400 for when a, a client is accepted by McCarthy Law, and B, a case is filed. The wonderful and most beautiful part about our program is those credit repair organizations do not need to wait months on end to receive their referral fee. Once that case has been filed, we send that referral fee check on the 15th of the following month.

Awesome. Okay, well, Ian, let's get into the good stuff. Can you please walk our audience through the exact credit report errors that lead to lawsuits and how our credit heroes can start referring clients to you.

Awesome. So thank you, Daniel. So what we're going to review here today is we're going to discuss a little bit about our McCarthy Law litigation support and referral fee programs for credit repair organizations. So what does that mean? And who is McCarthy Law? McCarthy Law, our motto is we fight for the little guy. We've been established since 2010, and we've actually assisted over 150,000 clients nationwide. The absolute best part is there is no out-of-pocket cost. Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation on behalf of consumers. So what is the referral fee? Let's just jump right into the most important part, the referral fee. For every client that reaches litigation, that credit repair organization will receive $400. That client must be approved and a case must be filed. The following month after that case has been filed, on the 15th, a referral check is cut and mailed to that credit repair organization. As you can see here, at 100 referrals at $400 per referral fee, that's $40,000 in revenue. Oh my gosh. And so why do CROs love working with McCarthy Law? We solve difficult problems, complex credit cases. It's what we do day in and day out. We break glass in the case of emergency. If that client has had something on there that is a potential FCRA violation, if you spent months and dispute round after round trying to get removed, that's where McCarthy Law comes in. We help with those difficult clients. Previously mentioned our referral fee program with quick payouts the month after that case has been filed, and it is easy to use. We provide an affiliate portal for our affiliates to refer their clients over, and we also review the reports. So here's a brief overview of 5 of our top credit report errors. First being a balance reporting after account was settled or paid. Second, duplicate reporting where both tradelines report a balance. Third, debt reporting after bankruptcy discharge. The fourth, a balance reporting after 1099-C forgiveness. We typically see that a lot around this time during tax season. And fifth, a short sale or deed in lieu reporting as a foreclosure. But we will sue on any factual error that impacts a consumer's credit score or creditworthiness. So Daniel, here's a brief overview of our client journey. As we can see on the far left-hand side, that is the error identification. That is something that the credit repair organizations identify. They find a potential FCRA violation and they go ahead and they go through that dispute round. Now, once that credit repair organizations take a look at that updated report, and they see that that potential FCRA violation is still reporting, that is a prime opportunity to refer them over to McCarthy Law. Now, the client outreach portion. Please make sure you talk to your clients and let them know that you are referring them over to McCarthy Law. There's always the runaround sometimes when somebody gets a call from a law firm that they were not aware of. Sometimes it can scare the client. So please, make that transition seamless. We have the handoff. As I previously mentioned, we have an affiliate portal where you put all of the client information, and you will also attach 3 pieces of documentation. The first is the updated credit report showing that that error is still being reported. Second, please send us the original round or the previous round of dispute letters. That helps us get up to speed. And lastly, any supporting documentation pertaining to this potential FCR RA violation. If it's a balance on a settled or paid account, proof of payment and/or settlement documentation. Now, once that handoff has occurred and that information has been submitted through our affiliate portal, within 24 to 48 hours, our paralegal team will review the information and reach out to that client. Now, what we are doing at this moment in time is we're also seeing, are we ready for litigation or do we need to re-dispute? If we're ready for litigation, then that's when we prep everything and file that case. And once again, that's the second condition in order for you as the affiliate to receive your referral fee. And then lastly is the resolution. The client will receive anywhere between $1,000 to $2,500 in damages. And that is the lifespan of the client journey with McCarthy Law. So if you do want further information and you do want to sign up with our affiliate program, please scan this QR code and fill out the form and Best part, it's going to be a familiar voice and a familiar face. I will be the one directly reaching out to each and every one of you. So please go ahead and scan this code and we'll begin from there. So next, Daniel, let's go ahead and break down our top 10 FCRA violations that we take to litigation. So first, I know I introduced myself earlier, but once again, put the name to the face. My name is Ian MacGillivray, and I am the business development representative here at McCarthy Law. Once again, we have assisted over 150,000 clients nationwide. No out-of-pocket cost credit error litigation, and clients can receive between $1,000 to $2,500 in damages. So our mission is to give you confidence that we can help your clients and that your referrals will generate referral fees. So let's dive into the first one. As I've mentioned, Couple of times the credit report shows a balance due on a settled or paid account. The documentation that we would like to see here is a settlement letter, payment confirmation. We could even use bank statements showing the payment, any proof of payment. So here we can see this account. And as we look at this account, we do see that there is a balance in the middle column, and we wouldn't know that this account was paid or settled without speaking to the client. Once we speak to the client, we find out that that client actually received a settlement letter and they have settled this debt. Once again, that balance should not be reporting at this point from the moment that that debt has been settled. So once again, this is a piece of the documentation that we would like to see in order to take it to litigation. Now let's backtrack a little bit at the very first step. And that very first step is the dispute round. Here, are two samples of if the debt has been paid off or if the debt has been settled. This is the language that we use here at McCarthy Law. And the best way to break it down, Daniel Rosen, is I always say it's like explaining it to your grandmother. Make it very simple, easy, and to the point. This comes directly from our McCarthy Law Dispute Letter Handbook. If anybody would like to receive that McCarthy Law Dispute Letter Handbook, please feel free to shoot an email to FCRA@McCarthyLawyer.com. So our second common error is a report shows a balance after the creditor has discharged the debt with a 1099-C. Now, for this, the documentation is pretty limited because we would want to see a copy of that 1099-C. Now, if you talk to your client and they say, hey, I remember getting a 1099-C for this account, well, That balance should not be reporting. It should be reporting a zero balance. In that case, this is an instance of a 1099-C, in this case from Chase, but all creditors can issue a 1099-C. This is the documentation that we would like to see. And once again, jumping all the way back to the beginning of the process, this is once again the language that we would like to see for the dispute process. My credit report is displaying a debt owed to the furnisher in the amount of blank and the account number. This information is inaccurate as the debt was discharged and a 1099 was issued by, once again, the furnisher. See the attached 1099. If there is any confusion, I suggest you contact myself or furnisher's customer service representative. Now, number 3, one that we typically see as well, is a duplicate account on the credit report. As we know, one account should only be reporting. You should not see two accounts of the same accounts being reported on your credit report. Now, for this, there is no required documentation except for the credit report, because that's where that information is found. As we can see here, I promise I did not copy and paste this. This is a duplicate account on somebody's credit report. As we can see, the information is the same. The balance, the date opened, the last reporting date, the date last active, and we had to redact the account numbers, but the account numbers are the same as well. This is a prime example of a duplicate account. And so for this, the dispute language is very simple. My credit report shows a debt owed to Furniture twice when I only have one account with Furniture. I am requesting that you remove one of the duplicate accounts. If you have any questions about this, please contact myself or Furniture to verify. The fourth common error is a debt buyer and original creditor both reporting a balance due. The debt buyer can begin reporting a balance but the original creditor must stop. They can't both report the debt as due at the same time. This is a common question that we get all of the time. If the debt buyer and original creditor are both reporting, that could be a violation as long as they are both reporting a balance. If one's not reporting the balance and the other is, that is not a violation. So here is a prime example where we have the original— excuse me, the original creditor and the debt buyer side by side. We can see the credit union, the original creditor, is reporting a balance of $4,655. As we look at the debt buyer, we also see that they are reporting a balance of $4,655. This is damaging the client's credit. This is a potential FCRA violation. The language that we use for the dispute letter is my credit report shows debts owed to Furniture and to Third Party. These two accounts are the same account. Furniture in the amount of blank, the balance and the account number. And then you will also list the third party name in the amount of, once again, that balance. And that account number. I am requesting that you remove one of the duplicate accounts. If you have any questions about this, please contact myself or furnisher to verify. As we jump into our fifth potential FCRA violation, this is an unknown account on your report. If you have an account on your credit report that you don't recognize, it could be identity theft or someone else's account. Now, the documentation that we require here at McCarthy Law is we require an FTC identity theft affidavit or a police report. This goes down that identity theft rabbit hole and it packs that punch and builds that strong foundation when you do provide this documentation. So here's a prime example. Once again, we would not know that this is an unknown account to the client, or we wouldn't know that it's not the client's account without speaking with that client reviewing the information and them saying, I have no idea. That's not my account. I don't have a Bank of America account. So what is the dispute language for this account? Once again, here is a, uh, a brief example of an FTC identity theft affidavit. This is something that we require here at McCarthy Law. And the dispute letter language is as follows: My credit report is showing an account with Furnisher, I have no knowledge of this account and believe that it is a result of identity theft. I have attached my FTC Identity Theft Affidavit to this dispute. I am requesting that the account be removed from my credit report and that if any of the information in my FTC Identity Theft Affidavit is reporting on my credit report, that you remove that information as well. Number 6, this is a short sale listed as a foreclosure. This isn't typically seen as much, but it is still a potential FCRA violation that we do see. After a short sale, the mortgage account should report as a short sale and not a foreclosure. The documentation that we would like to see is the foreclosure and short sale documents. Here's a brief example of— on that credit report, it's showing the status as foreclosed when it was a short sale. Now we talk with the client to confirm the information. Was this foreclosed or was this a short sale? If it was a short sale, then that client should provide the Deed of Conveyance and/or any information proving that it is not a foreclosure. Now, the dispute language for this potential FCRA violation is as follows: Attached is a page from my credit report showing a foreclosure with Furniture and the account number. This is misleading because the account was resolved through a short sale, not a foreclosure. It should be reported as a settled account, not a foreclosure. Very sweet. To the point and, and very simple. So our 7th top FCRA violation is a debt discharged in bankruptcy reporting a balance due. After bankruptcy discharge, accounts should have a zero balance. The documentation that we would like to see is your bankruptcy discharge. Here is a brief example. Of that information. Once again, it does list the accounts that should be included into that bankruptcy, and the dispute language is as follows: My credit report shows an outstanding balance owed to Furniture, balance and the account number. This account was discharged in bankruptcy. I am requesting that this account be updated to reflect a zero balance. Please contact myself or Furniture to verify, or you can find the discharge from court records. And number 8, an account too old to report. Negative accounts must be removed after 7 years. So here's a brief example of 2 accounts that have been and are negative accounts and have been on there longer than 7 years. These accounts should no longer be reporting. These are just 2 brief examples. Now, the dispute letter language is also as follows. My credit report is showing a debt owed to Furniture in the amount of the balance. The last activity on this account was more than 7 years ago, and so this account should have been removed from my credit report. I am requesting this inaccurate information be removed from my credit report. And number 9, your information is mixed with someone else's information on your report. This happens all the time with juniors, seniors, the third, or many people that have common last names. Only your information should be reporting to your credit report. Now, there isn't an example of that because if you look at a credit report, we can't tell the difference between an account that is not yours versus an account that is. That is something that we must hear from the client. Once again, This information is not mine. This is an unknown account, or my father is Junior and I am the third, etc., etc. These are questions that you can ask your clients to get a deeper understanding. But the dispute language is as follows: My credit report shows many accounts and information that does not belong to me. I believe that my credit file has been mixed with someone else's credit file. I am requesting that my report be updated to only include my information. And lastly, number 10 is authorized users report shows all user activity, not just the authorized user. Only your activity should be reporting to your credit report. Now, the documentation that we would like to see for this potential FCRA violation is the credit reports and possible card statements showing you as the authorized user. And so once again, for the dispute language on this one: my credit report shows account activity on Furniture with the account number that does not correspond to my usage on the account. I am an authorized user on the account and all account activity is being reported on my credit report. I am requesting that my credit report be updated to only include my account activity. Brief overview. What did we take away from all of this? Our dispute letters are simple and direct. There are two requirements that must be on that dispute letter, and that is the name, Social Security number, and date of birth, and identify the account and the issue. Nobody's a mind reader. So if you don't put that account or that issue, they can't assume, and nice-to-haves. These are supporting documentation as they pack a punch with that dispute and plain, plain and simple language. When somebody reads this, like I said, if you gave this to your grandmother and she read this, she could understand what was being disputed. Thank you very much for having me, Daniel and Keenan. Any questions?

That was awesome. That was really, really clear and clean. And very, very easy to understand. I do have a couple questions.

Okay.

To recap, the settlement generally when there's a violation like this is the client could get from $1,000 to $2,500.

That is correct.

That's correct. And just seeing this on the credit report is not reason enough to sue. You have to ask for them to fix it first.

We must have at least one round of disputes in order to take it to litigation. We must give these bureaus the opportunity to correct the information, and then if they don't, that's when we sue them.

Got it. And as we know on our end here, they rarely change anything when you send in the letter. But I guess you got to have the, the paper trail.

Mm-hmm.

What mistakes do credit heroes sometimes make, even with good intentions, that can actually hurt a client's legal case down the road?

Most definitely. The number one thing that I see, Daniel, is not communicating with your client. And what I mean by that is there are many accounts that maybe that client owes an amount. And as, as a credit hero, you're trying to help that client. And so you're going to dispute this account because maybe you think it should be a zero balance. But in most cases, as I like to say, you're poking the bear because if that client does owe that amount, then that, that furnisher is not furnishing the correct information to the bureaus and that those bureaus are not actually putting the correct information on there. And that could negatively impact that client, meaning that client could potentially be sued. For that outstanding debt.

Well, I'll jump in, Daniel. I have a question on when you're advising people to work with their clients to get information, because it sounds like there's, there's a lot— there is some stuff you could spot on the credit report as is, but there's a lot of cases where you look, just looking at the credit report, you're not going to see what the potential issue or violation is. So I'm wondering if there's any recommendations you see of like how you actually would systematically talk to the client and effectively get all this information out that they need to, like what works, what doesn't, to help find the solve for client?

Most definitely. Some, some positives and some things that I've seen work is talking to that client and prior to meeting with them, ask that client to review their report themselves and circle or highlight any items that jump out. Because if any of these items jump out, As the credit hero, you know what these potential FCRA violations are. And like you said, Keenan, you can spot the obvious ones just by looking at the report. But if a client comes to you and says, hey, I saw this Bank of America account on my credit report, I have never had a Bank of America account, then that right there, that light bulb goes off and you think, oh, this could potentially be an unknown account. Or it could be a mixed file, right? And so then you deep dive into the other highlighted or circled items. That is one key piece that I have seen work for many different heroes, and that is having that client before the initial call review their information. If anything jumps out, let me know because I can assist.

Got it. And are there any Besides having the client review, are there any other tactics you see credit repair companies typically run through that really help get like a thorough review of their report and just any others that come to mind?

Most definitely. So one of the biggest ones, and I've mentioned this a few times, and that's a balance due on a settled or paid account. Sometimes, as I like to say, you can triangulate and see that something has been paid or settled. And what I mean by that is one of the bureaus or two of the bureaus are reporting a zero balance and one is reporting a balance. As I said, tread lightly because maybe those two bureaus are reporting the zero incorrectly. But if you look into the remarks, then you can see that this has been settled, or you can see that it has been paid in full. And so those are two interesting ways specifically with that violation. Where you can see that there is definitely something off. Another instance is the original creditor and debt buyer. That one is not something that you necessarily need to talk to the client to confirm, because all of that information is directly there in the credit report. That original creditor is reporting a balance, and that debt buyer is also reporting a balance. Two easy-to-spot violations. That you don't need to necessarily confer with the client regarding.

This being part of people's process too, I would— I'm just, I'm curious if you've ever seen credit repair companies use this in their marketing in some way, or like whether there's obvious benefits here where the CRO is going to make money, the consumer is going to make money. It's a win-win-win, as you said, for kind of all, all sides. But are there other side benefits you've heard in the space, whether it's just the consumer gives amazing reviews afterwards, it makes the credit repair free. Are there people that are doing this, adding this on as a unique service for their business? I'm just curious if you've seen other unique scenarios as how people are adding this on to their business that have really helped.

So, Keenan, I'll answer that. My dad always taught me Be a problem solver, not a problem causer. And so what we really look for is we partner with credit repair organizations to not only solve the problem, to assist in helping them solve the problem. We don't only take things to litigation, we provide education to these credit repair organizations to help them spot these potential FCRA violations. As I mentioned very on early in this podcast, our motto is we fight for the little guy. We do that every single day with every action that we take. And that is the number one thing that I would say is, yes, we get positive reviews and we help other credit repair organizations and heroes get positive reviews from their clients. But the number one thing is we hold the credit bureaus accountable to the mistakes that they have made. And damaging clients' credit. So we solve these issues for countless, countless Americans every single day.

If— and let's say someone has a few clients or they're there, we have people listening to this podcast that are just getting started in this trade. They might just be helping their friends and family, or they might have a thriving business with hundreds, thousands of clients. I'm curious, like, how often are you seeing CROs being able to convert a client into a case that you guys are able to work on? Any numbers you're able to throw out there of kind of typically what you see?

Well, I'll start with number one. It doesn't matter if you have a 750 credit score or a 500 credit score. These potential FCRA violations can potentially be on anybody's report, whether you have one account or 100 accounts. So it doesn't matter how many or your score, but it also doesn't matter necessarily how many clients you have as an organization. Whether you have one or you have zero and you're just starting out and you're trying to find the way to pivot and figure out how to get more clients, more leads, and generate more revenue for your business, or your business is flowing and you've already got a great revenue stream, this is always an added bonus to solve those issues. Now, to directly answer your question on percentage-wise, typically it really just depends on the way that it's reporting, it's really hard to put a number. It's not a coin flip. It's not 50/50. It could be anywhere from 10%, 20%, 30%. So there is a good rate that we do find these potential FCRA violations. But once again, it does not discriminate. Anybody can have these, these potential FCRA violations. And it's just really making sure that we go through the reports we don't miss the potential FCRA violations that are damaging clients' credit. So anywhere between 10 to 30, and it really just depends on the volume size. You know, if you give us— if you're just starting out and you send us your only client, I do not want to give you any promises, any guarantees that that one client is going to have a potential FCRA violation. Now, if you do have 1,000 clients or 10,000 or 100,000 clients, that pool opens up a lot more for more potential FCRA violations and more referral fee opportunity. But doesn't mean that that one client that you do have doesn't have a potential FCRA violation. As I've said, it can be on anybody's report, could be on my report, could be on your report, Keenan, could even be on your report, Daniel. We never know until we look.

Most credit repair people have heard about the FCRA. Hopefully they've read it, but a lot of them don't know what it actually forces credit bureaus to do. In plain language, what is the bureau legally required to do when a consumer disputes something?

They are supposed to investigate the information. Okay, let's start there. Now, I know many people get the stall letters. I'm sure everybody has gotten a stall letter at some point or the verification letter. We have verified this information. As I like to say, that is more fuel to our fire. That packs an even stronger punch when we take it to litigation to sue these bureaus for not reporting this information accurately. The FCRA Act is there so that the information being reported to your credit report is factual and is accurate.

And okay, since it came up about stall letters, Can those be FCRA violations themselves?

Not alone. They, they help form the foundation, but we really need one of these top FCRA violations to build that strong foundation. As I'd say, and legally, it doesn't warrant any damages just receiving a stall letter. The damages are really coming from the lowering of the credit score, the potential denials that people are receiving because of these potential FCRA violations being reported. But a stall letter by itself is not something that we can take to litigation.

But I can see how it could add to the case and strengthen it.

Definitely.

Yeah. Got it.

Got it.

And credit bureaus are supposed to investigate disputes, but what does investigate actually mean? And how do we know when they're, when they're not doing it?

Well, I think we know when they're not doing it, when the information continues to stay on there and we have proof to show that it is inaccurate information. As for speaking on the side of the bureaus and the investigative side, that's not something I can speak on because I don't know exactly the process of why something slipped through the cracks or why the information is verified, but it's still inaccurate. So as for the credit bureau side, I'm unable to answer that question. But we definitely know when things are, quote, verified when they're really not verified. And that is when that potential FCRA violation is still being reported.

Keenan, do you have any other questions?

Yeah.

So one thing in general, there's a lot of FCRA attorneys out there, but What I've, what I've heard makes you guys really different. And because we've been approached by a lot too ourselves, but there's not a lot out there that are actually legally able to pay out CROs. You guys have like a unique situation with being in Arizona where there's laws that allow you to. Is that correct?

That is correct.

There are a lot of attorneys out there, but it's actually pretty unique to be able to pay out these referrals. For this type of practice.

That is correct, Keenan, because in the state of Arizona, it allows us to pay non-attorneys referral fees. And so that is the reason why we are able to pay referral fees to these credit repair organizations nationwide.

Credit repair organizations out there may have heard of some other people or get referred somewhere, but they might be able to pay the consumer, but they may— you may not have extra money for the actual credit organization, whereas you guys actually pay the credit organization, help get extra money per client.

That is correct.

Really help the CRO too.

Yep. And as I said, that is the one value proposition that McCarthy Law definitely holds is the win-win-win mantra, because once again, three parties in this all win, not just two. And so that is the one thing is we do want to show our appreciation and value to these credit repair organizations and say thank you because they did go through the process and time finding these leads, spotting these potential FCRA violations, going through the first round of disputes, referring them over to McCarthy Law. So we want to value that, and we want to appreciate each and every one of our affiliates.

Ian, you're very thorough in all the information today. I'm curious, with the companies that come to you, that they hear everything, they hear the whole overview, give them all the resources, like, are there still misconceptions you hear out there, or things you think everyone just needs to know that they just— they don't quite grasp certain concepts. There's misconceptions still out there of, oh, how you guys work with them. What would those be?

Keenan, to answer your question, one common misconception that I hear all the time when I do speak to these thousands credit repair organizations is when the credit repair organization wants more money. And that's one thing that I tend to hear quite a bit. I said, whoa, You know, you want $1,000 per, per client. The reason we are unable to do that is because the pie is not big enough for everybody. And we are able to pay these referrals. We are able to make sure that that client receives their damages. And within FCRA, we are able to recoup our fees from the bureaus. We get paid by the bad guys. Best way to say it. And so that is one thing that tends to shock me is the amount of money that is there. You know, we're ultimately helping that client and achieving that goal and putting some money in their pocket. Number one. Number two, a common misconception that I see all the time as well is the stall letters, is the verification letters. Hey, I received this, it was verified, but that's not true. Can we sue them? Well, is there a potential FCRA violation? Is there a potential top 10 FCRA violation because we need to build that strong foundation. And same with the stall letters. Hey, that's great. That packs that final punch and builds that fire up even more. But we need to create that strong foundation prior. We need something to build off of, and that is the support, but it's not the foundation. And so those are a couple misconceptions that I tend to see on a daily basis.

Got it. Well, with all the consumers your firm helps, I'd be curious because I feel like this— taking these cases to the bureaus, this has been a business and industry for years and years. Are you seeing any trends in the space in the last year or two, or where you see it going of any more volumes of these cases, or just any interesting changes or things that you're observing?

We tend to see some good trends. And so most recently we saw a trend where a lot of Jefferson Capital duplicates were showing up on credit reports. That was a trend that truthfully maybe lasted for a week. I kind of joked and said, oh, who on the Jefferson Capital team is getting fired? But at the same time, that is a trend that we tend to see. Now, we do get some pushback, of course, from the bureaus because We're pretty much in daily contact with them with filing lawsuits. And so we definitely hear from their attorney teams where it's, hey guys, let up. And it's, no, we're not going to let up because we're fighting for the little guy every single day. Start reporting correctly and we will let up. But as for trends, we see different kinds of trends on, on a monthly, weekly basis. I mean, we know that credit reports are being updated pretty much daily. And so on that trend, maybe there's a slip up every now and then. Typically we tend to see slip ups on the duplicate side, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we don't see slip ups on the original creditor not communicating and still reporting that balance while the debt buyer is as well. So these top violations that we see are all the trends. We see them on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis. And a lot of times it's just reporting incorrectly. And so once again, that's where we step in and we get to talk to the bureaus like we do every single day.

Got it. It sounds like a little bit of a game of whack-a-mole. There's always going to be new creditors, furnishers out there that are reporting different ways. They're doing different things that— Oh yeah, the world is made of a bunch of humans that are doing different things that are hap— So you guys are always catching maybe different errors or different things starting up at different companies over time.

Most definitely. And like you said, it's like a game of whack-a-mole. That's why I love my job so much is I wake up in the morning and I think, OK, what's the trend today? Or what are we seeing today? What's today going to bring? Because every day is a new day and there's always new potential FCRA violations being reported to Consumer Reports. And so it's just the fact that we have to catch them at the right time before they can correct this information.

For some of these consumers that are getting these paydays. I mean, that's— it's— it could very well for some CROs like be paying the full price of the credit repair or basically it's found money for the consumer that's really helping them.

Most definitely. And Keenan, for some people, if they're receiving $2,500, let's go on the higher end. This could be something that is, is life-changing in some cases. This could really assist with Let's say they owe something in the amount of $2,000. You know, let's say Christmas is coming around, you know. So there are many different reasons as to why these damages help, but we want to make sure that these clients receive these damages because their report has damaged them. Now, if there's ever any denials, anybody has gone for an auto loan or a mortgage or credit card Keep those denials, keep those denial letters. Once again, that packs a massive punch when we take something to litigation because we have factual proof that this credit unworthiness that has been affected by this potential FCRA violation has really packed even more damages because they have been denied loans, they've been denied credit cards, they've been denied mortgages. Refinancing. So when we can prove that through documentation, it packs even that much more of a punch.

This may have been covered previously, but I just want to— when, when you— CROs do bring these cases to you, what's the typical turnaround time of something gets presented to you, your team's looking at it within that 24 to 48 hour time? Like, what, what is the turnaround where the bureau comes back and makes decision, or how long do these cases typically last?

Great question, Keenan. So yes, our review time is 24 to 48 hours. But if we receive all the documentation when you— when that— that Credit Hero or the credit repair organization refers that client to us, let's say they have great dispute letters, dispute letters that we just showcased here today, simple, to the point. If we receive that information, We call something like that litigation ready, and we don't need to go through a dispute process ourself. That is the gold standard, as I would like to say. We can have a case filed within 7 days if we receive all of that information. Now, of course, there are other outside factors, that being the client. Obviously, we're representing the client. So if that client doesn't respond to us, we can't really file a case for them because We haven't talked to the client. So it all comes down to a little bit of the consumer or the client responsiveness. Now, if that dispute was very weak and we look at it and we're like, oh, you forgot the account number and the issue. So this isn't a strong dispute. We will have to go through and redispute that. Now, as we know, we must allow the bureaus 30 to 45 days to correct this information. So that pushes that 30, 45 days from that point. Now, once we do file that case, that is a timeline that is just unpredictable. There are so many factors, opposing counsel, responses, et cetera, et cetera. On average though, from when we receive that client through our affiliate portal to resolution, to when that client receives their money, on average, that is 120 days. That is the lifespan.

Daniel, I went through all my main questions. Do you have anything else from your end?

Yeah, just an interesting observation. Your dispute letters, the examples you showed, they're very, very simple. They're simple, to the point. They don't ask anything else. They don't have anything extraneous. And very often credit repair folks think that they have to have legalese and statute numbers and all this stuff. In fact, we get criticized for our letters that we have in our software. Because we don't throw in a lot of that stuff. But it's very, very interesting seeing from a law firm you having extremely simple letters, simple language.

Most definitely. What we tend to see as well is on the consumer side, most consumers don't know these laws. Most consumers just understand I paid that account and it's reporting a balance. A lot of times credit repair organizations and credit bureaus will receive the not you letter. Hey, this isn't you. We need to verify your information. A lot of that can come from a lot of these consumers don't know this language. A lot of consumers understand basic, simple, direct language. And like I said at the very beginning, Daniel, that's why I say, like explaining to your grandmother. I love that. Make it simple and easy and to the point. So anybody looking at this letter, anybody looking at the dispute, whether or not they're in the credit repair space or not, they could read this letter and say, hmm, I don't think this balance should be reporting. It looks like they paid it or they settled it.

Hey, if what Ian is sharing today is blowing your mind, you need to be in Dallas. The team at McCarthy Law are going to be at Credit Repair Expo. It's happening April 24th to 26th. This is going to be the biggest event in credit repair history. So if you are in this industry, You need to be there. So grab your ticket at CreditRepairExpo.com. And I think now we should switch gears. I want to ask you a few rapid questions. Answer with the very first thing that pops in your head.

Okay?

Okay.

What's your business superpower?

Flight.

What's your business kryptonite? Meaning the area you had to work hardest to improve.

Mail times.

What drives and motivates you?

Helping clients.

What's your definition of success?

Smiles.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Put your head down and work hard because you can be amazed at what you can achieve.

So, Ian, how can people find McCarthy Law and get more information?

Well, Daniel, people can go to McCarthyLawyer.com/crc lowercase to get more information and fill out the form. Once they complete that form, They will hear myself and see myself reach out to them directly in order to provide further information. And as an added bonus, I will be providing the McCarthy Law Dispute Letter Handbook, which breaks down a lot of our dispute letter language shown here today, as well as our Top 10 FCRA Violation Cheat Sheet. For more questions, please visit McCarthyLawyer.com.

And we'll put the link down in the show notes as well if you missed it on the screen. Ian, thanks so much for your time today. This was amazing.

Thank you very much, Daniel and Keenan. It was a pleasure being with you both.

And for everyone out there, if you're finding value in the things we share on this podcast, click below to subscribe. Let's get to 100,000 subscribers. Also, give us a 5-star review or share the show. Help us to change more lives. If you have a question or a comment, drop it down below because I read each and every one of them. I'd love to hear from you and I'll respond as soon as I can. And if you're ready to take your credit repair business to the next level, join us at Credit Repair Expo. It's going to be the biggest event in credit repair history. Again, it's April 24th through 26th in Dallas, Texas. Seats are filling up fast, so grab yours right now at creditrepairexpo.com and keep changing lives.