KINGWOOD – An Aurora woman claims a consumer reporting agency is failing to properly investigate and is wrongfully holding her deceased mother's debt in her name, ruining her credit.
Carolyn S. White filed a lawsuit Sept. 15 in Preston Circuit Court against Equifax Information Services LLC, citing a failure to re-investigate, failure to assure accuracy and reporting information which it cannot verify.
According to the complaint, around 1989 White's mother entered into a credit card agreement and later died before fulfilling payment. White claims her mother put her name on the card as an authorized user in 2013, though claims she was never liable nor was her name ever on the account. Her mother died in February.
White claims she contacted Equifax in June to get a credit report and was told she was in debt for more than $11,000. White alleges she disputed the claim several times and has yet to see a clear credit history.
White says due to Equifax's lack of proper investigation into the matter she has suffered loss of credit, increased insurance costs, and increased interest rates. White is seeking actual damage, punitive damage, attorney's fees, cost of court, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and correction to credit score. White is being represented by Jennifer S. Wagner of Mountain State Justice Inc. in Clarksburg.
Preston County Circuit Court case number 15-C-142