Updated: May 2022

Sessa v. TransUnion

Sessa v. TransUnion is the case of a woman who sued Trans Union for violating the Fair Credit Collections Act (FCRA) after the national credit reporting agency reported inaccurately that she owed a $19,000 balloon payment on a car she leased. In fact, that amount was the residual value of the car she was leasing, not a debt that she owed. The furnisher had misreported the information to TransUnion. This amicus brief asks the appellate court to reverse the district court’s ruling, which says that credit bureaus are only responsible for correctly transcribing the data that furnishers give them. The ruling as it stands lets TransUnion (and other credit bureaus) off the hook for errors provided by the lender (the furnisher). This brief argues that the FCRA requires CRAs to follow "reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy” in credit reports. Consumer Action joined this amicus brief asking the appellate court to reverse a district court’s ruling, which said that credit bureaus are only responsible for correctly transcribing the data that furnishers give them. The ruling as it stands lets TransUnion (and other credit reporting agencies) off the hook for errors by the the furnisher. (The FCRA holds that furnishers are liable as well as credit reporting bureaus if they "furnish" inaccurate data about consumers to credit reporting bureaus.) Consumer advocacy organizations, in this brief, argue that the earlier decision is too sweeping—and “disincentivizes” credit bureaus from taking precautions to avoid inaccuracies. Click here to read the brief.