Know Your Rights

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Errors on your credit report can cost you jobs, housing, and financial opportunity. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to accurate credit information — and the right to sue when creditors or bureaus refuse to fix mistakes. We fight to restore your credit and your peace of mind.

Mixed Credit File

A mixed credit file occurs when information from someone else’s credit history ends up on your credit report — or your information ends up on theirs. This most commonly happens when two people share a similar name, Social Security number, or address, and the credit bureaus— Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — incorrectly merge their records. The result can be devastating: negative accounts, delinquencies, judgments, or even bankruptcies that belong to a stranger suddenly appear on your report, dragging down your credit score and making it nearly impossible to get a loan, rent an apartment, or even pass an employment background check.

Mixed file errors are notoriously hard to fix on your own. Even when you dispute the error directly with the credit bureau, they often fail to conduct a proper investigation or restore your file to a correct state. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit bureaus and the companies that give information to them have legal obligations to investigate disputes and correct inaccurate information. When they fail to do so, they may be liable for actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees.



At Corey D. McGaha, PLLC, we help consumers untangle mixed credit file errors and hold credit bureaus accountable when they refuse to fix them. If you’ve been disputing an error on your credit report without success, or if you’ve discovered accounts or information that don’t belong to you, contact us for a free consultation. You have legal rights — and we know how to enforce them.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the most damaging things that can happen to a consumer’s financial life. When someone uses your personal information — your Social Security number, date of birth, or financial account details — to open fraudulent accounts or run up debts in your name, those accounts can end up on your credit report and haunt you for years. Victims rarely discover the problem until they’re denied a loan, receive a collection notice for a debt they never incurred, or are served with a lawsuit over an account they never opened.

Cleaning up your credit after identity theft is a legal process, not just an administrative one. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives identity theft victims specific rights, including the right to place a fraud alert or security freeze on their credit file, the right to obtain and dispute fraudulent information, and the right to have verified identity theft information blocked from their report. When credit bureaus or creditors fail to honor these rights — continuing to report fraudulent accounts even after they’ve been notified of the theft — they may be held legally liable.

Corey D. McGaha, PLLC represents identity theft victims fighting to restore their credit and their financial reputation. We know the FCRA process, we know how to build the documentation needed to support your claims, and we know how to pursue the credit bureaus and creditors who refuse to clean up the mess. If your credit report has accounts or debts you don’t recognize, don’t wait — call us today.

Background Check Errors

Most people know that credit reports affect their ability to borrow money — but fewer realize that errors in consumer reporting can cost them a job, a promotion, or a housing application. Employers, landlords, and licensing agencies routinely use consumer background check reports compiled by companies called “consumer reporting agencies.” These reports can include criminal history, civil court records, employment history, and credit information. When those reports have errors — someone else’s criminal record, a case that was dismissed showing up as a conviction, or an expunged record that should have been removed — the consequences can be life-changing.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act covers not just traditional credit reports, but also employment background checks and tenant screening reports. Before an employer or landlord takes an adverse action based on your background check — such as rescinding a job offer or denying a rental application — they are required by law to give you a copy of the report and allow you to dispute any errors. When they fail to follow this process, or when the reporting agency provides inaccurate information and fails to correct it after a dispute, they may be liable under the FCRA.

At Corey D. McGaha, PLLC, we represent consumers who have been harmed by inaccurate background check reports. Whether you’ve lost a job opportunity, been denied housing, or discovered that false information is being reported about you to employers or landlords, we can help. The FCRA provides real remedies — including actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees — and we know how to pursue them. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Our Process

If you’ve discovered errors on your credit report or background check, here’s how getting started with Corey D. McGaha, PLLC works:

Credit reporting errors don’t fix themselves — and the longer inaccurate information sits on your report, the more damage it does. Contact us today and let us fight for you.

Our Process

If you’ve discovered errors on your credit report or background check, here’s how getting started with Corey D. McGaha, PLLC works:

Credit reporting errors don’t fix themselves — and the longer inaccurate information sits on your report, the more damage it does. Contact us today and let us fight for you.

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