Lawsuit Against Experian and Green Tree for Inaccurately Reporting Bankruptcy Reaffirmations and Ride Throughs

July 2, 2013

Today, Cento Law, LLC attorney G. John Cento filed a lawsuit against Experian Information Solutions, Inc. and Green Tree Servicing, LLC alleging numerous violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In the suit, Plaintiff alleges Experian and Green Tree inaccurately reported his mortgage account which had been included in bankruptcy but which survived the bankruptcy as a “ride through.”

A consumer debtor who files bankruptcy but wants to keep a home secured by a mortgage has several options, including reaffirmation or what is commonly referred to as a “ride through.” A reaffirmation is an agreement where a debtor chooses to become legally obligated again to pay all or portion of a debt which would be discharged in the bankruptcy case. A "ride through" is essentially a method by which the debtor's personal liability for the original debt is discharged, but the creditor is precluded from repossessing the home so long as the debtor remains current on the original contract payments. Plaintiff alleges that Experian and Green Tree do not have reasonable guidelines, policies or procedures related to the reporting of accounts for which the debtor's personal liability for the original debt is discharged, but the debtor remains current on the original contract payments following the discharge - i.e., for the reporting of “ride through” accounts. As a result, Plaintiff’s accurate and positive mortgage account payment history was not reported.

If you have any questions regarding this lawsuit, then please feel free to contact us.