Consumer Files Federal Lawsuit

(Middletown) - Hoping to strike a blow for consumer rights, Jacquelynn Vance-Pauls, a Middletown real estate attorney, has filed a federal lawsuit against a debt collector, a credit reporting agency and a hospital for violating her rights under federal law. Vance-Pauls� ordeal was chronicled in two recent articles by Times Herald Record consumer reporter Christine Young.

In her lawsuit, Vance-Pauls claims that her good credit rating was damaged by an unscrupulous Monticello debt collecting law firm, Michael Zager, P.C., and the negligence of the Experian credit reporting service. In May 2006, Zager�s firm mistakenly reported to Experian that Vance-Pauls owed Arden Hill Hospital $62. The bill had actually been paid by her insurance company five years earlier. Vance-Pauls first learned of her alleged debt over the summer when she had trouble refinancing her mortgage and received a copy of her Experian credit report. When she protested to Zager and Experian, her troubles only worsened. According to her complaint, rather than fix the error, Zager�s office pressured her to sign a release of claims and pay money she did not owe. When Vance-Pauls refused, Zager again falsely reported to Experian that Vance-Pauls owed the Arden Hill bill. As a result, her credit was further damaged. Because Vance-Pauls owns her law practice, Zager�s negative report also affected her business credit.

According to Vance-Pauls� attorney, Michael Sussman, both Zager and Experian violated federal laws protecting consumers. �Zager�s firm appears to have acted with utter contempt for the law. Under federal law, debt collectors are prohibited from this type of abuse of power. Consumers need to know they are not powerless in the face of deceptive practices and misconduct. Experian also dropped the ball. When Ms. Vance-Pauls protested her report, it failed to do any due diligence and ignored her proof that Zager�s report of a debt was in error. Unfortunately, this type of experience is not an isolated one. Consumers must know that if they find mistaken items on their credit reports and those mistakes are not corrected, they have rights under the law.�

Because Zager was acting on behalf of Arden Hill Hospital, the Orange Regional Medical Center is also named as a defendant. Vance-Pauls is seeking both punitive and compensatory damages from Zager and compensatory damages from Experian and the Medical Center.