New FCRA case - Daniels v. Experian, S.D. Georgia

On June 24, 2009, District Judge J. Randall Hall of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division, released an opinion which once again shows why consumers should hire an attorney to represent them and not proceed pro se. The case is styled Roberta Ann Daniels v. Experian Information Solutions, et al, 2009 WL 1811548 (D. Ga. June 24, 2009).

Roberta Ann Daniels, the plaintiff, filed claims against all three of the national credit bureaus (i.e. Experian, Trans Union and Equifax), alleging that the credit bureaus failed to "mask" her Social Security number which was part of her student loan account number. The Court noted that the FCRA does not require "masking" of the entire Social Security number but merely requires that the first five digits be truncated. The Plaintiff contends that she meant truncate when she alleged "masked" in her complaint. She sought various items of injunctive and declaratory relief which, unfortunately, are not available types of relief under the FCRA.

The Court dismissed the plaintiff's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief but did allow the Plaintiff to amend her complaint to allege the failure to truncate her Social Security number rather than the incorrect failure to "mask" the Social Security number.