Are you seeing “Hunter Warfield” on your credit report—even though the debt isn’t yours, the debt is inaccurate or has been paid? You’re not alone.
Who is Hunter Warfield?
Hunter Warfield, Inc. is a debt collection company operating out of Tampa, Florida. Almost all of its debt collection activity is on behalf of landlord against their former tenants. In addition to calls, emails and letters, one of Hunter Warfield’s common debt collection tactics is to put the debt on your credit reports with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax to try to get you to pay.
FCRA Red Flags: Inaccurate Reporting & Little Investigation of Disputes
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), companies like Hunter Warfield — as “furnishers” — must ensure accuracy and promptly investigate any dispute about a debt they report. We at the Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack have experience suing Hunter Warfield for failing to meet its responsibilities under the FCRA.
Types of False Reporting by Hunter Warfield
The types of false reporting on a credit report by Hunter Warfield can include:
- Reporting debts that are paid, mistaken, or not owed at all. Many consumers report unfamiliar rental debts on their credit reports. You may have already paid the debt, or it could belong to a totally different person.
- Reporting termination fees even when you gave your landlord enough notice. A common issue is that a landlord will claim it did not receive sufficient notice under a lease that you wanted to end your lease even when you provided them with enough notice, and then send Hunter Warfield after you.
- Reporting excessive damages to carpets, wall, or other damages. Another common issue we see is Hunter Warfield attempting to collect excessive damages that a landlord is saying you owe after your lease ends. If you can show that the damages claimed by your former landlord are false, either because the damages were from normal wear and tear, you have proof that you left your rental property in good condition, or the fees charged by the landlord are way too much for the work that needed to be done, you may be able to fight back.
- Reporting debts from identity theft. If you are the victim of identity theft, the FCRA provides powerful tools to protect you. If Hunter Warfield is pursuing you for a debt that is not yours, we may be able to help.
What to Do if Hunter Warfield is Reporting a False Debt on Your Credit Reports
Here are the steps to follow if you find that Hunter Warfield is reporting debt that you do not owe on your credit reports:
- Pull your Free Credit Reports from www.annualcreditreport.com. If you believe that Hunter Warfield is reporting something on your credit reports that you don’t owe, go to www.annualcreditreport.com to pull, for free, your reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can pull them for free once a week from that website, and it does not hurt your credit to do so – the only downside is that you won’t be able to pull them again for free for a week.
- File disputes with the credit reporting agencies. If the false debt is on your credit report from Experian, Equifax and/or TransUnion, file a dispute with any of them that explains why you do not owe the debt. Under the FCRA, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are obligated to investigate the accuracy of the item in response to the dispute, and also inform the “furnisher” of the information, in this case Hunter Warfield, of the dispute, which also triggers an obligation for Hunter Warfield to investigate and remove the information from your credit reports.
- Contact an FCRA Attorney Like the Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack. If you have previously disputed the debt and it is still on your credit reports or your disputes were denied, that doesn’t mean that you owe that money. An FCRA attorney like Joseph Mack can help put together a dispute letter that will either get the reporting removed or set up a strong lawsuit if the reporting is not removed. Because the FCRA provides that a consumer can recover their reasonable attorneys’ fees from furnishers like Hunter Warfield that do not meet their responsibilities under the FCRA, Joseph Mack is often able to represent clients against Hunter Warfield without cost to the clients. Please fill out the form at the bottom of this page for a free case evaluation.
More Resources on the FCRA
- More Information on How Joseph Mack can Represent Clients in FCRA Cases Without No Charge Unless We Win. Because the FCRA provides for fee shifting to a prevailing consumer, we are able to provide no-cost unless we win legal representation to our clients. You can read more about fee shifting here.
- A Step-By-Step Guide to Pulling and Saving Credit Reports from www.annualcreditreport.com You can pull your credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion once a week for free from www.annualcreditreport.com. The website can be a little confusing. Here is a guide for how to download and save copies of your report using an iPhone.
- How to Draft Dispute Letters and Where to Send Them, With Samples. Click here for more details on how to draft a dispute letter and where to send it.
- More Information About Joseph Mack. To read Joseph Mack’s bio, click here.