Close to 20 percent of Americans have a subprime credit score.
Credit damage plays a large role in low scores.
The negative information can have serious, lasting effects. It alters the consumer’s ability to buy a house, a car, or even be deemed qualified for a job.
Consumer credit is very complex. There are strict federal regulations governing the use of consumer information. They also cover how consumers can be approached when collecting debt.
Such a complicated system plays such a heavy hand in individuals’ financial success. Given this, consumer debt attorneys carry a lot of responsibility. It is critical to hire credible, expert damage assessment witnesses for your cases.
With so much riding on it, it can be difficult to find the right expert witness for your case.
They must have deep knowledge of the credit reporting industry. This includes the business practices of both lenders and credit reporting agencies.
Keep reading to learn how a credit expert witness can help protect your client and level the playing field in your credit reporting case.
Credit Damage
In some cases, negative credit remarks may be due to errors or fraudulent activity. If there are errors in your report, they should be swiftly contested with the major credit bureaus. There are various tools available to consumers in this regard.
If the information is correct, remedial action should follow up as well. There are serious, long-term consequences to credit damage.
For example, those who default on their student loans may have their professional licenses and certifications taken away. This restricts their ability to be successful in their career, thus further hindering the ability to repay debts.
The system can produce a vicious cycle if intervention does not occur. A qualified attorney should work hard for their clients to prevent this type of recourse.
Attorneys should do their due diligence to find the best credit damage assessment witness. This will help provide the best overall picture in a clear and convincing way to benefit your client’s case.
Credit Damage Assessment
Credit damage assessment is also known as “impact analysis.”
This is the act of quantifying the impact on credit scores, by including particular pieces of information. This might include instances of:
- Late payments
- Balances
- Collections
- Hard credit inquiries
- Loan defaults
Being a damage assessment expert witness requires master-level knowledge of the credit reporting industry. This includes knowledge of how the FICO scoring system works, backdating credit information, and many other areas.
Bringing in an expert witness to testify on damage assessment can benefit your case. A good damage assessment witness will:
- Establish your client’s economic situation prior to the credit damage incident
- Demonstrate the most likely future economic situation, not including the incident
- Define the incident (also known as proximate cause event), and define damages caused
- Demonstrate the most likely future economic situation, including the incident
- Define the difference between the most likely future economic situation including and not including the incident
- Calculate the net present value of the two aforementioned figures
The expert witness will provide an unbiased look at the facts of the case and the implications of various credit scenarios for your client. These professionals establish a monetary value to the situation and can help bolster your case.
These expert witnesses must be able to do more than simply read the credit report of an individual. They must understand how the incident in question will fit into this, and what impacts it could have. This includes current and future damages.
Finding a Good Credit Damage Assessment Expert Witness
There are several attributes to a good expert witness in damage assessment.
The witness should use a solid process of testing. Whichever methods they use to collect and test data should be up to date with industry standards. They should be equal to—or exceed—their peers.
Their methodology is essential, as evidence that is not reliable will not be admissible in court.
Witnesses should also have a high level of expertise. As they are an expert witness, there should be no question regarding their breadth of knowledge in the subject matter.
This way, there are little to no challenges to the testimony in the court proceedings. They should be experts in their field, and nothing about their testimony should bring that into question.
Another key requirement of these experts is their education and qualifications. They must be able to defend their education and qualifications that allow them to stand before the judge and speak on the topic. If they are not properly qualified, or if their education and experience are not relevant, the judge may remove them.
Expert witnesses must also not be biased in their testimony in any way. It is their job to report the facts, and answer the attorney’s and judge’s questions honestly and fairly.
It is not up to them to make their opinions known to the court. As such, their methods should not be biased either. The testimony should provide a clear yet comprehensive picture of the subject.
Finally, these witnesses must have solid communication skills. They should be well-spoken, able to communicate well with judges, lawyers, and court professionals. They should also be able to make complicated industry terms easy to understand without losing their credibility.
Contact a Trusted Credit Expert Witness Today
With such serious consequences, credit damage should not be taken lightly. Consider hiring a damage assessment expert witness to boost your credit reporting case.
Joe Chavarria is a proven credit expert, with a decade of experience in the industry as a top credit repair expert. Joe remains honest, logical, and factual in all matters, and has served as an expert witness in several past cases.
For more information about hiring a trusted and experienced credit expert witness, contact Joe Chavarria today.
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