HOUSTON – A local woman’s lawsuit accuses a car dealership of accessing her credit report without her permission, recent Houston federal court records show.
Jacqueline Lieber brought the suit against Stadium Motorcars, LLC, doing business as Central Houston Nissan, on Aug. 31, stating the defendant promised to explain its incentive program to her without obtaining a copy of her credit history.
Lieber initially went to the dealership located at 2901 S. Loop W. after Nissan sent her an airbag recall notice. She then learned about the program in question, which the suit says was “for people who did not want to wait several months for the airbag replacement.”
According to the suit, the plaintiff requested information on the program, but “specifically stated she did not want her credit report pulled.”
“The defendant advised that it would tell her the details of the incentive program and assured her it would not obtain a copy of her credit report,” the original petition says.
A test drive of a vehicle followed. Afterwards, Lieber again inquired about the program.
Court documents assert that the dealership asked the plaintiff how much money she could put toward a down payment “because her credit was not good.” Based on these remarks and the dealership manager’s purportedly dismissive attitude, Lieber surmised that the defendant looked at her credit history.
“The defendant performed a hard pull of the plaintiff’s credit,” the suit says. “Subsequently, the defendant sent the plaintiff a denial of credit letter indicating it obtained a copy of her consumer report from Equifax and TransUnion.”
Consequently, Lieber seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Russell S. Thompson, IV of the Thompson Consumer Law Group, PLLC in Mesa, Ariz. is representing the complainant.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:18-CV-3067