(WSVN) – Three tickets and an accident on his record sent his car insurance soaring. One problem: He didn’t have any tickets or accidents. The next problem? He couldn’t get the agency that made the mistake to clear his record. That’s why he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
When Anthony reached out to us, he was getting ready to graduate from Florida State University.
Anthony Rodriguez: “I was up in Tallahassee for grad school. I did my master’s in sports management up there.”
But the Tallahassee resident is a South Florida boy.
Anthony Rodriguez: “Yes, I did grow up in Miami, born and raised.”
From Miami, in Tallahassee, with a Texas problem.
Anthony Rodriguez: “It’s showing on my record that I was involved in a car accident that wasn’t mine.”
The information about the crash on Anthony’s record came from LexisNexis, where insurance companies can get information about customers.
Anthony Rodriguez: “They confused me with someone else. Another Anthony Rodriguez, who’s from El Paso, Texas.”
The Texas Anthony was in a car crash where he was found at fault and got one, two, three speeding tickets. But it was all put on the Florida Anthony’s LexisNexis record.
Anthony Rodriguez: “We both live in different states, we have different driver’s license numbers, we have different dates of birth. I mean, it’s ridiculous.”
Anthony found out about the mistake in February when his family’s car insurance rates went up.
Anthony Rodriguez: “I had complete coverage before, so we couldn’t afford that, and I had to downgrade to [personal injury protection] coverage. That was the only way to do it.”
Anthony checked his Florida driving record and saw he had four points for the other fellow’s accident.
He contacted his insurance company. They said LexisNexis had to clear it up. He contacted them. They sent him his records, but didn’t remove the crash from his report.
Anthony Rodriguez: “They just had to look at the record, which they provided me with, and they can clearly see that there was a mix-up.”
And so, even though he had gone away to college, he thought back to his childhood watching Help Me Howard.
Anthony Rodriguez: “We still watch it till this day, and my mom, she was the one who said, ‘Listen, Anthony, why don’t you reach out to Help Me Howard and Patrick Fraser, maybe they can help you out.’”
Allr ight, Anthony, we’ll try. So, legally, Howard, what can you do with a mess like this?
Howard Finkelstein: “We all make mistakes, but once you’ve been told your information is wrong, legally you have an obligation to correct the error. If you do not, you could be responsible for any monetary damages your mistake causes.”
I contacted LexisNexis. They responded within minutes and told me they would talk to Anthony.
Two days later, he got an email saying, “The auto claim and the moving violations have been removed from your LexisNexis data.”
Anthony Rodriguez: “They finally agreed to clear my record.”
With his graduation behind him, Anthony is now looking for a job, and he can do it with a clean driving record, after that email from Tallahassee to his hometown.
Anthony Rodriguez: “I’m glad, man! You guys are heroes. I appreciate what you guys have done for me.”
Glad we could help you, Anthony. And give LexisNexis credit for moving quickly after I contacted them.
Now, Howard mentioned that if they hadn’t, they would have been responsible for any damages they caused Anthony.
That law also applies to credit bureaus and agencies that keep information about your rental or medical history. If they won’t fix a mistake, file a complaint with the state or the feds. The links are under this Help Me Howard story.
Something graduated from a pain to a problem? Driven to find a solution? Make no mistake, we can identify the right solution, ’cause we’ve mastered working hard for you … or so we tell ourselves. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
FOR MORE INFO:
Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
State of Florida
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Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.