Lane's Story: Punished for Someone Else's Mistake

When people have a housing problem, it can threaten not only their living conditions, but even their financial stability, their credit score, and their access to future housing. 

For one Wisconsin resident, “Lane,” (not their real name) experienced significant financial harm just because they wouldn’t live in uninhabitable conditions. Lane needed legal intervention to get out of the tangle.

Lane signed a lease with a landlord, but when they attempted to move into the property, they discovered serious issues, including a roach infestation, rotting food left by a previous tenant, and holes in the walls. Lane told the landlord they would not move in until the conditions were addressed. The landlord assured Lane the problems would be fixed, but even though Lane tried to follow up, the property remained uninhabitable. Lane even hired a cleaning company to remove debris and items left behind by prior tenants, but the landlord never addressed the pest infestation or otherwise made the unit suitable for occupancy.

Ultimately, Lane found another place to live and returned the key to the landlord without ever moving in.

Several months later, Lane discovered the landlord had placed more than $5,000 in alleged debt into collections and their account had been reported to the credit agencies. Lane was facing substantial financial consequences from a debt they did not even owe!

Lane sought assistance from a civil legal aid attorney, who brought claims against both the landlord and the collection company, alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA).

Lane and the defendants ultimately reached a settlement. The landlord and collection company paid Lane $3,000. They also paid the civil legal aid provider $3,000 to offset its costs — thereby helping Wisconsin residents who face similar challenges in the future. Most importantly, the defendants released all claims against Lane and corrected Lane’s credit report so that it didn’t include the $5,000 collection account. 

With the dire consequences of an inaccurate collections account avoided, Lane’s future finances and housing prospects are protected.