Ask a Lawyer - Archive
   
No Harm, No Foul?
Loretta Salzano

Q. 

My wife and I are in the process of building a house in Alabama and are dealing with a mortgage company in Florida. While attempting to send us some documents that contained all of our personal information our consultant omitted my middle initial out of my e-mail address and sent all of our information to someone else! They're offering to waive a document fee to make up for our out of pocket expenses for having to lock down our credit reports but I'm afraid to accept their offer because I do not want to release them from being liable for any damages that may have already been done. I guess my questions are these, should I accept their offer to waive the fee, and can they be held liable for their negligence?

-- Duane

A. 

As long as the lender is not asking you to sign a release, I think it's fine to accept their offer of the fee waiver. While your question isn't clear whether someone else actually viewed your information, chances are that no one has the email address you described. Moreover, I just had to place a fraud alert on my credit report, and while it was a bit of a hassle, it was free. Perhaps there is some cost to do it with more than one reporting agency and to continue it beyond a certain time period. I recommend that you periodically check your credit report to ensure that no one has stolen your identity. The FTC is a great resource for these purposes and then put this out of your head and enjoy your new home!

-- Loretta Salzano

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