At Hays Cauley, P.C. We are here to help you overcome problems related to credit reporting, identity theft, and debt.
Hope

About Us

At Hays Cauley, P.C., we know your credit reports and background check reports are very important. If you have been the victim of identity theft, had your credit report mixed with another individual, have inaccurate and/or outdated information appearing on your credit reports, or have inaccurate information appearing on your background check, we are here to help.

Penny Hays NACA Badge

Penny Hays Cauley Biography

Penny Hays Cauley obtained her J.D. from Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1994 and was admitted to practice law in Alabama in October 1994. After clerking for The Honorable William Robertson, Presiding Judge of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, Penny entered private practice with a firm in Birmingham, Alabama.

In March 2006, the firm of Hays Cauley, P.C. was opened in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In February 2007, Penny and her husband moved to Darlington, South Carolina where her husband serves as Senior Pastor of an EPC Church. While continuing to represent her clients in Alabama, Penny also became licensed to practice law in South Carolina in November, 2007.

For 30 years it has been Penny’s privilege to help consumers who have been the victim of identity theft, had fraudulent accounts opened in their name and then reported as bad debts on their credit reports, whose credit file was mixed with a third party, who were reported as deceased, and those who have had inaccurate information and/or judgments appearing on their credit. Additionally, Penny has helped hundreds of consumers who were harassed by debt collectors and/or sued on a debt. Her goal is to provide hope and encouragement to individuals that their particular fact situation can be corrected regardless of how hopeless it may initially appear.

Professional Associations
  • South Carolina Bar, 2007 to Present
  • Alabama Bar, 1994 to Present
  • National Association of Consumer Advocates, Member, 2002 to Present
  • South Carolina Consumer Law Section, Member/Council Member, 2014 to Present
  • South Carolina Solo Small Firm Section, Member, 2020 to Present
Bar Admission
  • South Carolina, 2007
  • Alabama, 1994

Continuing Legal Education Seminars Taught

  • How to Lose Your Credit in 10 days, South Carolina Bar Convention, 2023
  • Setting Up Your FCRA Case for Success, National Association Consumer Advocate, 2021
  • Future of Consumer Litigation, South Carolina Bar Convention, 2018
  • Damages Allowed in FCRA Cases, National Association Consumer Advocates, 2017
  • Turning the Tables-Claims Against Debt Collectors, South Carolina Consumer Law Section, 2014
  • Fair Debt Collection Practices Training Conference, National Association of Consumer Advocates, 2014
  • Putting Together a Fair Credit Reporting Act Punitive Damages Case against a Debt Buyer, National Consumer Law Center, 11/08/2013
  • Turning the Tables-Claims Against Debt Collectors, South Carolina Bar-Consumer Law Section, 08/16/2013
  • Client Interview and Fact Gathering, National Association of Consumer Advocates, 05/20/2013
  • Live Webinar: Preparing for and Trying an FCRA Furnisher Case, National Association of Consumer Advocates, 05/02/2013
  • Identity Theft Issues in Family Court, South Carolina Bar – Family Court Seminar, 12/09/2010
  • Collections Law, Alabama State Bar, 04/18/2008
  • FCRA and FDCPA, Shelby County, Alabama Bar Association, 08/03/2005
Two people in a professional meeting, one reviewing and signing documents across a desk from the other over credit report documents.