Consumer complaint received 2023-10-12
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX through the CFPB, I disputed acct XXXX. Both times the account came back verified. XXXX was not taken into this matter as it has yet to be resolved in a manner that is fair and equitable to me, the consumer, per the FCRA regulations. I explained the violations your agency is committed under the FCRA. 
Accuracy and incomplete information. 
*Equifax is reporting XX/XX/XXXX for date of last activity while XXXX is reporting XX/XX/XXXX. *Equifax is reporting XX/XX/XXXX for date reported while XXXX is reporting XX/XX/XXXX. 
*Equifax is reporting XX/XX/XXXX for last payment while XXXX is reporting XX/XX/XXXX *Equifax has incomplete information reporting for term length while XXXX is reporting 24 months. 
I also informed your agency that the XXXX privacy policy violates federal law in which it blocks consumers from opting out of having their non public personal information reported to a non affiliated third party. 
This leads to the way of identity theft, violating the block of information resulting from the identity theft section, which leads to a violation of the civil liability section of the FCRA. Your agency has clearly refused to follow the law and to honor my previous request so I am requesting a reinvestigation and demanding your agency explain your method of verification in verifying these items, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Acts Procedure in case of disputed accuracy section. 15 USC 1681i ( 7 ) which states : ( 7 ) Description of reinvestigation procedure A consumer reporting agency shall provide to a consumer a description referred to in paragraph ( 6 ) ( B ) ( iii ) by not later than 15 days after receiving a request from the consumer for that description.

The law clearly states : Shall is an imperative command, usually indicating that certain action are mandatory, and not permissive. This contrast the word may, which is usually used to indicate a permissive provision, ordinarily implying some degree of discretion.

This means that the term shall is a term that states something is mandatory and I am demanding an adequate answer no later than 15 days or these items must be deleted.

I have suffered emotional distress as a result of this matter and I have been depressed and suicidal as a result so I demand that this matter be resolved in a fair and equitable manner, which still hasnt been done.

A consumer report is defined as the following under the FCRA ( d ) Consumer Report.

( 1 ) In general.The term consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumers credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumers eligibility for ( A ) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes ; ( B ) employment purposes ; or ( C ) any other purpose authorized under section 1681b of this title Its important the items above have not mentioned the use of FICO which is literally the scoring system used by your agency to judge me as a consumer. FICO is not included in the consumer report and is a factor your agency has taken upon themselves in the role your agency has assumed, per the Fair Credit Reporting Acts congressional findings section which states the following : ( a ) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting Congress make the following findings.

3 ) Consumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital role in assembling and evaluating consumer credit and other information on consumers.

Because consumer reporting agencies like your agency have ASSUMED the vital role, Congress explained how it important to respect the right to privacy as stated in the following : ( 4 ) There is a need to insure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy.

Furthermore, its important to be aware if the Fair Credit Reporting Acts exclusion section in my explanation on HOW and WHY these items should be deleted. The exclusion section says the following : ( 2 ) Exclusions.Except as provided in paragraph ( 3 ), the term consumer report does not include ( A ) subject to section 1681s3 of this title, any ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report ; The FCRA explains clearly that both transactions and experiences between the consumer and person making the report are to be excluded or not included on a consumer report. I am the consumer and a person is defined as the following under the FCRA : person ( b ) The term person means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other entity.

The term person includes both your agency and any entity thats reported as the furnisher of the information that appears on my consumer report. Essentially, all the items I am disputing fall under this category of what is to be excluded from my consumer report.

When I review the XXXX  privacy notice by law Im suppose to get 3 disclosures under 15 U.S. Code 6802 - Obligations with respect to disclosures of personal information a ) Notice requirements Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, a financial institution may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose to a nonaffiliated third party any nonpublic personal information, unless such financial institution provides or has provided to the consumer a notice that complies with section 6803 of this title.

( b ) Opt out ( 1 ) In general A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless ( A ) such financial institution clearly and conspicuously discloses to the consumer, in writing or in electronic form or other form permitted by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title, that such information may be disclosed to such third party ; ( B ) the consumer is given the opportunity, before the time that such information is initially disclosed, to direct that such information not be disclosed to such third party ; and ( C ) the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. 

Equifax and XXXX are non affiliated third partys and this privacy notice states that the consumer can not limit ( opt out ) their information for being shared to a credit bureau. This is breaks federal law and is fraudulent activity. 

For our everyday business purposes- such as to process your transactions, maintain your account ( s ), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus Does the Credit Union share? Yes Can you limit this sharing? No This privacy notice does not allow the consumer to fully exercise disclosure B under the law making this fraud and without proper consent the FTC states that is identity theft.

18 U.S. Code 1028 - Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information Again the items I am disputing are as follows : XXXX account XXXX Reason : This account is related to a transaction and experience that falls under the EXCLUSION section or the FCRAs definitions, rules of construction section. It was also reported without my written consent and therefore is a result of identify theft ( as defined by the Federal Trade Commission ), and the account shall be deleted. This account is not related to any transaction authorized by me, the consumer as I did not give written instruction to your agency to report this, which is a violation of the permissible purpose section of the FCRA, which holds your agency liable for damages of at least {$1000.00} per the civil liability section for willful non-compliance. I demand you delete this item from my consumer report. 

( b ) Reasonable procedures It is the purpose of this subchapter to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter.

In addition, your agency has violated my consumer rights and violated federal law under the permissible purpose section ; theres proof in 15 usc 1681b ( 2 ) of the FCRA which is listed below ; 15 U.S. Code 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports ( a ) In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : 2 ) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates.

I clearly did not given your agency written permission or written instruction to report this information. Your agency is conspiring with these creditors against me in committing aggravated identity theft and I have sustained detention of my character, just to name a couple of damages should this matter escalate to court.

I am distressed that you have included information below into my consumer file and that you have failed to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy in the credit reports you publish, which is a violation of the FCRAs compliance procedures section, 15 usc 1681e ( b ).

I contacted the Federal Trade Commission and filed a complaint which is attached. Please block and remove all information from my credit report and send me an updated copy of my credit report. By law, the items listed above are fraud that I did not authorize.

The FCRAs block of information section ; 15 U.S. Code 1681c2 - Block of information resulting from identity theft a ) Block Except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency of ( 1 ) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer ; ( 2 ) a copy of an identity theft report ; ( 3 ) the identification of such information by the consumer; and ( 4 ) a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer.

Again, I have provided all 4 pieces of information and I expect these listed accounts above to be blocked and deleted within 4 business days of your receipt of this notice, otherwise you are in violation of my rights under the FCRA once again.

If you do not initiate an investigation regarding my dispute and delete this information within 4 business days of receipt of this notice per 15 usc 1681c-2 and inform me of your method of verification per 15 usc 1681i ( 7 ), as my right under the FCRA, I will have to take legal action to protect my credit rating and myself. Each violation of the FCRA allows damages of {$1000.00} should this matter end up in court. 

I have suffered emotional distress and as a result of this matter and I have felt suicidal as a result. Therefore, I am compelled to escalate this matter and request a fair and equitable resolution through arbitration, per Equifax arbitration agreement. 

Despite my previous communication efforts regarding this topic, this matter has not been adequately and fairly resolved as the FCRAs congressional findings section honors. 

I am aware that under XXXX arbitration agreement that Equifax is responsible for paying filing fees if the consumer in writing ask Equifax to do so which Im requesting. However, considering the substantial cost associated with the arbitration process, I am providing Equifax with an opportunity to avoid these expenses altogether. 

Delete these items and issue me a new, updated consumer report Thanks, XXXX XXXX. XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief