Consumer complaint received 2021-03-22
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
For months this company has been reporting inaccurate, unverifiable erroneous things on my credit report and ruining my credit score and I am sick of it. This company has ruined my credit score so bad I got denied a loan for my house!! Now I can not provide for my family because of these derogatory marks. These medical bills and other derogatory collection accounts listed on my credit report, are incorrect and NOT mine. Simply verifying that someone used my name, social security number and/or address is insufficient to confirm that I am the person in question and owe this debt.

The court has ruled that in Hinkle v. Midland Credit Management , Inc., that during a dispute and subsequent investigation with the original creditor, collector or a credit bureau, that the original creditor or collector, must provide account-level documentation that would hold up when presented to a jury. That means an original contract or similar proof. To this end, I am demanding an itemized bill to include but not limited to : The diagnosis and procedure performed that I am being billed for, Dates of said procedure, Cost of any medication you may have provided, Cost of any medical devices you may have provided, Office Visits, Consultations, Hospital Visits, Misc.

As I am not the person who owes this bill, I am aware that providing the information requested may lead to third party disclosure : a HIPAA violation. That would be your problem and not mines, as a consumer. And per the FCRA and FCPA, I am not required to complete a police report since the burden to prove the debt is on you.

In addition, a provision of the FACTA regulations is the Notice of Negative Information provision, covered in section 623 ( A ) ( 7 ).

I have never received notification that this had been or was going to be listed with a credit reporting agency. FACTA ( Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ) requires creditors, including doctors and hospitals, to give the consumer a warning notice, so the matter can be addressed before a negative item such as this is reported in error.

I am also requesting a copy of your in-house procedures that enable you to avoid the problems that lead to improper identification of consumers and the subsequent misreporting to the credit bureaus.

In lieu of supplying the information Im demanding, you can simply stop all collection activity, including but not limited to removing this item from all credit bureaus to which it has been reported. If this is not done within 30 days of receipt of this letter, I will proceed to exercise all my legal rights, including litigation, to protect my good name.

A response with a bill is NOT evidence of proof that the debt is mine. Anyone can open an account under my name for which a bill is produced, but that doesn't mean it was actually me or that the debt is actually mine. I need real evidence. This evidence consists of a contract from the original creditor or some agreement bearing MY written signature agreeing to pay the debt. In the absence of this evidence I ask you to please remove this account from my credit report.

A DELETION OF THIS ACCOUNT FROM MY CREDIT REPORT IS A FAIR RESOLUTION.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation