Consumer complaint received 2023-04-28
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TN
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
XXXX reported my XX/XX/XXXX payment as being 30-days past due. The delinquent account showing on my credit report fir XX/XX/XXXX was due to COVID-19 pandemic and I intend to make up the payments as soon as I could, and the payments were made up with the account becoming current. At the time of the due payment my state and city had a 'shelter in place ' due to quarantining myself due to XXXX symptoms. 

Section 4021 : Credit Protection During COVID-19 The CARES Act amends the FCRAs duties on furnishers during the COVID-19 crisis in a significant way. If a furnisher makes an accommodation with respect to one or more payments on a credit obligation or account of a consumer, and the consumer makes the payments or is not required to make one or more payments pursuant to the accommodation, then the furnisher must report such credit obligation or account as current during the period of the accommodation. Importantly, this means that furnishers should not report an affected account using forbearance coding during the accommodation period and, instead, should report that account as current. 
If the account was delinquent prior to the accommodation, then the furnisher must report the account as the status reported prior to the accommodation until the account is brought current.

An accommodation is defined as relief granted to a consumer who is affected by COVID-19 during the covered period. And, according to Section 4021 ( F ) ( i ) ( XXXX ), the covered period is the period beginning on XX/XX/XXXX, and ending on 120 days after the COVID-19 national emergency is terminated which was XX/XX/XXXX. The Act requires lenders to report to credit bureaus that consumers are current on their loans if consumers have sought relief from their lenders due to the pandemic. The Bureaus statement informs lenders they must comply with the CARES Act. The Bureaus statement also encourages lenders to continue to voluntarily provide payment relief to consumers and to report accurate information to credit bureaus relating to this relief. The continuation of reporting such accurate payment information produces substantial benefits for consumers, users of consumer reports, and the economy as a whole. If a consumer is able to obtain a covered accommodation, the CARES Act offers the following protections : If the consumer was current on an obligation at the time of an accommodation approval, the account must be reported to CRAs as current if the consumer is complying with the accommodation agreement. 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ( F ) ( ii ) ( I ).

If the consumer was already delinquent when the consumer received the accommodation, but complies with the accommodation agreement, the creditor or other furnisher must report the same delinquency status during the accommodation period. 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ( F ) ( ii ) ( II ) ( aa ). The CARES Act provision is considered in pari materia with the standard for accuracy under the reinvestigation requirements of CRA-referred disputes under section 1681s-2 ( b ). Therefore, the CARES Act provision informs those reinvestigation duties.

Indeed, several courts note the interplay between furnisher duties found in subsections 1681s-2 ( a ) and 1681s-2 ( b ). See NCLCs Fair Credit Reporting 6.10.5. Most notably is the Fourth Circuit in Saunders v. Branch Banking & Trust Co. of Virginia, 526 F.3d 142, 150 ( 4th Cir. 2008 ) : The first subsection, 1681s-2 ( a ), provides that furnishers have a general duty to provide accurate and complete information ; the next subsection, 1681s-2 ( b ), imposes an obligation to review the previously disclosed information and report whether it was incomplete or inaccurate upon receipt of a notice of dispute from a CRA. The second subsection thus requires furnishers to review their prior report for accuracy and completeness ; it does not set forth specific requirements as to what information must be reported, because these requirements have already been set forth in the first subsection.

As stated by one court summarizing the Saunders jurisprudence, If a furnisher has a duty to report information under the subsection ( a ) standard, that information must also be covered by the subsection ( b ) duty to investigate and correct incomplete or inaccurate information. Shames-Yeakel v. Citizens Fin. Bank, 677 F. Supp. 2d 994, 1005 ( N.D. Ill. 2009 ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation