Consumer complaint received 2023-01-06
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NV
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize

Complaint:
When I pulled my credit report, I was shocked to see that I had 25 hard inquiries! A credit inquiry is a request by an institution for credit report information from a credit reporting agency. Credit inquiries can be from all types of entities for various reasons, but they are typically made by financial institutions. They are classified as either a hard inquiry or a soft inquiry. To my understanding a hard Inquiries are requested from a credit bureau whenever a borrower completes a new credit application, in which I did not do! They are retrieved using a customers Social Security number and are required for the credit underwriting process. Hard inquiries provide a creditor with a full credit report on a borrower. This report will include a borrowers credit score and details on their credit history. 



I was surprised to see this because I did not give anyone permission to look at my credit report. It is to my understanding that I must give written consent for someone or a company to look at my credit report this is permissible purpose 15 U.S. Code 1681b subpoenas or court orders, written instructions from the consumer, credit transactions with a consumer, employment purposes with written authorization from a consumer, insurance underwriting purposes, tenant screening, and national security investigations. 

15 U.S. Code 1681b ( a ) In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : In response to the order of a court having jurisdiction to issue such an order, a subpoena issued in connection with proceedings before a Federal grand jury, or a subpoena issued in accordance with section 5318 of title 31 or section 3486 of title 18.

( G ) executive departments and agencies in connection with the issuance of government-sponsored individually-billed travel charge cards. 

( 4 ) In response to a request by the head of a State or local child support enforcement agency ( or a State or local government official authorized by the head of such an agency ), if the person making the request certifies to the consumer reporting agency that ( A ) the consumer report is needed for the purpose of establishing an individuals capacity to make child support payments, determining the appropriate level of such payments, or enforcing a child support order, award, agreement, or judgment ; ( B ) the parentage of the consumer for the child to which the obligation relates has been established or acknowledged by the consumer in accordance with State laws under which the obligation arises ( if required by those laws ) ; and ( C ) the consumer report will be kept confidential, will be used solely for a purpose described in subparagraph ( A ), and will not be used in connection with any other civil, administrative, or criminal proceeding, or for any other purpose. 

( 5 ) To an agency administering a State plan under section 654 of title 42 for use to set an initial or modified child support award.

I am not applying nor on CHILD SUPPORT!

Also 16 CFR part 313 ( a ) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph ( b ) of this section. This part : ( 1 ) Requires a financial institution in specified circumstances to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices ; ( 2 ) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties ; and ( 3 ) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated third parties by opting out of that disclosure, subject to the exceptions in 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15. 

Scope. This part applies only to nonpublic personal information about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from the institutions listed below. This part does not apply to information about companies or about individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. This part applies to those financial institutions over which the Federal Trade Commission ( Commission ) has rulemaking authority pursuant to section 504 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( C ) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. An entity is a financial institution if its business is engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to such financial activities as described in section 4 ( k ) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843 ( k ), which incorporates activities enumerated by the Federal Reserve Board in 12 CFR 225.28 and 225.86. The financial institutions subject to the Commission 's rulemaking authority are any persons described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 that are predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both. They are referred to in this part as You. Excluded from the coverage of this part are motor vehicle dealers described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 ( b ) that directly extend to consumers retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles in which the contract governing such extension of retail credit or retail leases is not routinely assigned to an unaffiliated third party finance or leasing source. 

I did in fact fill out an identity theft affidavit, and to my knowledge the inquiries are still on my credit report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation