Consumer complaint received 2023-06-30
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: OH
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Reporting company used your report improperly

Complaint:
I am writing to inform you that upon reviewing my credit report, I have discovered that you are inaccurately reporting false and noncompliant information about me. Specifically, there are alleged accounts listed as a Collection/ Charge-Off with past due balances.

I must bring to your attention that your actions violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) 15 USC 1681 ( i ), which holds individuals and organizations accountable for willful noncompliance. By reporting a Collection/Charge-Off as a past due debt, you are willfully disregarding the rules and failing to comply with FCRA requirements. A Charge-Off is defined as a cancellation of debt and a certificate of indebtedness, which means the debt is considered income. Income can not be included on a credit report. Consequently, you are not only violating my right to privacy but also neglecting to properly investigate my dispute in a timely and appropriate manner.

Furthermore, according to the FCRA 15 USC 1681 ( n ), individuals or organizations can be held liable for negligent noncompliance. If someone negligently fails to comply with FCRA requirements, legal consequences may follow. In this case, you are required to remove any information that is untrue, inaccurate, non-compliant, and non-verifiable. How is that you are reporting Different Information from the Same credit furnisher? This information is clearly inaccurate, and I have included these inaccuracies within this dispute. Additionally, you have failed to provide me with the original agreement bearing my ink signature, which is a clear violation of the FCRA. 

In accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have violated my rights. Section 602A of 15 U.S.C. 1681 grants me the right to privacy, and section 604A Section 2 states that a Consumer Reporting Agency can not furnish an account without my written instructions. 

I want to make it clear that I did not provide these entities with written permission to report any of these accounts to a credit reporting agency. Moreover, these entities have been disclosing my personal information to third-party agencies without allowing me to exercise my right to opt out of such actions. 

I hereby demand the immediate removal of the following items from my consumer report : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Additionally, I want to emphasize that I have never signed a contract with these creditors, which further violates the FCRA laws ( 15 USC 1681 ). According to this law, the creditor has 30 days from the original date of dispute to provide the original contract with a signed handwritten signature. To date, I have not received the contract with my handwritten signature. Therefore, these companies have no right to attempt to collect a debt, and I demand the deletion of these accounts. 

Lastly, I have attached letters to this complaint as proof that I have requested to opt out with the following companies. However, my report has not been corrected, and the items have not been removed. This directly violates federal law. Under 15 USC 6801 - Protection of nonpublic personal information, financial institutions have an obligation to respect customer privacy and protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic personal information. As a federally protected consumer, I have opted out of any and all authorizations, whether written, unwritten, verbal, or nonverbal.

Furthermore, I am exercising my right to opt out of communications between my credit furnishers and any credit reporting agency, in accordance with 16 CFR 313, which grants consumers the right to restrict the sharing of their financial information with certain third parties. Additionally, as stated, I have opted out of any and all authorizations per 15 USC 6802 regarding the reporting of the accounts mentioned above.

These actions against me as a consumer are deemed unfair and deceptive under 16 CFR 433.2. This regulation states that any holder of this consumer credit contract is subject to all claims and defenses that the debtor could assert against the seller of goods or services obtained pursuant to or with the proceeds of the contract. I must also mention 16 CFR 433.3, which exempts sellers who took or received open-end consumer credit contracts before XXXX from the requirements. However, I have no contracts before this date. 

Please take immediate action to rectify these issues and remove the aforementioned items from my credit report. I expect a timely response and resolution to this matter. Failure to comply may result in further legal action.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief