Consumer complaint received 2022-12-09
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NY
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:
Equifax, XXXX and XXXX have been violating my rights as a federally protected consumer under the FCRA and The Privacy Act of 1974. 16 CFR 313.1 defines the purpose and scope of how consumer nonpublic information is to be treated since on or about XXXX. Specifically, 313.1 defines Purpose and scope as the following : ( 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 ... No opt-out notices nor disclosures to opt-out were provided to me as required by law and/or statute.

15 USC 1681 section 602 A states I have a right to privacy. 15 USC 1681 section 604 A subsection 2 further states that a consumer reporting agency can not furnish an account without my written instructions. 15 USC 1681c ( a ) ( 5 ) states that no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information. Any other adverse item of information other than the records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than 7 years. 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( A ) ( 1 ) states that a person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate.

My federally protected rights under The Privacy Act of 1974 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) were violated by the reporting the student loan accounts listed below : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Additionally, Privacy Act of 1974 which is a federal law that governs the collection and use of records federal agencies maintain on me in a system of records. This system of records is any grouping of information about me under the control of a Federal agency from which information is retrievable by personal identifiers, such as name, social security number, or other identifying number or symbol. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, Federal agencies may not disclose information without my consent unless certain exceptions apply to the disclosure. The CRAs have not met the definitions of those " certain exceptions ''. Additionally, I have never provided written consent for my personal information to be disclosed to any credit report agencies, 3rd party, affiliates, and non-affiliates. According to The No Disclosure without Consent Rule, No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains [ subject to 12 exceptions ]. 5 U.S.C. 552a ( b ) The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

Under 15 USC 6802-obligations with respect to disclosures of personal information, it states under subsection ( a ) Notice requirements it states that 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. By virtue of XXXX, Equifax, and XXXX having my personal information, they have violated this code along with the data furnishers, non-affiliates, 3rd parties, and/or bank ( s ), that supplied this information to all 3 major CRAs.

Additionally, under 15 USC 1681a ( d ) defines a Consumer Report as : ( 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. Additionally, 15 USC 1681a ( 2 ) defines 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. Thus, the TRANSACTION HISTORY of the following accounts should be BLOCKED from my credit report : 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 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  The following accounts are listed as `` Collection '' accounts and under the IRS rules any account listed as a " charge off '' or in " collections '' is considered " income ''. Income is not to be reported on a credit report thus these accounts are to be removed and blocked immediately. Additionally, under 15 USC 6802-obligations with respect to disclosures of personal information, it states under subsection ( a ) Notice requirements that 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. The following accounts are being reported on my credit report without my knowledge or written consent, nor have they sent any documentation with my wet ink signature that demonstrates a financial relationship and/or financial obligation as to any debts acquired or owed to them by me. Those accounts are XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Additionally, 15 USC 1681, the Fair Credit Reporting Act provide for accurate reporting of information on my credit report. However the following accounts are listed in a duplicative manner and should be immediately removed, blocked and/or deleted to comply with the law governing accurate reporting : 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 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

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation