Consumer complaint received 2019-07-05
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: GA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Complaint:
The company listed above is reporting inaccurate, outdated, unverified information. These companies are reporting a paid, closed, or satisfied account as open with a balance. 

I recently check my credit report and see that INACCURATE, OUTDATED, UNVERIFIED, FRAUDULENT information is being reported to my account. I DEMAND THAT THE ACCOUNTS BE DELETED AND BLOCKED IMMEDIATELY. I have asked you to remove this fraudulent account off my report and you fail to do so. According to the Fair Credit Reporting.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 609 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), you are required by federal law to verify - through the physical verification of the original signed consumer contract - any and all accounts you post on a credit report. Otherwise, anyone paying for your reporting services could fax, mail or email in a fraudulent account.

For your reporting services could fax, mail or email in a fraudulent account.

According to FCRA 623 ( a ) ( 5 ) if the credit bureau can not VALIDATE the information they must remove said information from the consumer credit file.

This letter will serve as a demand letter to remove accounts if failure to do so i will be force to take legal action required by my county. I sent you a certified package. Enclosed in that package was : A notarized identity theft report, a copy of valid government identification, current copy of my credit file, a letter stating the items werent authorized by me and a request for the items to be BLOCKED. Please also block my name, address, phone number and social security number on file. I do not consent to the release of my information without contacting me first.

Your records will show that over the years I have disputed these items as Not Mine, they dont belong to me.

You have failed provide me the following ; Balance because the creditor claim to have charged off the account and it is a FACT that there is insurance on each account to protect the creditor against asset loss. Did they receive monies from an insurance claim that paid off the alleged account balance? 
Did they even fund the account or did you? 
Did they take tax credits? 
Are they the creditor or really just the servicer? 
Did they disclose that they were charging you for the insurance premium to protect against asset loss? 
Did they get your approval in writing agreeing to the amount of the premium as require by law? 
Did they get the insurance payoff prior to charging off the account? 
Is the contract creating the account even valid since they lacked full disclosure and equal risk? 
Do they even have a certified copy of the original contract bearing both your signature and their authorized representative 's signature? 
Can they provide a full accounting showing every charge, every payment, every fee, every interest charge, every credit -including the insurance claim monies received, and any other amount along with the date each event occurred? *This does not mean they get to send you monthly billing statements. They need a full history document ). 

A copy of the original Consumer Contract with my Signature on it which you have on file with the accounts listed below under which accrued the alleged debt.

If companies listed is not named as the Creditor on the original contract, then please provide me with the name and address of the original creditor, as well as proof of your authority to represent the creditor or the consumer in this legal matter. An acceptable form of proof would be ; Power of Attorney ; or an assignment letter appointing you as an Assignee for the debt ; or a statement, sworn to, under penalty of perjury, that the debt is valid, and that you are Legally entitled to collect this debt on behalf of the original Creditor.

The name and official title of the person to whom you verified this information with, their company, or the computer based system used for verification. Please also include the date in which you communicated with that individual or the date by which the system was accessed. 

As a requisite of validation, please provide an accounting of any money, property named as collateral, insurance or services subject to, or arising out of the transaction, that created this alleged debt obligation. 

Please inform me of the date when the account ( s ) were opened. 

Please provide records of any payments or other reductions since the last billing statement for the account ( s ) listed. 

Please inform me if youve determined that this debt is within the statute of limitations applicable to it? 

Please inform me as to whether these agencies have a debt collection license from the state they are in and reporting to. If not, please explain why. 

Please Provide the date of their professional license for debt collection, along with the name on the license, the license number, and the name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license, your Tax ID number on the enclosed W-9, the address of the registered agent, and your business registration number issued by the Secretary of States office.

If you provide the requested documentation, I will require at least 10 days investigating the information you provide. During this time, you must cease and desist all collection activity on my report. Do not report negative information to the credit bureaus during this validation period. 

If your office does not respond to this validation request within 10 days, all references to this account must be deleted from my credit reports and completely removed from my credit file. If not removed from my file I will be forced to take legal action which your company can be fined $ XXXX for each violation. 

Please send a copy of any such deletion request to me. 
My intention is to resolve this matter as quickly and as efficiently as possible your attention to this matter and prompt response is appreciated. 

I have no knowledge of these accounts, so therefore its in nature. Under the FCRA, unverified accounts must be removed and if you are unable to provide me a copy of verifiable proof of original contract, you must remove the accounts listed below. If you are unable to provide me with a copy of the verifiable proof that you have on file within 10 days for each of the accounts listed below then you must remove these accounts from my credit report. Please provide me with a copy of an updated and corrected credit report showing these items removed.

This is a blatant violation of FCRA 605B ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 ) Subsection ( a ) reads as follows : ( a ) Block. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency of ( 1 ) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer ; ( 2 ) a copy of an identity theft report ; ( 3 ) the identification of such information by the consumer ; and ( 4 ) a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer.

Once those documents were in your possession, Subsection ( b ) of FCRA 605B ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 ) would apply. Section ( b ) reads as follows : Notification. A consumer reporting agency shall promptly notify the furnisher of information identified by the consumer under subsection ( a ) of this section ( 1 ) that the information may be a result of identity theft ; ( 2 ) that an identity theft report has been filed ; ( 3 ) that a block has been requested under this section ; and ( 4 ) of the effective dates of the block.

In the event that your company decided not to block the trade lines identified as identity theft, Section ( c ) of FCRA 605B ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 ) would apply. Subsection ( c ) reads as follows : In general. A consumer reporting agency may decline to block, or may rescind any block, of information relating to a consumer under this section, if the consumer reporting agency reasonably determines that ( A ) the information was blocked in error or a block was requested by the consumer in error ; ( B ) the information was blocked, or a block was requested by the consumer, on the basis of a material misrepresentation of fact by the consumer relevant to the request to block ; or ( C ) the consumer obtained possession of goods, services, or money as a result of the blocked transaction or transactions. ( 2 ) Notification to consumer. If a block of information is declined or rescinded under this subsection, the affected consumer shall be notified promptly, in the same manner as consumers are notified of the reinsertion of information under section 1681i ( a ) ( 5 ) ( B ) of this title. The time frame for a consumer to be notified is within 5 business days after the reinsertion.

I demand to see Verifiable Proof ( an original Consumer Contract with my Signature on it ) you have on file of the accounts listed below. Your failure to positively verify these accounts has hurt my ability to obtain credit. Under the FCRA, unverified accounts must be removed and if you are unable to provide me a copy of verifiable proof, you must remove the accounts listed below.

I demand the following accounts be verified or removed immediately. 

Name of Account Account Number Provide Physical Verification XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Unverified Account XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX Unverified Account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Unverified Account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Unverified Account XXXX XXXX XXXX Unverified Account XXXX   XXXX Unverified Account XXXX   XXXX Unverified Account

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief