Consumer complaint received 2020-07-10
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NC
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Information belongs to someone else

Complaint:
I was the victim of credit card fraud from an ex girlfriend who used my cards for her own personal gain using 3 separate credit cards from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX without my permission and without my knowledge. One of these cards is through XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have cleared the fraudulent charges on my other two cards by submitting a fraud report to those companies, but XXXX has refused to do a fair and impartial investigation to clear the debt from my name even with the substantial evidence which has been presented to them. I am submitting this complaint due to violations committed by XXXX XXXX XXXX under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Fair Credit Billing Act. The final complaint submitted to XXXX XXXX XXXX was received with the following statement made by them in writing which outlines their lack of investigations. " We previously responded to your concerns in our enclosed letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, in which we enclosed a copy of the Card member Agreement that says on page 1 that you, as the Primary Card member, are responsible for all charges made including anyone you permit to use your account. '' They then proceed to state " Although we understand your claim that your ex-girlfriend used the credit card without your permission, you acknowledge that you made and agreement with her to repay you for the purchases and acknowledge that you allowed her to handle your finances. We consider this to be a civil matter, not fraud, and best handled outside of the credit card industry. Our decision remains unchanged '' This letter was received by myself on XX/XX/XXXX and is entirely inaccurate on the information submitted to XXXX XXXX XXXX on the fraud report and continues to be perpetuated by false information reported to the credit bureaus as well. When I submitted the report of the fraudulent activity, I never stated I asked the ex-girlfriend to repay ME for these fraudulent charges, I offered her the ultimatum to repay the fraudulent charges to XXXX and clear the credit card of all debt or to face criminal prosecution. She then made a few payments on the card, but then recanted her promise to pay and was ultimately charge with two felony charges by the XXXX, NC Police Department. XXXX also inaccurately states that I claimed this ex-girlfriend handled my finances. At no time has she ever handled my fiances and this information is completely inaccurate. However, even if this information WAS accurate, there is no place under the law that would excuse felony credit card fraud and identity theft and make this matter a civil matter. XXXX has not once called me after repeated requests and complaints over this matter to actually conduct an accurate and thorough interview. After this last " investigation '' I received a call stating an investigator name XXXX would contact me in the coming days as she works on the investigation. I never received that call, in fact there was no information provided by me at all in this investigation other than information they claim I provided and used that is full of inaccuracies entered from their initial investigation two years ago. Instead, I received a letter stating " Our decision remains unchanged '' and then cites inaccuracies that persist from the initial investigation 2 years ago that I have continued to point out are incorrect. I have had nothing to do with this re-investigation and they appear to simply be reading someone else 's notes and then copying what they had to say which includes falsehoods such as " He allowed her to use his card '' or " You allowed her to handle your finances '' when in reality they are misapplying statements that were made about unrelated items. I have never had the chance to have a fair and ACCURATE investigation as it is glaringly obvious XXXX does not want to conduct a real investigation because they know the fraud I experienced must be deleted from my account and clear my credit of this charge card. XXXX states the following inaccuracies on their investigations but has never validated or even contacted me to verify any of the information which they seem to use to make their determination. 1. I allowed the ex-gf to use the cards. -I made it abundantly clear to XXXX XXXX XXXX I never authorized nor knew about the fraudulent charges. Once I discovered the illegal charges, I gave the person who was still a current girlfriend at the time the ultimatum to repay the money for the theft ( to the credit card companies ) or I would file criminal charges. The reason I did not immediately file criminal charges is to avoid her becoming a convicted felon. She was at the end of two years of college classes to become an XXXX   and was almost ready to graduate and she was also a XXXX  mother. As stated earlier, we were still romantically involved and I did not want to ruin years of schooling for her XXXX. Instead, trying to be fair, I offered her the chance to make things right with the credit card companies or turn her over to the police, but ultimately that would be her decision. The woman in question did make payments to the cards for a short period of time then stopped entirely and directly refused to pay off her fraudulent charges. By the time I filed criminal charges I had ended the relationship, removed her from my home, and reported the fraud she had committed to the credit card companies. I attempted to make the credit card companies whole by first giving her ( the ex-gf ) the opportunity to repay the money and avoid prosecution. It seemed like the " nice-guy '' option as everyone would win in this scenario. She would avoid any charges and could continue on her career as a XXXX  and set a good example to her children ( she was also a XXXX   mother ), the credit card companies would be repaid in full PLUS interest on her fraudulent charges, and I would not have to deal with this nightmare of fighting to clear my name of charges I did not authorize or know about. XXXX now contends that makes this a " civil '' matter. I directly dispute that allegation as I have consulted with my local police department who agree, this is a criminal matter and on XX/XX/XXXX filied one charge of Financial Transaction Card Fraud. An additional charge of Felony Identity Theft was added by Investigator XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. As explained to me by Investigator you can not make a felony into a civil matter, and allowing her to repay the money to XXXX  is actually called " continuation of a felony ''. The investigator stated it would not be something you would likely understand and obviously you were trying to do what is right, but XXXX XXXX XXXX absolutely should know that a felony can not be absolved by paying restitution it simply " continues '' even if the debt was cleared, however that was not the case here as the ex-gf failed to pay the money as promised. 2. XXXX alleges I allowed my ex-gf to " handle my finances ''. Once again, this information is completely false and results in massive assumptions compiled by information that had to be twisted by the initial investigator. The information provided to the initial investigator that could only be where the investigator drew this conclusions was when I stated the now ex paid " all the bills of the house '' meaning she had the lights, cable, rent etc in her name. I was NOT on the lease, I was not joint on any account with her of any kind. I simply paid her half of these items in cash to pay these house hold items. I lived with her, but the lease of that rental was in her name. To be fair, I paid my fair share of items that were used, but at no point did she handle my finances. I had my own bank account which she was not on, I paid all my own items such as cell phone, insurance, car payment, student loans etc myself. They came from my bank account which was again in my name. The only reason the household bills were ever mentioned to the initial investigator was because after reviewing the fraudulent charges, I noticed she was paying 100 % of these " household bills '' with the stolen funds from my credit card AND collecting half of the bills from me personally in cash as well. So she was avoiding paying any of the bills since she was adding them to the cards, then still taking cash from me as if she was adding it to her money and sending out checks to pay those bills. I even discovered at least two forged credit card checks she used to pay the rent to the land lord, but once again also got half of the rent from me in cash. As a result, she managed to not pay any of the bills in her name for several months, collect money from me, and later also used the stolen card information to pay HER personal bills such as car insurance, cell phone bill, buy items online for her children, pay her child 's cell phone bill, put gas in har car, etc. That was all discovered shortly after I purchased my home and was confronted with the massive amount of credit card debt by my mortgage broker who then explained my credit bureau was showing maxed out cards. However, the " investigators '' from XXXX also got this information wrong and somehow turned this into the ex must have had access to all my finances etc. They have failed to do any semblance of an investigation and have simply rehashed old inaccurate information and placed notes on the account never actually doing anything. As a result, I am filing this complaint with copies of the police report as well as the statutes of both State and Federal laws  which prove without a double that what XXXX alleges is civil is entirely criminal. There is no reason for this account to still be appearing on my credit bureau when the information they have been provided proves this account is the result of Credit Card Fraud! For  XXXX XXXX XXXX to continue to report this as a charge off and reporting this information as accurate is a concerted effort to intentionally inflict damages upon me for refusing to pay on this account due to the fact it is fraud. The following State of North Carolina Statutes define the charges made by the ex on my credit card as fraud : 14-113.9. Financial transaction card theft. ( a ) A person is guilty of financial transaction card theft when the person does any of the following : ( 1 ) Takes, obtains or withholds a financial transaction card from the person, possession, custody or control of another without the cardholder 's consent and with the intent to use it ; or who, with knowledge that it has been so taken, obtained or withheld, receives the financial transaction card with intent to use it or to sell it, or to transfer it to a person other than the issuer or the cardholder 14-113.13. Financial transaction card fraud. ( a ) A person is guilty of financial transaction card fraud when, with intent to defraud the issuer, a person or organization providing money, goods, services or anything else of value, or any another person, he ( 1 ) Uses for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services or anything else of value a financial transaction card obtained or retained, or which was received with knowledge that it was obtained or retained, in violation of G.S. 14-113.9 or 14-113.11 or a financial transaction card which he knows is forged, altered, expired, revoked or was obtained as a result of a fraudulent application in violation of G.S. 14-113.13 ( c ) ; or ( 2 ) Obtains money, goods, services, or anything else of value by : a. Representing without the consent of the cardholder that he is the holder of a specified card ; or b. Presenting the financial transaction card without the authorization or permission of the cardholder ; or c. Representing that he is the holder of a card and such card has not in fact been issued ; or d. Using a financial transaction card to knowingly and willfully exceed : 1. The actual balance of a demand deposit account or time deposit account ; or 2. An authorized credit line in an amount which exceeds such authorized credit line in the amount of five hundred dollars ( {$500.00} ), or fifty percent ( 50 % ) of such authorized credit line, whichever is greater ; or ( 3 ) Obtains control over a financial transaction card as security for debt ; or ( 4 ) Deposits into his account or any account, by means of an automated banking device, a false, fictitious, forged, altered or counterfeit check, draft, money order, or any other such document not his lawful or legal property ; or ( 5 ) Receives money, goods, services or anything else of value as a result of a false, fictitious, forged, altered, or counterfeit check, draft, money order or any other such document having been deposited into an account via an automated banking device, knowing at the time of receipt of the money, goods, services, or item of value that the document so deposited was false, fictitious, forged, altered or counterfeit or that the above deposited item was not his lawful or legal property 14-113.11. Forgery of financial transaction card. ( a ) A person is guilty of financial transaction card forgery when : ( 2 ) With intent to defraud a purported issuer, a person or organization providing money, goods, services or anything else of value, or any other person, he falsely encodes, duplicates or alters existing encoded information on a financial transaction card or utters such a financial transaction card ; 14-113.15. Criminal receipt of goods and services fraudulently obtained. A person is guilty of criminally receiving goods and services fraudulently obtained when he receives money, goods, services or anything else of value obtained in violation of G.S. 14-113.13 ( a ) with the knowledge or belief that the same were obtained in violation of G.S. 14-113.13 ( a ). Conviction of criminal receipt of goods and services fraudulently obtained is punishable as provided in G.S. 14-113.17 ( a ) if the value of all the money, goods, services and anything else of value, obtained in violation of this section, does not exceed five hundred dollars ( {$500.00} ) in any six-month period ; conviction of criminal receipt of goods and services fraudulently obtained is punishable as provided in G.S . 14-113.17 ( b ) if such value exceeds five hundred dollars ( {$500.00} ) in any six-month period. ( 1967, c. 1244, s. 2 ; 1979, c. 741, s. 1. ) 14-113.17. Punishment and penalties. ( b ) A crime punishable under this Article is punishable as a Class I felony. ( 1967, c. 1244, s. 2 ; 1979, c. 741, s. 1 ; c. 760, s. 5 ; 1993, c. 539, ss. 55, 1183 ; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14 ( c ). The Federal Statutes which also confirm the actions against me as criminal fraud are as follows : 15 U.S.C. 1644 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 15. Commerce and Trade 1644. Fraudulent use of credit cards ; penalties ( a ) Use, attempt or conspiracy to use card in transaction affecting interstate or foreign commerce Whoever knowingly in a transaction affecting interstate or foreign commerce, uses or attempts or conspires to use any counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained credit card to obtain money, goods, services, or anything else of value which within any one-year period has a value aggregating {$1000.00} or more ; or ( d ) Receipt, concealment, etc., of goods obtained by use of card Whoever knowingly receives, conceals, uses, or transports money, goods, services, or anything else of value ( except tickets for interstate or foreign transportation ) which ( 1 ) within any one-year period has a value aggregating {$1000.00} or more, ( 2 ) has moved in or is part of, or which constitutes interstate or foreign commerce, and ( 3 ) has been obtained with a counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained credit card ; or ( f ) Furnishing of money, etc., through use of card Whoever in a transaction affecting interstate or foreign commerce furnishes money, property, services, or anything else of value, which within any one-year period has a value aggregating {$1000.00} or more, through the use of any counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained credit card knowing the same to be counterfeit, fictitious, altered, forged, lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained shall be fined not more than {$10000.00} or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. It is obviously clear that there is no defense alleged by XXXX in any previous statement that would make this matter civil in any way. Both State and Federal laws make it very clear I was the vitim of fraud, as well as the local police department who have filed two felony charges against her. So, how can XXXX possibly make the claim to find this matter civil? The last time I checked the Prosecutors and Police officers who do this for a living decide what is a crime based on these very statutes, especially since they saw fit to file charges for the actions of this now ex-girlfriend. So what then could possibly motivate XXXX to continually file false information that my account information is " accurate '' when the LAW says it is not just criminal, but FELONY charges that were committed. My rights under the Fair Debt Collection Act have been violation due to intentional and deceptive collection practices, unfair reporting of false information, and illegally reporting inaccurate information to creditors damaging my credit score resulting in higher interest rates on my home, car insurance, as well as knowingly keeping that false information on my credit bureau. They have also violated my rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act knowingly failing to investigate my claim of fraud and simply passing of their " investigation '' as completed. This is obvious with prima facia evidence that they continue to claim the fraudulent charges are civil when their are a half dozen statutes listed that contradict their own statements. They are not qualified to make legal decisions on what is or is not fraud when the law has already clearly defined the actions that occurred in my case fall directly in the definition of credit card fraud. Cards were used without my knowledge, items were purchased over the internet falling under federal statutes, signatures on receipts were signed under my name which were then forgeries, credit card checks were cashed using my name to pay rent also adding to the fraud under Forgery of Financial Transaction and Receipt and Concealment of Goods Obtained by Use of Card. There is Statute after Statute that directly covers EVERYTHING that  happened to me as a victim of fraud, but XXXX XXXX XXXX wants to fake an investigation and call it civil. To continue this narrative is not just unjust, but it is borderline criminal on their part knowing that the lasting effects of their information is directly harming me financially. That is likely their motive for continuing to respond in the manner that they are an I surely hope an investigation is conducted by CFPB and additional fines and punitive damages are levied against them for their deceptive and illegal business practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation