Consumer complaint received 2018-06-18
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NJ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
This correspondence is to request inaccurate late payments dated in XX/XX/XXXX to be removed from my credit score reports. By failing to update previously reported information, please be advised that 22 of my federal loan accounts totaling an estimate of {$180000.00} serviced by XXXX is in violation of Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA.

I've provided 4 certified letters to XXXX  in XX/XX/XXXX and 1 certified letter in XX/XX/XXXX requesting to dispute inaccurate information documented on my account and have not received assistance in this matter as requested. 

I have attached an FTC advisory opinion which interprets Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA. The issue posed in the advisory opinion is how a lender is to handle a situation when subsequent information updates a report that was allegedly accurate when it was made but no longer is accurate in the present time ( i.e., the identical situation I am currently in ).

The advisory opinion states that the Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA addresses the duty to correct and update information by furnishers, or persons who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies ( CRA ) such as credit bureaus. In particular, this section requires a person that has furnished to a consumer reporting agency information that the person determines is not complete or accurate to promptly notify the consumer reporting agency of that determination and provide any information needed to make it complete and accurate. Thus, on its face, this provision requires a furnisher to provide corrected or updated information to the consumer reporting agency that it had reported to originally. This duty extends to all student loan accounts reported to CRAs, regardless of whether they were accurate at one point, because the section requires the furnisher both to update accounts as well as to correct. 

XXXX  representatives informed me that because the 120 days delinquent payments were accurately reported in XX/XX/XXXX  and XX/XX/XXXX that any subsequently initiated forbearances would not allow for XXXX to update reports to CRAs to show that the payments were not late and actually in forbearance. However, Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) clearly shows that the reports must be updated/corrected regardless of whether they were accurate at one point. * All 22 federal student loan accounts that were part of the XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX late payments show late status effective as of XX/XX/XXXX. Also, I was enrolled in forbearance XX/XX/XXXX a month prior to the delinquent accounts and also was a XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX before any payment became due. Therefore, my credit reports do not currently or accurately reflect previous payment statuses with XXXX, both as they actually existed and as XXXX has recorded them. 

I am thus requesting that in compliance with Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA that the 22 department of education loan accounts showing a 120-day late payment in XX/XX/XXXX be updated and or removed immediately. 

In the event that these reports are not immediately updated to accurately reflect my payment status during XX/XX/XXXX, etc, I intend on filing disputes with each credit bureau in addition to official complaints with the FTC, CFPB, XXXX, and pursue other legal routes if necessary. 

Please respond within 15 days of the date of this letter with an update to this matter. 

Very Truly Yours, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation