Consumer complaint received 2023-05-25
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: MI
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
I have filed at least five ( 5 ) complaints against Equifax since the beginning of XXXX regarding their handling of data furnished by XXXX XXXX. The complaints include, but are not limited to { XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( CFPB Complaint XXXX ), XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( CFPB Complaint XXXX ), XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( CFPB Complaint XXXX ), XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( CFPB Complaint : XXXX ) }. Equifax failed to conduct a thorough investigation despite being provided at least sixty-six ( 66 ) pages worth of documentation with at least two ( 2 ) of the complaints in the set listed above. In response to CFPB Complaint XXXX Equifax claimed they'd verified the information furnished by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX correctly reported. In the most But, what Equifax did was wait on XXXX XXXX to supply an automated response through e-OSCAR. In order for the information supplied by the furnisher to be accurate, the data furnished by XXXX XXXX must be generated in accordance with the FCRA, the FDCPA, the XXXX, TILARegulation Z, etc. The most glaring example of Equifax not doing its job is with a response I received from XXXX regarding a billing error notification I filed on or around XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX responded to my billing error with an e-mail stating " The law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. Because of the age ofyour debt, XXXX XXXX will not sue you for it. In addition, the law limits how long a debt can be reported to a consumer reporting agency. Because ofthe age of your debt, we can not report it to a consumer reporting agency. Payment or non-payment of this debt will not affect your credit score. '' This implies that at the very least a failure to pay on the alleged debt ON or AFTER XXXX XX/XX/XXXX would not impact my credit scores with any of the consumer reporting agencies. Yet, XXXX began reporting the account as allegedly 120 days past-due for the month of XX/XX/XXXX. They marked the account as pays-as-agreed for the months of XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. They then began reporting the account as thirty ( 30 ) days past-due for XX/XX/XXXX, and advanced the delinquency status by thirty ( 30 ) days for the months thereafter thru present. Under 12 U.S. Code 5531 firms are forbidden from engaging in false, misleading, or deceptive practices. For XXXX to provide the notification they did on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, mark the payments for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX as " pays-as-agreed, '' and then subsequently begin reporting the account delinquent for the months thereafter thru present is the epitome of an act or practice that is forbidden under 12 U.S. Code 5531. In fact, the same portion of law highlights that what XXXX did constitutes an unfair act or practice beause it " causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers. '' Moreover, 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 outlines the responsibilities firms have when furnishing information regarding a consumer to a CRA. Despite 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) explicit prohibition against furnishing " any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the firm knows or has reasonable cause to believe the information is inaccurate, '' that is exactly what XXXX has continued to do here. There is no reason for XXXX not to know the information they are furnishing was both generated due to their own misleading and deceptive practices. Given I have filed multiple CFPB complaints against Equifax citing this very issue, Equifax knows, or should know, or should have reason to believe the data being furnished to them by XXXX XXXX is at minimum unverifiable/invalid/misleading for the months XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. For Equifax to persist this information in my credit file is a gross violation of 15 U.S. Code 1681i. The harm Equifax continues to inflict upon me by not removing the unverifiable/invalid/misleading information herein is serious. For example the firms XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX recently instructed a management company to deny me an apartment because this XXXX is on my Equifax credit report ( see attached response to CFPB Complaint XXXX from XXXX ). Perhaps most ridiculous is that I pulled a copy of my Equifax credit report today and it lists the disputed information for this referenced account as having been resolved and that I " disagree. ''

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief