Consumer complaint received 2022-08-11
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CO
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 Inc., aka Equifax continues to violate my federally protected consumer privacy rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

I have suffered grave personal emotional and financial hardships as a direct result of their fragrant disregard for the law and my right to privacy as a consumer. I am turning to the CFPB for assistance in resolving my dire situation and holding Equifax accountable for all of the harm they have caused me and my family. 

Equifax has taken on a crucial role in compiling and analyzing consumer credit and other information on individuals like me as a consumer reporting agency. Equifax must carry out their duties in a way that respects my right to privacy as a consumer and is required to do so by Congress. 

As a direct result of Equifax selling my private non-public personal information to various third-party non-affiliated vendors, I have been inundated with numerous credit offers from various creditors, including balance transfers of up to {$10000.00}, for many years. Their relentless marketing techniques have bankrupted me and my family, forcing me to file for XXXX XXXX  bankruptcy protection. 

I have never given Equifax express written authorization to sell my private information to any of the accounts listed in this letter and highlighted in the attached consumer report, nor do the accounts in question have my approval to report on my consumer report. To this day, I continue to get unsolicited credit offers facilitated in whole or in part by Equifax 's unlawful sale and distribution of my private consumer information, which is a blatant violation of my consumer privacy rights. 

As a direct result of the financial harm that Equifax has caused me, my marriage is disintegrating. Due to Equifax 's flagrant contempt for my right to privacy, I have been denied credit and am finding it difficult to locate new accommodation for my family and myself in the coming weeks. My character and reputation have also been severely tarnished by this firm. 

Equifax violates my right to privacy and my rights as a federally protected consumer by knowingly failing to comply with federal law. Equifax has a duty to ensure the truth of my consumer report, as federal law prevents the reporting of my personal, non-affiliated financial activities without my express authorization, which Equifax has never sought and I have never given. 

According to 15 U.S.C. 1681 Section 602 ( a ) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, as a consumer I have the right to privacy.

According to The Fair Credit Reporting Act ; 15 U.S.C. 1681 Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) - a consumer reporting agency may not furnish or sell my personal private nonpublic information to non-affiliated third parties without my express consent.

Recent guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consumer reporting agencies regarding the " permissible purpose '' provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) reiterates the importance of making sure that consumer reporting agencies uphold their obligations to protect the consumers ' right to privacy.

Under FCRA section 604 ( a ) ( 3 ), a consumer reporting agency like Equifax may not provide a consumer report unless it has cause to believe that the user has a legitimate purpose with respect to the consumer whose report is sought. A user 's mere request to a consumer reporting agency for a report about a consumer does not provide the agency adequate grounds to believe that the user has a lawful purpose for obtaining a consumer report about that individual. 

The guidance firmly states that users of consumer reports are strictly prohibited from using or obtaining consumer reports without such permissible purpose, and that the CRAs and users of consumer reports, including their agents and employees, may face criminal liability for violating these requirements, such as by obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses, without adequate purpose or providing consumer information to unauthorized persons. 

I have never given my express written consent to Equifax or any of the accounts listed below to furnish or sell any of my private non-public information, nor to any of the third-party non-affiliated financial institutions who have harassed me and continue to harass me with offers of credit, insurance, and other financial instruments. I challenge Equifax to provide any type of documented proof to the contrary. I have the right to choose where and how my nonpublic information is disclosed, which Equifax has and continues to deny me. 

I am attaching a letter addressed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which further details the consumer privacy violations Equifax is perpetrating against me, as well as a recent Equifax Consumer Report furnished on me in which I have highlighted the culpable accounts which Equifax continues to show despite them being a violation of my privacy rights. For verification of my identity, I am also attaching with this complaint a copy of my social security card, Colorado issued driver 's license, and a recent bank statement as proof of address.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation