Consumer complaint received 2017-07-08
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CA
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 am filing this complaint because I believe Equifax has violated Section 605B of the FCRA in dealing with a Police Incident Report that I submitted to them During the week of XX/XX/XXXX. I was seeking to have the items removed from my credit report. The other two bureaus, XXXX and XXXX, have properly handled the issue but Equifax has not removed, blocked or deleted the accounts reported as faudulent as of this date, XX/XX/XXXX. Under 605B of the FCRA, ( 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. In the first week of XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from Equifax stating that they would not block the information and that they were contacting the creditors directly to verify accounts on my behalf. They also acknowledged that they had received the Identity theft/Police Report I provided. The letter did not mention any problem with the Identity theft/Police Report and it did not state a reason for not blocking the information as required by 605B of the FCRA. Around the date of XX/XX/XXXXI called Equifax through their customer service number to find out the status of the situation. The customer service rep told me to wait until XX/XX/XXXX when Equifaxs investigation would be complete. I called Equifax again through their customer service number on XX/XX/XXXX and the customer service representative had no idea any investigation was going on. I stayed on the phone with the representative for more than 40 minutes while she researched my inquiry. When she finally did come back to the phone she informed me that she had the Police Incident Report and other information that I had provided and that Equifax will not block the accounts because it was an incident Report and not a Police report. This was the first time I had heard this in the month that I had been communicating with Equifax about this issue. Section 603 ( q ) ( 4 ) of the FCRA defines an identity theft report as a a report that : ( A ) that alleges an identity theft ; ( B ) that is a copy of an official, valid report filed by a consumer with an appropriate Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, including the United States Postal Inspection Service, or such other government agency deemed appropriate by the Bureau ; and ( C ) the filing of which subjects the person filing the report to criminal penalties relating to the filing of false information if, in fact, the information in the report is false. " I have included all of the above, and the law enforcement agency is one for which filing of a report subjects the person to criminal penalties, and I believe Equifax is in violation by suddenly and after the expired time under the law, requesting I get a different report. They acknowledged in their letter to me dated XX/XX/XXXX that they had received the Identity theft and or Police Report I provided. I have suffered greatly as a result of improper reporting by the credit bureaus. From exorbitant interest rates, to loss of job opportunities, to even homelessness. Equifax should not fumble or play with peoples lives this way. For years, out of ignorance, I never knew about credit reports or how to dispute information and stand up for myself. Equifax is well aware that a portion of the population are simply not educated enough to understand the difficult legalities of consumer credit, and I believe that they take advantage of people who are either too poor or too ignorant to fight back. I dont have a law degree or money to pay a lawyer. But what they did in my situation is wrong and if this isnt resolved I will need to consult a lawyer. A proper resolution to this issue is for Equifax to block, delete, and remove the information identified in the Police Incident Report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation