Consumer complaint received 2023-09-27
Company: LEXISNEXIS
State: MO
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Other personal consumer report
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Reporting company used your report improperly

Complaint:
To Whom it may concern, I am filing this complaint after failed attempts to gain clarity or an understanding of the information contained in my Lexis Nexis report. After being denied and/or rejected coverage for both auto and homeowners insurance without any clear understanding as to why, I began to investigate the cause. In fairness, I have had a couple traffic infractions although, I couldnt see why that would be a cause for denial of homeowners insurance. I have had a consistent credit score in the mid XXXX over the last 24 months and never once filed a homeowners claim with any of my previous homes. 

So, after requesting my Lexis Nexis risk report twice and reviewing the wealth of personal information it contains about me, I came across an entry that caught my attention. It was an annotation on my report requested by State Farm Mut and prepared by Lexis Nexis that I found odd since I hadnt requested any insurance from XXXX XXXX ever. Even more peculiar, it was associated with my former spouses information and had portions of our DOBs and included my address listed as the same as hers even though, we hadnt lived together since XXXX. Our official record of dissolution is dated XX/XX/XXXX. 

I further discovered on my XXXX/Risk report was an insurance claim paid out on behalf of my former spouse with my name associated to the claim which included my partial DOB and other personal information of mine and again, had my address associated with hers giving the appearance we were residing at the same address.

The XXXX/Risk report Lexis Nexis provides to insurance companies and other affiliated organizations consists of an extensive amount of personal information and proves extremely challenging to decipher. Understandably, I contacted Lexis Nexis to inquire about these entries and some much needed assistance to understand the rationale of why my former spouses information would be included in my XXXX/Risk report and if maybe I was somehow misinterpreting the data it contained. 

Unfortunately, I was given little understanding as to why that information was there other than the insurance company had requested a search of that data and that was why it was listed on my XXXXRisk report. When I informed the individual, I never inquired about insurance via XXXX XXXX, I was then told your former spouse must have requested it. I then asked well why did they have my DOB included in a search for my ex-wife, if I wasnt the specific one requesting the insurance to which, I did not get a clear answer or explanation.

I sought out Lexis Nexis for assistance and clarity on information that they collect in the aggregate then compile and provide to companies for a fee so these companies can make a business decision which determines what a customer will be charged for their service. Lexis Nexis chose to ignore my concerns, providing me half-truths to legitimate questions and ultimately hung up on me when they did not have a reasonable or logical answer as to why certain information was include on my report.

It states on my report, Insurers use prior loss information in the underwriting and rating of automobile insurance policies. This report is not a recommendation insurance companies utilize prior loss information in accordance with their own underwriting guidelines.

Given that statement, it would lead one to believe, if a claim was paid out on behalf of my former spouse yet somehow it was included on my XXXX/Risk report, its highly likely to be viewed negatively by any potential insurance companies I may have sought out, during that period. It would also give the perception that I might be a higher risk client and therefore, be a cause for denial. Yet, Lexis Nexis attempted to state that it was the insurance company who elicited the search, not their organization, and they are only reporting on the vast and extensive amount of data they continuously collect daily on any given individual in the country.

I would further like to point out that I did not solicit State Farm Mut for any of their services in my quest to gain auto or homeowners insurance however, Lexis Nexis states, that is the company who initiated the search and is the cause for my former spouses information being associated with mine on my XXXX/Risk report, despite not having my consent to use my personal information to search for previously filed insurance claims or to have my personal information included with my ex-wifes search for insurance. Its a clear case of unauthorized use of my personal information and which was used for reasons I am unaware of, except for the evidence of it being on my report. 

Both Lexis Nexis and XXXX XXXX Mut were careless and reckless, showing little, if any concern of who was the initiator or requested the search for this information. If this is the position Lexis Nexis takes and they only report on the data they collect, dont they have some level of responsibility or due diligence to the consumer to confirm the search request is valid and has the consumers consent?? 

After speaking with a CSR at Lexis Nexis, none of it made sense and I was left with the realization that the company, who the consumer is relying on to assist and help with corrections or potential misrepresented data, claimed everything listed on my XXXX/Risk report was standard practice and nothing out of the ordinary has occurred although, I have insurance denials that lead me to believe otherwise and a copy of my report that contains questionable entries related to me ex-wife and when I inquired about this, I was lead to believe it's a standard search requested by insurance companies that routinely occurs despite, once again, informing them, I did not approach, request, solicit, or inquire, with that specific company for any insurance products so my approval and consent was never given for this action. 

Both organizations are doing a huge disservice to the consumer and neither care to correct misrepresented information or at a minimum, provide a reasonable response as to why certain data of my ex-wife 's is associated and included in my individual XXXX/Risk report. 

Therefore, I am filing this complaint on both State Farm Mutual and Lexis Nexis for their lack of permissible purpose for requesting and subsequently, providing my consumer risk report without my valid consent which is a violation of FCRAs sections 604 ( a ) ( 3 ) and ( f ) provisions. I was not the subject of the users request and yet Lexis Nexis chose to include my information in a search requested by XXXX XXXX mutual when I did not provide nor give my consent. 

I thank you for your time and Im sorry this was so verbose. I am available to discuss this matter further, as needed and encourage you to contact me via the information I have provided. Again, thank you and have a terrific day!! 

Respectfully, XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation