Consumer complaint received 2020-01-21
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: WA
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:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a dispute with Equifax regarding a " hard credit check '' that was listed on my Equifax credit report. Obviously a " hard credit check '' stays on the report for two years, is seen by everyone accessing the report, and can negatively impact a credit score and have other negative credit implications as well. The " hard credit check '' had been conducted by " XXXX XXXX XXXX, '' a car dealer. The credit check was never authorized under any conceivable circumstances. Thus, as indicated, I challenged the " hard credit check '' with Equifax on XX/XX/XXXX, as an " unauthorized '' credit check, a dispute category provided by Equifax, even though I had contemplated challenging it as " fraudulent, '' another choice given to consumers by Equifax with which to categorize a disputed inquiry. Within two days, on XX/XX/XXXX, and without Equifax even investigating the matter, Equifax informed me that " Inquiries are a factual record of file access '' and that I would have to take the matter up with XXXX XXXX XXXX if I wanted the hard credit inquiry removed from my credit report. In fact, as an aside, I had done just that a month earlier and been told by General Manager XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) of XXXX XXXX XXXX  that the inquiry would be removed by Finance Manager XXXX XXXX. Regardless, for Equifax to state that the unauthorized inquiry is a " factual record '' is redundant and states the obvious. That is why the dispute was filed in the first place. Of course the inquiry " factually '' occurred. Equifax is not licensed to allow fraud to occur to consumers ' credit reports with the aid of Equifax and then sit back and say " Well, it factually occurred, sorry. '' So on XX/XX/XXXX, I filed a dispute again with Equifax, this time calling XXXX XXXX XXXX ' " hard credit check '' what it was, a " fraudulent '' credit check by a car dealer. This time Equifax took mere hours on XX/XX/XXXX, to once again inform me ( Confirmation # XXXX ) that " Inquiries are a factual record of file access '' and, once again, according to Equifax, Equifax could just stand on the sidelines and say, " Sorry, the world can see now for two years the fraud, also that we were an accessory to, also additionally after the fact, and there is nothing we will do about it. '' Equifax of course could have added, " You see, the XXXX XXXX XXXX of the world pay our bills, not you, and so we will defer, as a matter of course, to XXXX XXXX XXXX in this matter and not rock the boat. You will have to rock the boat to address this fraud. In the meantime, we will continue to be an accessory-after-the-fact to the this fraud '' The item remains as " hard credit inquiry '' on my credit report. Furthermore, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from XXXX of XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) General Manager informing me that Equifax had informed him that Equifax would not remove the hard credit inquiry without Mr. XXXX providing Equifax with my social security number. Mr. XXXX inferred to me that he was communicating with Equifax at that very moment. I gave him my social security number and asked him, " Then how did you run the credit check to begin with. '' I knew XXXX XXXX XXXX had ever had my social security number to begin with and it had long puzzled me how the credit check was run. Mr. XXXX said, " We can just enter a name.... '' So according to Mr. XXXX Equifax allows people to fraudulently run credit checks on people without any social security number but requires the victim of the fraud to then also provide a social number to the fraudster to remove the record of the fraudulent inquiry from the Equifax credit report?!? But, wait, there is more! On XX/XX/XXXX, I again received a phone call from MrXXXX XXXX. This time informing me that Equifax was stating that Mr. XXXX had to send me a letter stating that XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX of XXXX ) had conducted an unauthorized credit check and that I in turn had to send the letter myself to Equifax. Equifax did not require XX/XX/XXXX of this effort for Equifax to commit the fraud with XXXX XXXX XXXX  when Equifax facilitated XXXX XXXX XXXX fraudulent access to my credit report. Now, according to Equifax, I have to move mountains to undue Equifax 's fraud? Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Regardless, on XX/XX/XXXX, Equifax was sent by me the letter composed by Mr. XXXX and emailed to me by MrXXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation