Consumer complaint received 2023-09-24
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: AL
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
I submitted a dispute on my account that was in clear violation of the FCRA. 
It states as a collection but when I called the company they told me it was charged off. 
I contacted the company XX/XX/2023 at XXXX XXXX  and ran an account audit. It is stated as a collection but with the company it is reported as charged off and closed. 
This inconvenience has been preventing me from getting the emergency funded I needed to get a loan. I was in dire need of loan to prevent an eviction and my family has been evicted and we have been trying to find another home during this high inflation economy. 

In the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), the section that deals with inaccuracies in consumer credit reports and outlines the procedures for disputing and correcting such inaccuracies is primarily found in Section 611. 

**Section 611 : Procedure in case of disputed accuracy** **Subsection ( a ) : Free Annual Disclosure** - Consumers have the right to request and obtain one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies ( Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX XXXX once every 12 months through XXXX 

**Subsection ( b ) : Prompt Investigation of Disputes** - If a consumer believes that their credit report contains inaccurate or incomplete information, they can dispute it directly with the credit reporting agency ( CRA ). 
- Upon receiving a dispute, the CRA must conduct a reasonable investigation within 30 days to verify the accuracy of the disputed information. The 30-day period may be extended by 15 days in some cases. 

**Subsection ( c ) : Reinvestigation and Correcting Inaccuracies** - If the CRA 's investigation finds that the disputed information is inaccurate or incomplete, it must promptly correct or delete the information. 
- If the disputed information can not be verified, it must be removed from the consumer 's credit report. 
- The CRA must notify the consumer of the results of the investigation in writing and provide a free copy of the corrected credit report, if applicable.

**Subsection ( d ) : Notification of Dispute** - The CRA must also notify the furnisher ( the entity that provided the disputed information to the CRA ) of the consumer 's dispute. 
- The furnisher is then obligated to conduct its own investigation and report the results to the CRA.

**Subsection ( e ) : Procedures in Case of Reinsertion** - If the CRA reinserts previously deleted information based on the furnisher 's response, the consumer must be notified within five business days. 
- The consumer has the right to request information about the source of the reinserted information.

**Subsection ( f ) : Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance** - This subsection provides for civil liability for willful noncompliance with the FCRA 's requirements, which can include damages and attorney 's fees.

**Subsection ( g ) : Administrative Enforcement** - The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) and other federal and state agencies are responsible for enforcing the FCRA.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief