Consumer complaint received 2017-09-27
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: LA
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:
This is a formal complaint against you, Equifax, due to your failure to comply with the FCRA laws and refusal to delete unverified and inaccurate information being reported on my credit report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 ( FCRA ), all consumer reporting agencies must ensure that they establish and follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. Furnishers can not report information if they [ know ] or have reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. Moreover, CRAs must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation when a consumer files a complaint about errors, and the CRAs must remove incorrect information from a consumers report within a limited period of time. Clearly, you are relying on the furnishers to conduct the investigations and determine whether an error has occurred and/or taking the word of the furnisher in handling these complaints/disputes. I am writing to dispute the accounts referenced above. I have disputed these accounts information as inaccurate with you, and you have come back to me and stated you were able to verify the debts. How is this possible? Under the laws of the FDCPA, I have contacted the creditors myself and have been unable to get them to verify that this is indeed my debt. 
The listed items are entirely inaccurate and as such represents a very serious error in your reporting. Please be advised that I am not requesting verification, that you have my mailing address ; rather, I am requesting validation, i.e., competent evidence that I had some contractual obligation sans consumer protection encumbrance which incurred the original claims associated with this tradeline. Note that section 1681s-2 ( b ) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act creates a cause of action for a consumer against a furnisher of erroneous credit information. Please know that you have 30 days to either answer these demands or to remove the associated negative tradeline notations from the CRA reports. Any other action may constitute evidence of your intent to abridge one or more civil or other constitutional rights. Please be further advised that continued unsubstantiated reporting of possible inaccuracies to third parties may provide a basis for criminal complaints being filed in accordance with FDCPA, FCRA, and other federal statutes. I am distressed that you have included the information below in my credit profile and that you have failed to maintain reasonable procedures in your operations to assure maximum possible accuracy in the credit reports you publish. Credit reporting laws ensure that bureaus report only 100 % accurate credit information. Every step must be taken to assure the information reported is completely accurate and correct. 
The FCRA requires you to verify the validity of the item within 30 days. If the validity can not be verified, you are obligated by law to remove the item. There is a clear case of unverified debt here, and I urge you to remove this item before I am forced to take legal action. 
In the event that you can not verify the item pursuant to the FCRA, and you continue to list the disputed item on my credit report I will find it necessary to sue you for actual damages and declaratory relief under the FCRA. According to this regulation, I may sue you in any qualified state or federal court, including small claims court in my area. 
While I prefer not to litigate, I will use the courts as needed to enforce my rights under the FCRA. 
I look forward to an uneventful resolution of this matter. 

Creditor 's Name : XXXX Account Number : XXXX Comment : PROVIDE REQUESTED VALIDATION OR DELETE THIS TRADELINE!!!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation