Consumer complaint received 2023-06-03
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: OH
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

Complaint:
As disclosed herein XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX & XXXX was subject to a cybersecurity attack culminating in ransomware from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/2022 ( the Incident ). XXXX & XXXX endpoint security detected and terminated the ransomware shortly after it executed. With assistance from third-party experts, XXXX & XXXX took immediate steps to secure its systems and investigate the nature and scope of the Incident. On or about XX/XX/2022, XXXX & XXXX discovered that the Incident may have impacted protected health information ( PHI ) or personally identifiable information ( PII ). We have found no evidence that your information was misused. XXXX XXXX XXXX failed to prevent 2022 data breach. In response to the attached letter, I mailed it to each of the XXXX major credit bureaus to request a fraud alert to be placed on my credit report. 

As an asinine response, as if these people working for XXXX, XXXX and Equifax don't understand basic XXXX, or don't care to read it, I received a credit report from each, but neither made mentioned the need that creditors have purported for a phone number to be on file. In fact, when I called each entity every time a creditor, namely XXXX XXXX XXXX ( co-brands with HomeDepot and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( who failed to communicate this, until I pressed the issue after waiting 48 days to receive business cards to reflect the approved $ XXXX and $ XXXX application letters, which I will address further on another report ) stated that they could not move forward with my credit card applications, notwithstanding a section of the Ohio Revised Code ( XXXX Unlawful discriminatory practice of creditor ) which in part, prohibits creditors from discriminating against any applicant for credit in the granting, withholding, extending, or renewing of credit, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, or conditions of any form of credit, on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, military status, marital status, national origin, disability, or ancestry, ( except that this division shall not apply with respect to age in any real estate transaction between a financial institution, a dealer in intangibles, or an insurance company as defined in section 5725.01 of the Revised Code and its customers ).

They try to circumvent the discrimination claim by purporting that they can not verify us, namely people of color, or if we have a fraud alert on our credit report, which is not visible, they require us to endure a personally identifiable information ( PII ) exposing verification process via an interrogation- over the airwaves of VoIP - that they purport is only a verification process, but they refuse to provide their first and last name, representative identification and/or city in which they are working. I am sure there is a label on ANY account that I hold per my vehemently complaints about the lack of fairness in communication and privacy as we never know who is interested in collusive activity. In addition to that, the credit bureau representatives purport that none of the phone numbers that are on your credit report is the one on your account for the fraud alert. This is institutional discrimination which prevents us from accessing working capital and the like. 

Of the XXXX credit bureaus, Equifax has NOT sent me a printed copy of my credit report, no matter how many times I have requested it annually or when I am denied credit for my businesses by asinine decisions of creditors.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation