Consumer complaint received 2022-01-28
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NC
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account information incorrect

Complaint:
I want to file a formal complaint against all three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX for inaccurate reporting, failure to fully investigate disputes, and believing that they have violated my rights in accordance with the FCRA. I am also filing a complaint against XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NC XXXX ( XXXX ) for inaccurate reporting and lack of timely response to debt validation request. XXXX XXXX XXXX continues to report inaccurate information to my credit report as the true balance is {$0.00} due to the account being paid in full to the original creditor but XXXX XXXX continues to report a balance of {$1000.00}. The XXXX CRAs have continued to allow such inaccurate information to be reported as evidenced by constantly labeling my disputes as verified that this item has been reported correctly. 

Initially, in XXXX of XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX directly regarding a collection account that was discovered upon checking my credit report. I informed them that there was a collection account noted on my XXXX report in the amount of {$1000.00} with their name/contact information. I spoke with a representative and acknowledged that I had no knowledge of the alleged debt and did not know who they are. At that time, I informed him that I wanted information regarding the debt so that I am fully informed, therefore requested validation of the debt in writing to my current address noted above. I waited patiently for the validation of this debt, but there was no response from XXXX XXXX XXXX. In fact, in XX/XX/XXXX ( please see attached screenshot ) the collection account was removed from my credit report because XXXX XXXX failed to validate the debt. However, on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX sent a utility bill from XXXX XXXX ( documentation attached ) in an attempt to validate this debt. Clearly, the debt was not fully validated and I even reached out to XXXX XXXX directly. Needless to say, I never received additional information regarding validation of this debt. 

Additionally, in XXXX of XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX added this collection account back to all three of my credit reports. However, Equifax, XXXX, and Transition failed to notify me ( via call or in writing ) that this account was being added back to my report. I am a little confused, is this not a violation? What happened to the 5 day rule of me being notified of an item being re-inserted on my credit reports? As a result of this collection account being re-inserted to my credit reports, I was denied a home loan as I was in the process of a pre-approval with a lender. This was very devastating for me and my family. 

I made several attempts to resolve this issue with XXXX XXXX XXXX ; however, they were being very unreasonable and made every effort to continue to collect on this alleged debt and another debt from XXXX with promises to remove the account from my credit report if I pay off BOTH accounts in full. I spoke with XXXX at XXXX XXXX XXXX at this time. 

Therefore, on XX/XX/XXXX, I reached out to the original creditor ( XXXX XXXX ) directly. I spoke with a representative and explained that I believe I do not owe any money on this account as this was an address that was shared with my mother, sister, and oldest daughter. I explained that we all have the same last and similar names. At this point, I was basically in tears on the phone and because I was tired of dealing with this and desperately wanted so badly to be able to qualify for a home, I paid the debt so that my credit report would not have any current delinquencies reflecting a balance. The payment had to be broken down into XXXX payments because the system can not take over {$1000.00} at a time ( per the representative reports ), so I made a {$1000.00} and {$22.00} payment. At that time, XXXX XXXX assured me that they would inform the collection agency ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) that they no longer have ownership/transfer of the debt as it has been PAID IN FULL and to cease all collection efforts. 

Moreover, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX updated my credit reports with only a {$23.00} payment credit. Therefore, across all three credit reports ( XXXX, Equifax, XXXX ), this collection account continues to be listed as delinquent with a past due balance of {$1000.00}. Given the latter, I have reached out to the credit bureaus, more specifically by filing multiple disputes in an effort to remove the inaccurate account from my credit report, explaining that the Balance is incorrect as it's reporting. I have sent multiple disputes to Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX to make them aware that XXXX XXXX continues to report inaccurate information to my credit reports. However, the credit bureaus continue to respond to my disputes by stating that your dispute results have verified that this item has been reported correctly. I have even gone as far as requesting their method of verification with my last dispute, dated XX/XX/XXXX requesting that they notify me on how this information was requested/obtained to verify this information? Who did they talk to directly? Again, all three credit bureaus failed to conduct an independent and reasonable investigation of my disputes to ensure the validity of the debt and honesty/integrity of this collection agency/account. I was NOT provided with their method of verification as requested, but rather another generic response of the dispute item was verified as accurate. This leads me to believe that the credit bureaus did NOT do a complete and thorough investigation because I provided CLEAR proof of payment ( please see my bank statement attached ) to prove that the disputed account balance has been paid in full to the original creditor on XX/XX/XXXX. Instead the collection agency has continued to report an incorrect balance and the credit bureaus continue to verify this inaccurate information, in turn further negatively impacting my credit profile and scores causing my financial standing to look poorer than it really is. I feel that this is an utter disgrace on ALL parties. 

Thus, this is my formal complaint that Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX have falsely certified the accuracy of this account as the balance is incorrect and they were provided with proof to support my dispute of the balance being reported incorrectly. Therefore, they have failed to fulfill their duties, in return, violating my rights in accordance with the FCRA. This is unacceptable and very disappointing. Consequently, I have resulted in this formal complaint in hopes that the CFPB can assist in this matter so that I can receive a truer and accurate investigation of my disputes to help get resolution to this frustrating issue as these companies have caused and continue to cause me nothing but stress and hassle. Given the numerous violations and blatant disregard to do their job, I would like for this collection account to be DELETED/REMOVED from my Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX credit report so that I can move on with my life and continue to work towards reaching my financial dreams and goals. The presence of this inaccurate collection account as reported is adversely affecting my credit report and is impeding my ability to obtain necessary credit. Time is of the essence so I would greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation