Consumer complaint received 2017-10-03
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
On my credit report it states that I had opened a student loan on XX/XX/XXXX and the date was updated XX/XX/XXXX with a past due balance of {$19.00}, XXXX. I have been disputing this entry for well over a year because this is an old loan that was paid off on XX/XX/XXXX and the was originally opened XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX is reporting to the bureaus when I no longer owe this long in which is was already pre-paid because they could not produce the original promissory note with my wet blue signature, but instead sent a copy of what they thought was my signature and it did not match. I have asked each credit bureau in a dispute to remove the negative entries from my credit report repeatedly. 

No exchange of original signed application documents ever takes place between me the creditor and the Credit Bureau ( CRA ). The CRA just reports the information provided by me the creditor and falsely assumes that it is valid and correct simply because it is being reported to them. And when asked to VERIFY the information the CRA will simply send an electronic communication to the creditor asking is this information correct and the creditor will usually respond yes this information is correct. Then the CRA will send you a letter or a copy of your credit report with a notation that will say, We have researched the credit account. The results are : we have verified that this item belongs to you. 

TRUTH IS, NO ONE AT THE CREDIT BUREAU EVER ACTUALLY VERIFIES THE ACTUAL CREDIT APPLICATION OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION. This is the dirty little secret that all 4 credit bureaus do n't want you to know about, instead they use the XXXX system to handle disputes. 

How do I know that this is the way they deal with disputes? I know this because I have read the transcripts where employees for various credit bureaus have admitted under oath that this is how it is done when they testified under oath in various lawsuits pertaining to the FCRA. 

Was I aware of this? No! Most consumers like myself HAVE NO IDEA that this is how credit items are verified. The Credit Reporting Agencies are in violation of Federal Law when they do this and they know they are but since 99.9 % of consumers do not know their rights they dont do anything about it. Why should they go to all that expense when they dont have to? 

Not only that, to make matters worse the FTC ( Federal Trade Commission ), which is supposed to regulate the Credit Bureaus and enforce the Fair Credit  Reporting Act, refuses to step in when you file a complaint with them or complain that the credit bureau refuses to send me copies of the verification. 

Today, if you file a complaint with the FTC they will send you a form letter that states, We can not act as your lawyer or intervene in a dispute between a consumer and a credit bureau or between a consumer and a creditor or furnisher of information. The private enforcement provisions of the FCRA permit the consumer to bring a civil lawsuit for willful noncompliance with the Act.
Under the FCRA, Credit Reporting Agencies ( Credit Bureaus ) must provide a copy of the verifiable original creditor documentation if it is requested properly by you the consumer. Since they can not provide proof of verification to you in the form of a physical contract document per your written request to do so the account is classified as UNVERIFIED and under the FCRA. Whether the account is correct or not makes no difference. If the CRA can not provide you physical verification of the account it is an UNVERIFIED account and MUST BE DELETED.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation