Consumer complaint received 2022-09-16
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TX
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:
Hi, I XXXX XXXX am reaching out to the CFPB for the third time regarding the violation of my consumer rights to privacy as well as the violation of the Gramm Leach Biley Act. I will include the documentation to provide proof of the company 's previous response and how they are wrong and violated my rights with the furnishing of non public information which is prohibited under the Gramm Leach Biley Act. Not only this the company stated that they provided Opt-out notices annually with my account statement however, I did not see this Opt-out notice being given to me nor was I informed of this information when engaging in business. It is stated that " Financial Institutions must notify their customers about their information-sharing practices and tell consumers of their right to opt-out if they don't want their information shared with certain nonaffiliated third parties. In addition, any entity that receives consumer financial information from a financial institution may be restricted in its reuse and redisclosure of that information ''. That being stated and taken right from the ftc.gov website that is proof of the first violation of my privacy and consumer rights taken by this company XXXX XXXX in which they continue to neglect their wrongdoing which has caused me great financial, mental, and emotional distress. I was not notified of my right to opt out and I never consented to or gave written instruction to XXXX XXXX to have my information shared with nonaffiliated third parties such as XXXX, XXXX, & Equifax which is a violation of 15 USC 1681 ( a ) ( b ) permissible purposes of consumer reports. Additionally, this company has tried to state that the information reported to these third parties applies to information used for marketing purposes when that is not the case or the law. All Information concerning to my name, social security number, address, account numbers, and whether I am a consumer or customer is non-public information and this being shared with these third parties is a breach of privacy. As defined and stated on the ftc.gov website " The Privacy Rule protects a consumer 's nonpublic personal information. NPI is any personally identifiable financial information that a financial institution collects about an individual in connection with providing a financial product or service, unless that information is otherwise publicly available ''. I can guarantee you that my social security number, my name, address and account # s from this auto account is not publicly available and another means for proof of my violation of privacy. XXXX XXXX is wrong about this information not applying to being reported to the credit reporting agencies as they are a third party and my consent was not given or written with an explanation of purpose to provide this information! I DEMAND these late payments that are being reported for 30 days past due for XXXX and XX/XX/2021 to be removed from my Consumer Credit Report across the 3 credit bureaus as your response to the claims is invalid and a violation of the law. None of these financial institutions are above the law and can violate my rights and get away with it. I have lost my girlfriend of XXXX XXXX dealing with the stress from the violations caused from this company. I will attach all the proof of documentation as well to put a stop to this company and their fraudulent practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation