Consumer complaint received 2022-06-29
Company: Early Warning Services, LLC
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Other personal consumer report
Issue: Identity theft protection or other monitoring services
Sub-issue: Problem canceling credit monitoring or identify theft protection service

Complaint:
I sent Early Warning Services LLC, a consumer letter, which template is found online, requesting that the company place a security freeze and permanent opt-out on my account on XX/XX/2022. On XX/XX/2022, the company sent a response stating that it was exempted from both placing a security freeze and opting me out of their sharing of my consumer report in their offices as they claimed that the company does not offer direct to consumer products that may be opted out. The correspondence, which included two letters, used the Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 603 ( x ) to justify supposed exemption from placing the requested freeze and opt out. In response to the letters, I immediately called the company on the same day and attempted in vain to have the company place the security freeze and permanent out-out. I spoke with two male representatives, XXXX and XXXX, and both were adamant in the position and specifically stated that the company was content in its decision to not allow me to engage in my right to have a security freeze or opt-out. On XX/XX/2022, Early Warning Services LLC, sent to me a consumer report and the report included several pages regarding consumer rights and FCRA. The 15-page document on page 12 has a header that states verbatim " CONSUMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN A SECURITY FREEZE '' and under said header it goes into minor particulars of how consumers have a right to place a security freeze and sue any violator. On the same page before the section dealing with the security freeze there is a bullet point stating that I as consumer have the right to limit prescreened offers of credit and insurance. It baffles me to no end that Early Warning would send a consumer report detailing to me that I have the right to both place a security freeze and permanently opt-out of prescreened offers and yet also send to me correspondence detailing to me that it is exempt from such requirements. I did take the liberty to call the CFPB prior to this online complaint and was informed by the agent that she had no documentation on any such exemption of any CRA from adhering to the FCRA reporting requirements. And on the contrary, in my own research, I can find no such exemption for any CRA to not allow a consumer to engage in his right and place a security freeze or opt-out of the said CRA 's sharing of consumer information without the consumer 's express consent. And my research details that many other consumers have also had issues with Early Warning not placing security freezes or calling in to the company and having the agents tell them that Early Warning is exempt from placing such freezes because it is a specialty agency. I have researched the laws and the section that Early Warning likes to weaponize against consumers does not offer any type of exemption to any CRA to place security freezes or allow consumers to opt-out of the sharing of the consumer data. It does define specialty agencies but that's it.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation