Consumer complaint received 2020-03-11
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NC
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:
To Whom it may Concern, This is regarding disputing multiple accounts on my XXXX  Report. The first letters were delivered via XXXX. Below you will find disputed accounts and dates of dispute as well as agency response. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX NA Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, Removed from XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, Removed From XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX  Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax ) XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, Removed from XXXX XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX Acct # XXXX Opened XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX  OPENED XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX OPENED XX/XX/XXXX ( Equifax ) XXXX XXXX  XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) XXXX XXXX ( Removed From XXXX ) XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to all three credit agencies regarding the validity of the above accounts. All the letters were sent certified and were notarized with my identification attached. 
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 60g ( a ) ( l ) { A }, you are required by federal law to verify - through the physical verification of the original consumer contract - any and all accounts you post on a credit report. Otherwise, anyone paying for your reporting services could fax, mail or email in a fraudulent account. 1st Request for Verification In XX/XX/XXXX I  received a credit report update from ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) stating that all the above accounts were verified as accurate. 
XX/XX/XXXX, I responded with the 2nd written request ( Complete Letters attached ) Please be advised this is my SECOND WRITTEN REQUEST. The unverified items Listed below remain on my credit report in violation of Federal Law. You are required under the FCRA to have a copy of the original creditors documentation on file to verify that this information is mine and is correct. ln the results of your first investigation, you stated in writing that you " verified ', that these items are being " reported correctly ',? Who verified these accounts? Letter Requested Verification In XX/XX/XXXX I received a credit report update from ( XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, Equifax ) stating that all the above accounts were verified as accurate. Nothing of what was requested in the 2nd letter was provided. 

XX/XX/XXXX, I responded with the 3rd written request. 
NOTICE OF PENDING LITIGATION SEEKING RELIEF AND MONETARY DAMAGES UNDER FCRA SECTION 616 & SECTION 617 Please accept this final written OFFER OF SETTLEMENT BEFORE LITIGATION as my attempt to amicably resolve your continued violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act regarding your refusal to delete UNVERIFIED information from my consumer file. I intend to pursue litigation in accordance with the FCRA to seek relief and recover all monetary damages that I may be entitled to under Section 616 and Section 617 if the UNVERIFIED items listed below are not deleted immediately. A copy of this letter as well as copies of the three written letters sent to you previously will also become part of a formal complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and shall be used as evidence in pending litigation provided you fail to comply with this offer of settlement.

Despite two written requests, the unverified items listed below still remain on my credit report in violation of Federal Law. You are required under the FCRA to have a copy of the original creditors documentation on file to verify that this information is mine and is correct. In the results of your investigations, you stated in writing that you verified that these items are being reported correctly? Who verified these accounts? You have NOT provided me a copy of ANY original documentation ( a consumer contract with my signature on it ) as required under Section 609 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) & Section 611 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ). Furthermore you have failed to provide the method of verification as required under Section 611 ( a ) ( 7 ). Please be advised that under Section 611 ( 5 ) ( A ) of the FCRA you are required to promptly DELETE all information which can not be verified.

The law is very clear as to the Civil liability and the remedy available to me ( Section 616 & 617 ) if you fail to comply with Federal Law. I am a litigious consumer and fully intend on pursuing litigation in this matter to enforce my rights under the FCRA. 

I demand the following accounts be verified or deleted immediately. COPY OF LETTER TEXT In XX/XX/XXXX I received a credit report update from ( XXXX, XXXX, Equifax  ) stating that all the above accounts were verified as accurate. XXXX  removed 3 accounts above XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Nothing of what was requested in letter was provided for the other accounts. 
I started the process again this year XXXX I focused on my healing and wanted to get back to disputing as soon as I could. I STARTED DISPUTING THE SAME ACCOUNTS ONLINE WITH XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX. All accounts came back as accurate and the request for documentation and proof of accounts were completely ignored. 

On XX/XX/XXXX another request to validate reported items was made by me via XXXX ( confirmation of dispute attached below ). On XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX/XXXX   XXXX  disputes were Opened. 
XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reported account : We have an update about your Account Dispute The dispute for the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that starts with XXXX was not changed as a result of our processing of your dispute. The company that reported the information has certified to XXXX   that the information is accurate. We will notify you when all your pending disputes have been completed and the full results are ready to view. Review your latest Credit Report to help ensure the information on your Report is accurate. '' XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX XXXX XXXX ( REMOVED FROM XXXX  ) reported account : " We have an update about your Account Dispute The dispute for the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  that starts with XXXX has been updated. We will notify you when all your pending disputes have been completed and the full results are ready to view. Review your latest Credit Report to help ensure the information on your Report is accurate. '' XX/XX/XXXX XXXX   responded as follows for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reported account : We have an update about your Account Dispute The dispute for the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX that starts with XXXX has been updated. We will notify you when all your pending disputes have been completed and the full results are ready to view. Review your latest Credit Report to help ensure the information on your Report is accurate. 


XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX XXXX XXXX  reported account : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX/XXXX XXXX  reported account : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX/XXXX XXXX reported account : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  responded as follows for XXXX XXXX 2ND DISPUTE XXXX reported account : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX responded as follows for XXXX XXXX XXXX reported account : On XX/XX/XXXX I XXXX XXXX drafted and Mailed via regular mail the 2nd request for validation with instructions. My response requested to know who verified these accounts? I explained in the letter to XXXX ( attached below ) that they are required under the FCRA to have a copy of the original creditors documentation on file to verify that this information is mine and is correct. 
I then proceeded to inform them that they have NOT provided me a copy of ANY original documentation required under Section 609 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) & Section 611 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) ( a consumer contract with my signature on it ) and under Section 611 ( 5 ) ( A ) of the FCRA they are required to promptly DELETE all information which can not be verified.

In this letter I requested verification of their process used to verify the accounts disputed as well as information proving the accounts listed above as valid. I demanded the accounts be deleted of verified immediately.

Information requested from XXXX  : A. The name of the courthouse/The name of creditor B. The name of the individual/person who they verified the dispute with C. The address D. The phone numbers E. The documentation used to verify the dispute ( Mailed lettered attached ) This information was received and responded to by XXXX  on XX/XX/XXXX ( postcard received in mail attached ) XXXX  provided only their process to verify accounts on reports. All other request has been ignored. One of the lines stated that when they contact the furnisher or vendor, they ask that they verify all the information regarding the items disputed and report back in 30 days. 
they then will review all relevant documents submitted with the dispute and will forward them to the furnisher if they are unable to resolve the issue. 
In the next step they review and consider the furnishers or vendors response to determine whether to accept it, reject it, or follow up for additional information. if after processing, they find that the dispute information is inaccurate, incomplete or can not be verified, they delete or modify that information, as appropriate. if they do not receive a response from the furnisher or the vendor within the required period, they update the item as I have requested or delete the information and send results. 
Lastly, they openly reviled that they also in some instances can determine whether the disputed information should be changed or deleted without contact with the furnisher or vendor. 
This is truly alarming to read! XXXX  has already stated that it has verified the accounts above as being valid. They have not provided any documentation from the furnishers proving such validation to be true. They also admitted in the post card that they not only verify by contacting the furnisher they also verify using third party vendors or in some instances they make the determination without contacting the furnisher or third-party vendor. 
This is a clear violation of my rights in writing in their words! 
THE FCRA STATES THAT THE REPORTING AGENCY MUST GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL FURNISHER OF THE DEBT TO VERIFY THE DEBT IT SELF. 
XXXX  has failed to provide any proof of the accounts listed above but continue to post to my credit report. Also, there has been no contracts with my signature provided no documentation whatsoever by any of the three credit reporting agencies. 
Letters Sent to Equifax and XXXX  mailed via regular mail XX/XX/XXXX ( Attached ) I have been disputing these accounts since XX/XX/XXXX. I was very ill at the time and never pursued legal remedy during the time of XXXX. I am healthy now and have disputed these accounts for the last time. The credit reporting agencies negligence has cased damages to me personally. They have completely fabricated verification of each account. After multiple request have been made for proof and/or name, address and phone number of verifying entity I see no other way of resolving this issue but litigation. This has gone on long enough and these items must be deleted asap. 

All three credit agencies have had over a year to resolve this issue and they have failed to do so. This has cause me to no get certain jobs, kept me from renting properties, multiple denials and has ruined my reputation. I would like to file this complaint on the bases of the negligence from the agencies over the last year. The active disputes keep happening and they continue to ignore my request. 

Best, XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation