Consumer complaint received 2024-09-19
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was result of identity theft
Company: M&T BANK CORPORATION (PA)

am filing a complaint regarding the M & T Visa Credit Card account ending in XXXX. Your response fails to address the central issue of my dispute, and I must formally rebut several points made in your correspondence. 

1. Failure to Investigate My Dispute Under the FCRA : You claim that M & T is not obligated to respond to certain portions of my dispute, citing that my requests are overbroad, unduly burdensome, and irrelevant. This assertion does not excuse M & T from its obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) to investigate disputes concerning inaccurate information being reported. The FCRA ( 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ) places a duty on furnishers of information, such as M & T Bank , to investigate the accuracy of the information they report to credit bureaus when a consumer disputes the validity of the account. Your failure to fully investigate and respond to my identity theft claim constitutes a violation of my rights under the FCRA. 
2. Unverified Fraudulent Account : You allege that the M & T Visa Credit Card ending in XXXX was opened electronically on XX/XX/2024, and provided monthly statements to support your position. However, I have never opened or authorized this account, nor did I receive any prior notice or documentation regarding its creation. Simply providing transactional records and monthly statements does not constitute sufficient verification of the validity of this account, particularly in the context of identity theft. Furthermore, your conclusion that no fraudulent activity has taken place is not based on a comprehensive investigation and is inconsistent with the evidence I have provided regarding the unauthorized nature of the account. 
3. Failure to Acknowledge FCRA Opt-Out Rights : M & T Bank has also failed to address my concerns related to the opt-out provisions under 15 U.S.C. 6802, which mandates that I have the right to restrict the sharing of my personal information with third parties. Your refusal to respond to portions of my dispute relating to this issue is not only dismissive but violates my rights under federal law. 
4. Inaccurate Reporting to Credit Bureaus : You state that M & T is reporting this account to the credit bureaus and confirm that the reporting is valid and accurate. I disagree with this characterization, as the account is not mine, and any reporting of this fraudulent information is inherently inaccurate. As such, continuing to report this account to the credit bureaus without conducting a proper investigation into my identity theft claim further violates my rights under the FCRA. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2, once an account is disputed, the information must either be removed or marked as disputed until a proper investigation concludes. To date, M & T has failed to take either action. 

Conclusion : By failing to respond to my dispute appropriately and disregarding the legal protections provided to me under the FCRA, M & T Bank has violated federal law. I demand that M & T immediately : Conduct a thorough investigation of my identity theft claim and provide substantive findings. 
Cease all inaccurate reporting of the disputed account to credit bureaus. 
Provide the required opt-out rights and any other necessary documentation under 15 U.S.C. 6802. 

Please treat this as a formal request for resolution. If this matter is not resolved promptly, I will be left with no choice but to escalate this dispute to pursue further legal action to protect my rights. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX