Consumer complaint received 2024-09-15
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (NY)

Dear CFPB, I am submitting a formal complaint against Equifax for willfully violating 15 U.S. Code 1681i - Compliance procedures by failing to conduct a reasonable investigation and 15 U.S. Code 1681e ( b ) - Accuracy of report for failing to assure maximum possible accuracy.

I believe the evidence provided substantiates that not only was Equifax in violation of 15 U.S. Code 168o ( a ) ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) for being negligent and non-compliant in their handling this claim, but also violated 15 U.S. Code 1681n ( a ), as they clearly demonstrated willful recklessness throughout the process. This is my final attempt to request that Equifax resolve this matter, or I have no choice but to exercise my private right of action. 

Overview : I mailed Equifax a dispute letter via certified mail on XX/XX/XXXX, and provided 60 pages of evidence, including receipts and official documentation, asking them to investigate inaccurate information reporting on my credit file regarding an erroneous debt of {$4700.00} furnished by DFAS. ( see Exhibit I : Equifax Certified Mail Dispute XXXX ) My letter explained that not only was this debt a mistake on the part of DFAS ( with irrefutable evidence to back it up ), but in addition, I pointed out multiple other errors associated with this account which were reporting inaccurately ( causing adverse action ), and asked Equifax to investigate the errors and to correct the inaccuracies or delete the account. 

As youll find in Exhibit I, I provided Equifax a detailed overview of why the account is inaccurate and started by explaining that I had already contacted DFAS directly regarding the account back in XX/XX/XXXX, and they still hadnt responded to my dispute, so I was asking for Equifax to please investigate the matter directly.

I also explained that I had never received any letters or notices from DFAS regarding this debt. Instead, I discovered it while reviewing my credit report. To this day, DFAS has still not sent me any letters or correspondence regarding the reason for this alleged debt. I explained that I discovered the debt while randomly reviewing my credit report and saw that it was reporting. I explained that after reaching out to multiple departments within DFAS, I finally spoke with a representative named XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, who said her ID Number was 24. She was able to pull up the alleged debt and said it was regarding an overpayment due to the weight of a military  household goods move from XXXX XXXX XXXX, in XX/XX/XXXX and that DFAS sent the notice of indebtedness letter to that invalid address in XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I explained to Equifax that this was clearly a mistake by DFAS because I was NOT in the military in XXXX, nor did I live in XXXX  or have any association with that address in XXXX. I explained that XXXX is a one-party consent state and that I recorded the entire call with DFAS. During this call, I had the DFAS representative, XXXX XXXX, admit that the call was being recorded on her end as well ; however, when I told her the conversation was also being recorded on my end, she put me on hold and then abruptly hung up. Youll find a transcribed copy of this phone call with DFAS later in Exhibit IV. I then pointed out specific evidence to Equifax, which I included within the 60 pages of attachments, and explained there is no possible way this alleged debt could be accurate for the following reasons : 1. The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX documents I included, validate that I was medically separated from the military in XX/XX/XXXX, NOT in XX/XX/XXXX, and I was located in XXXX XXXX NOT in XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX 

2. I also included all the documents from the military pertaining to my household goods move from when I separated in XX/XX/XXXX ( to include all the receipts from that move that were returned by mail ), clearly indicating that I relocated from XXXX XXXX  to my home of record address in XXXX XXXX. Additionally, I pointed out that block 19a of my XXXX specifically lists my XXXX  mailing address ( Mailing Address After XXXX ) as the Home of Record Address in XXXXXXXX XXXX, and Block XXXX9b ( Nearest Relative ) has the same address. 

After pointing out this evidence, I asked Equifax how it would be possible for me to owe money for an alleged military households good move that took place two years and seven months after I had already XXXX  from the military, from an address in a state where, according to their own records, they I knew didnt live? I also asked them, why would DFAS mail the notice to an address that I am not associated with, in a state they know I dont live in, when according to their own records, they have my mailing address documented as the Home of Record Address in XXXX XXXX XXXX ? Not only does this clearly indicate that the debt DFAS is alleging I owe not valid, but its down right not even possible. Therefor I asked Equifax to please delete the account.

Although this shouldve been more than enough to substantiate my dispute, I proceeded with pointing out several additional errors regarding this account, asking Equifax to investigate and correct the following incomplete or inaccurate information : If this was for an alleged charge in XX/XX/XXXX, then why does the Date Opened say XX/XX/XXXX? Wouldnt this be considered illegally re-aging the debt? 
Why does the date open say XX/XX/XXXX, and Delinquency First Reported say XX/XX/XXXX, but the payment history data on the bottom doesnt have anything listed for XXXX, XXXX, or XX/XX/XXXX? 
Why does this account have a C listed for XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, indicating its in collections, and why does the account status ( under the summary section ) say COLLECTION, but this account is listed under the Revolving Accounts section of my credit report, and the Account Type says INSTALLMENT? 
Why does it say the Date of First Delinquency is XX/XX/XXXX, but the payment history data on the bottom is blank for XX/XX/XXXX? 
Why is the Actual Payment Amount section blank?

Why is the Date of Last Activity blank?

Why is the Activity Designator blank?

Why is the Creditor Classification UNKNOWN?

Why is the Date Closed blank?

I did my due diligence and spent a lot of time and effort to ensure I provided Equifax with all the evidence they could possibly need to conduct a reasonable investigation. I took the time to ensure everything was organized and presented so that any layperson investigating could look at the evidence and quickly determine this account was not only full of errors but that the debt itself was not valid and needed to be deleted. I then spent over {$40.00} on a mailing service to ensure Equifax properly received all 60 pages in a neat and organized manner via certified mail.

Response From Equifax : On XXXX XXXX XXXX, I received a letter in the mail from Equifax dated XX/XX/XXXX. The letter stated the following : We have received your request concerning inaccurate information on your Equifax credit file. Because the information you provided as proof of your identity does not match the information, we currently have on your credit file, we ask that you send us a copy of two different items- one from each of the two categories listed below. One item will verify your identity and the other will verify your current address ( see Exhibit II : Equifax Stall Letter for ID XXXX ) Knowing that the proof of identity I provided on XX/XX/XXXX, via certified mail DID match the information on my Equifax credit file and that this was nothing more than an unethical stall tactic that Equifax regularly uses to deter consumers from pursuing their legal right to correct inaccurate information on their credit file, I decided to call Equifax at the XXXX number they provided on the letter. I recorded the phone call, including Equifax 's permission, stating, " All calls may be recorded. '' I also had that recording transcribed and attached it here for your review. ( see Exhibit III : Equifax Recording Transcription XXXX ) I waited on hold for over 49 minutes to speak to a representative, which any reasonable person would agree is another deceptive attempt by Equifax to deter consumers from following through with their dispute. During the wait on hold, the automated message gave me the option to listen to the results of my dispute ( see Exhibit III, page 2, timestamp XXXX ) and stated Your dispute was completed on XX/XX/XXXX. The results of your dispute are as follows : for item one. We verified that this item belongs to you. For item two, Additional information has been provided from the original source regarding this item. For item three undefined.

My conversation with the Equifax Dispute Department Representative, XXXX, started approximately 49 minutes into the call. I explained to her the reason why I was calling and pressed her on two main questions. 1. How did Equifax reasonably determine that this account was verified as accurate when I provided an abundance of evidence that clearly proved otherwise? 2. Why did Equifax mail me a letter stating the proof of identity I provided didnt match the information on my credit file when it clearly matched the data on my Equifax Credit File ( Report Confirmation XXXX ) dated XX/XX/XXXX, exactly? ( See Exhibit IV : Equifax Credit File XXXX ) Despite all the evidence I provided, XXXX stated that all Equifax did was forward my dispute to DFAS and then marked it as verified because DFAS said it was. Equifax failed to conduct any independent investigation even though I explicitly stated in my letter that the reason I was disputing through Equifax was that I had already disputed with DFAS directly in XX/XX/XXXX, and they didn't rectify the situation. I even provided Equifax with copies of that dispute with DFAS, which were attached to the 60 pages of evidence I offered them on XX/XX/XXXX via certified mail, which you can find in Exhibit I. Instead of conducting a reasonable investigation, Equifax merely parroted the information that DFAS provided and ignored all my evidence with reckless disregard. 

Notice of Discrepancy in Address ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c ( h ) ) As for XXXX response to the erroneous letter claiming my identity didnt match, refer to Exhibit III, pages 9 - 11, starting at time stamp XXXX to XXXX. She told me to ignore that letter from Equifax because the information I provided was in fact accurate. However, the concern is why she states it was flagged, which would also violate the FCRA. She said this sometimes happens when banks or creditors access my report and provide updates with outdated or inaccurate information, such as an old address unless I request to have that address removed from my file. This is interesting because the address where DFAS allegedly mailed the notice of this erroneous debt was a very old, inaccurate XXXX XXXX XXXX, address that I had already disputed and deleted from my Equifax, XXXX, and XXXX credit files long before this account was ever reported. ( See Exhibit V : DFAS Recorded Call Transcript XXXX ). Youll also see that XXXX, who happens to be another Credit Reporting Agency that furnishes information to the larger CRAs ( such as Equifax ), sent me a random letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, stating they updated that same inaccurate XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX address on my credit file, even though I had an active security freeze on my XXXX file, which they acknowledged in that same letter. ( See Exhibit VI : XXXX Certified Mail Dispute XXXX ) At that point, the Equifax Representative, XXXX, told me she would process another dispute to reinvestigate the DFAS account. I asked her to mail me a copy of my Complete File Disclosure and made it clear that I was not requesting just a credit report but a Complete File Disclosure, which she acknowledged and repeated back to me. This can be found in Exhibit III. She then gave me a confirmation number of XXXX for the Request for my File Disclosure and XXXX for the Request for Reinvestigation. 

About a week later, I received the Results of the Reinvestigation, dated XX/XX/XXXX, less than two business days from when the representative submitted the request for reinvestigation ( See Exhibit VII. Equifax Reinvestigation Results XXXX ). Once again, Equifax inaccurately claimed that the account was verified. I believe it's important to mention that courts have ruled that Credit Reporting Agencies are required to do more than merely make a cursory investigation to verify disputed information and relying solely on automatic dispute systems, such as the XXXX, to verify an account is accurate, while ignoring evidence provided by the consumer is considered willful.

I also received the response for my File Disclosure, which Im entitled under 15 U.S.C. 1681g, but instead, all Equifax provided was nothing more than a basic credit report, not the Full File Disclosure as requested. ( See Exhibit VIII. Equifax Response for Full File Disclosure XXXX ) It's also worth pointing out that I submitted the same dispute to XXXX, and they DELETED the account right away. ( See Enclosure IX : XXXX  DFAS Account Removed ). How is it possible that when XXXX conducted a reasonable investigation, they determined the account was inaccurate? However, Equifax claims to have reinvestigated the same account twice and " verified it was accurate '' each time. Shouldn't they follow the same industry standard when investigating disputes for incomplete or inaccurate information? 

According to my most recent Equifax Credit File ( Report Confirmation XXXX ), pulled on XX/XX/XXXX, these inaccuracies are still reporting ( See Exhibit X. XXXX Equifax DFAS Reporting XXXX ). As you can see, Equifax is still reporting a Date Open of XX/XX/XXXX, and fails to provide a Date of Last Activity, indicating the account has been illegally re-aged, despite all the evidence Ive provided. The Account Status is reporting as a Collection, and under Comment 1, Comment 2, and Comment 3, it states this is a collection account for XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX ; however, its listed on my report as an Installment Account. As you can clearly see, the Collections section of my credit file states, You currently do not have any Collections in your file. How is that possible? Also, the Balance and the Amount Past Due both report {$4700.00}, which is higher than the High Credit, which reports {$4600.00}. How can the Balance or the past due be higher than the high credit? In addition to that, the Creditor Classification, Activity Designator, Date of Last Activity, Actual Payment Amount, Charge Off Amount, and Terms Frequency are all either blank or unknown.

Summary : In summary, Equifax failed to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, not once, but twice in a row. If Equifax is going to report information on me, its their responsibility to ensure the data is being reported with maximum possible accuracy. Had Equifax taken a few minutes to read my certified letter and review the overwhelming evidence I provided, they wouldve immediately seen that it would be virtually impossible for me to owe this debt, and even if I did ( which I do not ), they are illegally reporting inaccurate details and dates, making it appear as a new debt, when in fact even if it were legitimate ( which it is not ), it would be from XX/XX/XXXX, not XX/XX/XXXX. I have made every possible effort to resolve this amicably, yet Equifax chose to violate their congressionally mandated duties. 


My final request is for Equifax to do the right thing : conduct a reasonable investigation, weigh the evidence I provided, and either correct the inaccuracies or delete the account. As much as I would love for Equifax to do the right thing here, it would be naive to think that they will. If this doesnt resolve the issue, I fully intend to exercise my private right of action in Federal Court .

Violations : 1. Inaccurate Reporting ( 15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ) ) 2. Failure to Correct Errors ( 15 U.S.C. 1681i ) 3. Failure to Conduct Proper Reinvestigation ( 15 U.S.C. 1681i ) 4. Re-aging the Debt ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c ) 5. Notice of Discrepancy in Address ( 15 U.S.C. 1681c ( h ) ) 6. Civil Liability for Negligent Noncompliance ( 15 U.S. Code 168o ( a ) ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) ) 7. Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance ( 15 U.S. Code 168n ) Exhibits : Exhibit I. Equifax Certified Mail Dispute XXXX Exhibit II. Equifax Stall Letter Requesting ID XXXX Exhibit III. Equifax Recording Transcription XXXX Exhibit IV. Equifax Credit File XXXX Exhibit V. DFAS Recorded Call Transcript XXXX Exhibit VI. XXXX Certified Mail Dispute XXXX Exhibit VII. Equifax Reinvestigation Results XXXX Exhibit VIII. Equifax Response for Full File Disclosure XXXX Exhibit IX. XXXX  DFAS Account Removed