Consumer complaint received 2019-11-08
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Old information reappears or never goes away
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (TX)

THIS COMPLAINT IS IN REGARD TO INACCURATE INFORMATION EXISTING ON MY EQUIFAX CREDIT REPORT. THIS COMPLAINT IS AGAINST EQUIFAX AT THIS TIME.

This is a complaint arising under Sections 5 ( a ), 5 ( m ), 13 ( b ), and 16 ( a ) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( FTC Act ), 15 U.S.C. 45 ( a ), 45 ( m ) ( 1 ) ( A ), 53 ( b ), and 56 ( a ) ; the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681-1681x ; and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), 15 U.S.C. 1692-1692p, to obtain monetary civil penalties, a permanent injunction, restitution, disgorgement, and other equitable relief for the Defendants violations of the FCRA, the FDCPA, and Section 5 of the FTC Act. 
EQUIFAX provides consumer personal credit reports to regional and national credit grantors, attempting to issue both commercial and consumer credit. EQUIFAX regularly furnishes consumer credit reports to Creditors electronically. EQUIFAX is an entity who regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes information to one or more Creditors about its transactions or experiences with its consumers. 
EQUIFAX routinely receives complaints from consumers who claim they do not owe the debt or that an account is invalid or incorrect. In numerous instances, I have notified EQUIFAX at the address specified for such disputes that EQUIFAX is reporting inaccurate information concerning my consumer credit. As a victim of identity theft and the EQUIFAXS Data Breach I expect the information in my consumer report to be accurate and my disputes taken seriously. 
EQUIFAX has continued to report inaccurate information to the Creditors even after receiving such notice and accompanying proof. In numerous instances, I have disputed the information appearing on my consumer credit report in writing to EQUIFAX. EQUIFAX receives most notices of disputes from a consumer in electronic format, through automated consumer dispute verification ( ACDV ) forms provided on EQUIFAXS website. 
Pursuant to Section 623 ( b ) ( 1 ) of the FCRA, EQUIFAX, as a furnisher of information to the Creditors, is required to conduct an investigation of the disputed information upon receipt of a notice of dispute from a Consumer. For certain types of disputes, such as those where the consumer claims the account is not his or hers or belongs to someone with a similar name, it is EQUIFAX s policy and practice only to compare the name, social security number, date of birth, and address in EQUIFAX s computer database with the information provided on ACDV forms. Where three of the four items match, EQUIFAX will report to the Consumer that it has verified the information it furnished as accurate. It is EQUIFAX s policy that only after the consumer has alleged the same type of account inaccuracy more than four times will the matter become assigned to a supervisor to do further investigation. Because EQUIFAX collects accounts that are often old, information in its computer files may not be accurate for a variety of reasons, including incorrect updating of addresses, errors in recording names and information, and problems with the original Creditors records.

In disputes involving identity theft or fraud allegations, EQUIFAX s policies provide that if the existing account codes and notes in its records do not contain any reference to a prior claim of fraud, EQUIFAX will verify the previously reported information without conducting any investigation prior to such verification. In numerous instances, despite written or oral notification from consumers disputing the accuracy or completeness of alleged debts, EQUIFAX continued to furnish the information to the Creditors without communicating that the information was disputed by the consumer. Section 623 ( a ) of the FCRA describes the duties of furnishers to provide accurate information to Creditors. Section 623 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B ) prohibits furnishers from providing information relating to a consumer to any Creditor if i. the person has been notified by the consumer, at the address specified by the person for such notices, that specific information is inaccurate ; and ii. the information is, in fact, inaccurate. In numerous instances, I have contacted EQUIFAX at the address specified by EQUIFAX to dispute information furnished by EQUIFAX to a Creditor and to notify EQUIFAX that the information is inaccurate.

In numerous instances, I have also provided information such as the consumers drivers license, social security number, and/or proof of residence to confirm my identity. The acts and practices alleged above constitute violations of Section 623 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B ) of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( B ). Pursuant to Section 621 ( a ) ( 1 ) of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681s ( a ) ( 1 ), the acts and practices alleged above also constitute unfair or deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5 ( a ) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45 ( a ).