Consumer complaint received 2024-04-14
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (PA)

Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) Violations Incorrect Reporting and Failure to Investigate : Under the FCRA, specifically 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ), furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies are required to conduct an investigation upon receiving a notice of dispute from the consumer or a consumer reporting agency. XXXX XXXX XXXX  action of not validating the disputed account information after your request for validation and continuing to report the account with incorrect information ( such as making it appear as if a payment was made in XX/XX/XXXX and showing on-time payments in XXXX and XXXX of XXXX ) could be seen as a failure to conduct a reasonable investigation into the disputed information Re-aging of Debt : The practice of refreshing the data on a consumer report to make it appear as if the last payment was made at a later date, thereby extending the time the negative information remains on the credit report, is known as " re-aging '' of debt. This practice can violate the FCRA 's requirement that furnishers report accurate information to credit bureaus Misrepresentation of Debt : Under the FDCPA, specifically 15 U.S.C. 1692e, a debt collector is prohibited from using any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. If XXXX XXXX misrepresented the status of your account ( e.g., by updating it to show recent payments that were not made ), this could be considered a violation Failure to Validate Debt : The FDCPA, under 15 U.S.C. 1692g, mandates that a debt collector must provide a validation notice to the consumer and cease collection efforts until the debt is validated if the consumer requests validation of the debt. XXXX XXXX 's failure to validate the debt upon your request and continuing to report and update the account could be seen as a violation of this provision I am writing to seek your assistance in addressing what I believe to be violations of my consumer rights by XXXX XXXX. I have encountered several issues with how they have handled my consumer report, and I would like to explain the situation in detail. 

Firstly, there is an account listed on my consumer report that I do not recognize. I have never made any payments on this account, yet XXXX XXXX has reported that a payment was made in XX/XX/XXXX. Furthermore, the report shows on-time payments for XXXX and XXXX of XXXX, followed by the account being marked as charged off. This is incorrect, as I have not made these payments. 

Upon discovering this discrepancy, I sent XXXX XXXX a request for validation of the account, as is my right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). The FCRA mandates that furnishers of information, like XXXX XXXX, must conduct a thorough investigation upon receiving a dispute notice from the consumer. However, XXXX XXXX failed to validate the disputed account information and continued to report it, which I believe is a clear violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ). 

Additionally, XXXX XXXX has been updating this account information, making it appear as if the last payment was more recent than it actually was, a practice known as " re-aging '' of debt. This deceptive practice can significantly harm my creditworthiness by extending the time negative information remains on my credit report, which I understand to be a violation of the FCRA 's requirement for accurate reporting. 

Moreover, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ), specifically 15 U.S.C. 1692e, debt collectors are prohibited from using misleading representations in the collection of any debt. By misrepresenting the status of my account, XXXX XXXX may also be in violation of this act. 

I have taken the step of reporting this account as identity theft and have filed numerous complaints through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ). Despite these efforts, XXXX XXXX has continued to torment me by refreshing the data on my consumer report, with the most recent update being on XX/XX/XXXX. 

The account in question was supposedly opened on XX/XX/XXXX, but there is no payment history reported until XXXX. This inconsistent reporting further supports my belief that XXXX XXXX is not adhering to the legal obligations set forth by federal consumer protection laws, which has resulted in significant harm to my credit report and overall financial standing. 

I am seeking your legal expertise to address these violations and to hold XXXX XXXX accountable for their actions. Your guidance on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. 

Sincerely, XXXX