Consumer complaint received 2024-06-16
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (MO)

Notice to agent ( s ) is notice to principal ( s ). Notice to principal ( s ) is notice to agent ( s ).

To Whom It May Concern : You are breaking multiple laws regarding my consumer report. 

The following correspondence is not a request for validation or verification. It is a demand for you to follow the laws that the U.S. XXXX has set forth. 

SECTION I - Privacy, Permissible Purpose, & Lack of Notice Laws Privacy I, XXXX XXXX XXXX, never gave any verbal or written consent to Equifax, XXXX, or XXXX to report anything on my consumer report. This lack of consent means that you are breaking the law. 

The laws state : 15 USC 1681 Congressional findings and statement of purpose ( a ) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting. The XXXX makes the following findings : ( XXXX ) There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. 

Please take note that XXXX has referred to my privacy as a RIGHT. A right is given XXXX  % of the time, automatically. 

I do not have a contract with yourselves or any other consumer reporting agency. If a contract exists in which I gave you permission to do such, I demand that you produce it to me with a wet ink signature within XXXX  days of receipt of this letter, notarized under the pains and penalties of perjury, via certified mail with a signature required. If you can not provide this, I demand that you immediately exclude reporting any and all accounts, or details of accounts, that I address in this letter on my consumer report. 

What you are doing is, in clear and plain fact, identity theft. 

12 CFR 1022.3 Definitions ( h ) Identity theft means a fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of another person without authority. 

( g ) Identifying information means any name or number that may be used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific person, including any : ( XXXX ) Name, social security number, date of birth, official state or government-issued driver 's license, or identification number. 

18 USC 1028A ( a ) ( 1 ) Aggravated identity theft Whoever, during and in relation to any felony violation enumerated in subsection ( c ), knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such felony, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of XXXX  years. 

How did you get my information from a furnisher if you did not use a means of identifying me? How do you share my information? You do both illegally. You never had lawful authority to use any of my identifying information to collect my personal and private information and associate it with my consumer report. You then, to use the exact verbiage included in the law, knowingly transferred, possessed, and used it. 

At this time, I do not wish to open an identity theft case. I demand that you simply correct your criminal behavior per my instructions. 

Permissible Purpose Moreover, you do not have permissible purpose to furnish any of my personal information to a third party without my written consent/instructions. 

( from the Fair Credit Reporting Act ) 15 USC 1681b Permissible purposes of consumer reports ( a ) In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : ( XXXX ) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. 

Did I give you written instructions to furnish the accounts listed below on my consumer report? No. I most certainly did not. 

If a contract exists in which I gave you permissible purpose to do such, I demand that you produce it to me with a wet ink signature within 30 days of receipt of this letter, notarized under the pains and penalties of perjury, via certified mail with a signature required. If you can not provide this, I demand that you immediately follow the written demands that I outline in Section XXXX of this letter on my consumer report. 

Furthermore, please consider this letter official legal notice that my written instructions are to immediately follow the written demands that I outline in Section XXXX of this letter on my consumer report. 

Lack of Notice I was not given any of the notices REQUIRED by law BEFORE you furnished any of my personal information to a third party. 

( from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ) 15 USC 6802 Obligations with respect to disclosures of personal information ( a ) Notice requirements Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, a financial institution may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose to a nonaffiliated third party any nonpublic personal information, unless such financial institution provides or has provided to the consumer a notice that complies with section 6803 of this title. 

Did you provide me with any notice that you were going to furnish the accounts listed below on my consumer report? No. You most certainly did not. 

15 USC 6802 ( continued ) ( b ) Opt-out ( 1 ) In general A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless ( A ) such financial institution clearly and conspicuously discloses to the consumer, in writing or in electronic form or other form permitted by the regulations prescribed under section 6804 of this title, that such information may be disclosed to such third party ; Did you disclose to me anything that pertains to 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( A )? No. You most certainly did not. 

( B ) the consumer is given the opportunity, before the time that such information is initially disclosed, to direct that such information not be disclosed to such third party ; and Did you give me any opportunity to withhold disclosure as mentioned in 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( B )? No. You most certainly did not. 

( C ) the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. 

Did you give me any explanation of my nondisclosure option as mentioned in 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( C )? No. You most certainly did not.

If a document exists in which you gave me clear and conspicuous notice of any of the above, I demand that you produce it to me within 30 days of receipt of this letter, notarized under the pains and penalties of perjury, via certified mail with a signature required. If you can not provide this, I demand that you immediately follow the written demands that I outline in Section XXXX of this letter on my consumer report. 

Regardless, at this time, I clearly and conspicuously opt-out and choose that you will not disclose any and all accounts or details of accounts as per my written instructions that I address in Section XXXX of this letter on my consumer report. 

SECTION XXXX - Remedy List of information that I legally demand to have removed from my consumer report : By my written instructions, I demand deletion of the following personal information from my consumer report : All XXXX XXXX XXXX but XXXX, no middle name D.O.B. down to listing a year only, no month or day All addresses but XXXX current address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  missouri [ XXXX ] ) Monthly payments Past due amounts By my written instructions, I demand deletion of the following accounts in total from my consumer report : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. 

By my written instructions, I also demand deletion of the following inquiries from my consumer report : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/year> XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/year> By my written instructions, I also demand deletion of the following comments from my consumer report : I specifically instruct you NOT to remove the entire account, but to only delete any and all comments listed on the account. 

Following deletion of these accounts and/or data, please send me a free copy of my updated consumer report reflecting the changes that have been made. 

Failure to respond satisfactorily with deletion of the above-referenced account ( s ) and/or data will result in legal actions being taken against your company, for which I will also be seeking XXXX XXXX dollars ( {$1000.00} ) per violation for : Defamation of character ( per se. ). You have damaged my creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, and my mode of living as discussed in 15 USC 1681a.

Negligent Enablement of Identity Fraud FCRA 15 USC 1681 violations for willful noncompliance, the results of which are described in 15 USC 1681n Civil liability for willful noncompliance. This law is also attached with this dispute in Attachment A. 

SECTION XXXX - Additional Issues Late Payments While reviewing my consumer report, I noticed that several accounts are illegally reported as late/delinquent. Regarding any delinquent/late payments on my consumer report : ( from the Fair Credit Reporting Act ) 15 USC 1681a Definitions and rules of construction ( d ) Consumer report ( XXXX ) Exclusions Except as provided in paragraph ( XXXX ), the term consumer report does not include- ( A ) Subject to section 1681s-3 of this title, any- ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report A late payment is a description of a transaction or experience between myself and the furnisher, which is very clearly EXCLUDED from appearing on a consumer report. 

Please note that 15 USC 1681a ( d ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( i ) does NOT state that I need to be charged off, in collection, or closed with a XXXX balance for this exclusion to apply. It applies right now. Late payments are not allowed to be reported on my consumer report, period. By my written instructions, I demand that you delete all late payment entries on my consumer report and refrain from reporting late payment information in the future. 

Charge Offs It has come to my attention that you are reporting accounts listed as charged off on my consumer report. This is a request for the deletion of any and all accounts on my consumer report that are listed as charged off. 

A charge off is considered income and therefore should not be reported on my consumer report. You are in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

In addition, I have filed XXXX forms with the IRS for the following accounts, which should not be reported : CAPITAL ONE/BASS PRO SYNCB/PAYPAL SECTION XXXX - Conclusion You have XXXX  days from the date of receipt of this letter to respond and delete all erroneous and illegal information from my consumer report. I demand that you send confirmation that my demands have been met, including a free updated copy of my consumer report, to my address at : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX missouri XXXX Please consider this correspondence as my formal and final dispute. Any failure to adhere to my demands will result in immediate legal action. I look forward to your prompt response and resolution of this matter. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX