Consumer complaint received 2024-02-29
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. (CA)

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ssn # XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Legal Department, This credit dispute is being submitted as a notification of creditors who are in violation of the CARES Act during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The accounts that are being disputed, are either in violation of the CARES Act or do not belong to me. Policy states...

Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V in Light of the CARES Act The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection ( Bureau ) recognizes the serious impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the financial well-being of many consumers and on the operations of many supervised entities, including actors in the consumer reporting system, and the challenges of this unique and rapidly evolving situation. Last XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ( \ '' CARES Ad\ ' ), which provides critical emergency assistance to consumers and businesses affected by COVID-19 and includes provisions addressing consumer reporting requirements. 
Consumer report information is critical to consumers and industry in determining who obtains credit, insurance, and housing, and at what price, and who obtains employment in many cases. Consumer reporting has enormous reach, as evidenced by the over XXXX XXXX consumers in the United States who have credit files and trade lines furnished by over XXXX providers. The continued operation of the consumer reporting system will play a critical role in the functioning of the consumer financial services market, promoting fair and efficient access to credit and benefiting consumers and creditors alike. The Bureau understands that the current crisis impacts the financial well-being of consumers and poses operational challenges for consumer reporting agencies and furnishers, accommodation, the furnisher report the credit obligation or account as current; or ( Il ) if the credit obligation or account was delinquent before the maintain the delinquent status during the period in which the accommodation is in effect; and ( bb ) if the consumer brings the credit obligation or account current during the period described in item ( aa ), report the credit obligation or account as current\ '' ). In addition, section 3513 of the CARES Act addresses the furnishing of certain student loans for which payments are suspended. Rendering them unable to investigate consumer reporting disputes within the timeframes the FCRA requires. Furnishers include a wide variety of businesses that vary in size and sophistication and can range from small retailers to very large financial services firms, each of which will face unique challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In evaluating compliance with the FCRA as a result of the pandemic, the Bureau will consider a consumer reporting agencies or furnisher\ 's individual circumstances and does not intend to cite in an examination or bring an enforcement action against a consumer reporting agency or furnisher making good faith efforts to investigate disputes as quickly as possible, even if dispute investigations take longer than the statutory timeframe. The Bureau reminds furnishers and consumer reporting agencies that they may take advantage of statutory and regulatory provisions that eliminate the obligation to investigate disputes submitted by credit repair organizations and disputes they reasonably determine to be frivolous or irrelevant.

The Bureau will consider the significant current constraints on furnisher and consumer reporting agency time, information, and other resources in assessing if such a determination is reasonable.

Regulatory Requirements This Policy Statement is a non-binding general statement of policy articulating considerations relevant to the Bureau\ 's exercise of its supervisory and enforcement authorities. It is therefore exempt from the notice and comment rule making requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act pursuant to 5 USC 553 ( b ). Because no notice of proposed rule making is required, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not require an initial or final regulatory flexibility analysis. See 5 USC 603 ( a ), 604 ( a ). The Bureau has determined that this Policy Statement does not impose any new or revise any existing record keeping, reporting, or disclosure requirements on covered entities or members of the public that would be collections of information requiring OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 USC 3501-3521.

The trade lines listed below are items currently within my credit file, and none of these are related to any transaction that was made by me. It is my official statement that someone and/or several people have opened these accounts and made transactions on these account without my knowledge or authorization, my personal information has been used to obtain goods, services, or money : and the person ( s ) responsible for creating these accounts. 
I have filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission, which I have enclosed within this dispute package. I have reached out to all of these creditors and have made them aware that these accounts were fraudulently opened, and they have known this for several months, but have yet to remove these accounts from my credit reports. Some of the creditors have been cooperative and have removed the accounts, but others have refused to remove the fraudulent accounts. Therefore, I have come to you, the credit reporting agencies to resolve these issues. The law says that you must block these accounts while being investigated, and I expect that you will do so. 
I made an attempt to file a police report, but I was informed by my county that it did not constitute as an emergency, and that they would not file the report because I didn\'t have any information on the person who used my information, nor did I know how my information was obtained by this person.

Therefore, my position is being clearly stated, these accounts do not belong to me, meaning that you are reporting inaccurate account information within my credit file. The fact that these are inaccurate account information means that you, this credit-reporting agency, are reporting incorrect accounts.

I am well aware of my rights as a consumer. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that you, the credit reporting agency, report accurate and/or correct account information within my credit file. My credit issues are very specific, these account accounts/items doesnt belong to me. This means that you are reporting incorrect account information within my credit report. It is with this in mind that I request that these listed accounts and items be BLOCKED and DELETED!

Policy states...

According to the FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT \ '' FCRA\ '', Section 1681c ( 2 ) Block of information resulting from identity theft. 1. Block. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting
agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than four ( 4 ) business days after the date of receipt by such agency of...

1. Appropriate proof of identity of the consumer ; 2. A copy of an identity theft report 3. The identification of such information by the consumer ; and 4. A statement by the consumer that the information relating to transaction by the consumer.

All furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies must comply with all applicable regulations. Information about applicable regulations currently in effect can be found at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus website, www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore. NOTICE TO FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION : OBLIGATIONS OF FURNISHERS UNDER THE FCRA The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C 1681-1681y, imposes responsibilities on all persons who
furnish information to consumer reporting agencies ( CRAs ). These responsibilities are found in Section 623 of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C 1681s-2. State law may impose additional requirements on furnishers. All furnishers of information to CRAs should become familiar with the applicable laws and may want to consult with their counsel to ensure that they are in compliance. The text of the FCRA is available at the website of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) : www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore. A list of tile sections of tile FCRA cross-referenced to the.U.S Code is at the end of this document.

Section 623 imposes the following duties upon furnishers : Accuracy Guidelines results to all CRAs to which the furnisher provided the information that compile and maintain files on a nationwide basis. Section 623 ( C ) and ( b ) ( 1 ) Complete the above steps within 30 days from the date the CRA receives the dispute ( or 45 days, if the consumer later provides relevant additional information to the CRA ). Section Promptly modify or delete the information, or block its reporting. Section Duty to Report Voluntary Closing of Credit Accounts If a consumer voluntarily closes a credit account, any person who regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnished information to one or more CRAs must report this fact when .it provides information to CRAs for the time period in which the account was closed. Section 623 ( a ) ( 4 ).

Duty to Report Dates of Delinquencies If a furnisher reports information concerning a delinquent account placed for collection, charged to profit or loss, or subject to any similar action, the furnisher must, within 90 days after reporting the information, provide the CRA with the month and the year of the commencement of the delinquency that immediately preceded the action, so that the agency will know how long to keep the information in the consumers file. Section 623 ( a ) ( 5 ).

Any person, such as a debt collector, that has acquired or is responsible for collecting delinquent accounts and that reports information to CRAs may comply with the requirements of Section 623 ( a ) ( 5 ) ( until there is a consumer dispute ) by reporting the slime delinquency date previously reported by the creditor. If the creditor did not report this date, they may comply with the FCRA by establishing reasonable procedures to obtain and report delinquency dates, or, if a delinquency date can not be reasonably obtained, by following reasonable procedures to ensure that the date reported precedes the date when the account was placed for collection charged to profit or loss, or subjected to any similar action. Section Duties of Financial Institutions When Reporting Negative Information Financial institutions that furnish information to \ '' XXXX '' consumer reporting agencies, as defined in Section 603 ( p ), must notify consumers in writing if they may furnish or have furnished negative information to a CRA . Section 623 ( a ) ( 7 ). The CFPB has prescribed model disclosures, 12 CFR Part 1022, App. B.

Duties When Furnishing Medical Information A furnisher whose primary business is providing medical services, products, or devices ( and such furnisher\ 's agents or assignees ) is a medical information furnisher for the purposes of the FCRA and must notify all CRAs to which it reports of this fact. Section 623 ( a ) ( 9 ). This notice will enable CRAs to comply with their duties under Section 604 ( g ) when reporting medical information.

Duties When ID Theft Occurs Including staffing challenges, that could temporarily impede their ability to timely comply with their statutory and regulatory consumer reporting obligations.

The Bureau is therefore issuing this policy statement ( Policy Statement ) to highlight furnishers\ ' responsibilities under the CARES Act and inform consumer reporting agencies and furnishers of the Bureau\ 's flexible supervisory and enforcement approach during this pandemic regarding compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and Regulation V. The Bureau intends to consider the circumstances that entities face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and entities\ ' good faith efforts to comply with their statutory and regulatory obligations as soon as possible. The Bureau believes that this flexibility will help furnishers and consumer reporting agencies to manage the challenges the current crisis poses. It also will enable consumers, as well as lenders, insurers, employers and other consumer report users, to maintain confidence in the consumer reporting system. 
Below are examples of the flexibility the Bureau intends to provide in the consumer reporting system.

Furnishing Consumer Information Impacted by COVID-19 : The Bureau reiterates its prior guidance encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with borrowers and other customers affected by COVID-19 to meet their financial needs. While companies generally are not legally obligated to furnish information to consumer reporting agencies, the Bureau encourages them to continue furnishing information despite the current crisis. Furnishers\ ' providing accurate information to consumer reporting agencies produces substantial benefits for consumers, users of consumer reports, and the economy as a whole.

The CARES Act, a section of which amends the FCRA, generally requires furnishers to report as current certain credit obligations for which furnishers make payment accommodations to consumers affected by COVID 19 who have sought such accommodations from their lendersl .The Bureau expects furnishers to comply with the CARES Act and will work with furnishers as needed to help them do so. 
Many furnishers are or will be offering consumers affected by COVID-19 various forms of payment flexibility, including allowing consumers to defer or skip payments, as required by the CARES Act or voluntarily. Such payment accommodations will avoid the reporting of delinquencies resulting from the effects of COVID-19. The Bureau supports furnishers\ ' voluntary efforts to provide payment relief, and it does not intend to cite in examinations or take enforcement actions against those who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies that accurately reflects the payment relief measures they are employing.

Disputes : The FCRA generally requires that consumer reporting agencies and furnishers investigate disputes within 30 days of receipt of the consumer\ 's dispute. The 30-day period may be extended to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information that is relevant to the investigation during the 30-day period.

The Bureau is aware that some consumer reporting agencies and furnishers may face significant operational disruptions that pose challenges for them in investigating consumer disputes. For example, some consumer reporting agencies and furnishers may experience significant reductions in staff, difficulty intaking disputes, or lack of access to necessary information, 1 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136, 5 4201 ( 2020 ) ( stating that, with certain exceptions, \ '' if a furnisher makes an accommodation with respect to 1 or more payments on a credit obligation or account Of a consumer, and the consumer makes the payments or is not required to make 1 or more payments pursuant to the The below listed accounts by the Original Creditors, who have reported these accounts within my credit reports, were not opened by me. I also did not give my authorization for anyone else to open these accounts. Someone else of who did these that I did not know. 
These original creditors are being reported incorrectly, and/or the accounts do not belong to me. 
XXXX XXXX account # XXXX XXXX acct # XXXX XXXX  XXXX acct # XXXX XXXX  acct # XXXX XXXX XXXX  ACCT # XXXX XXXX ACCT # XXXX, ACCT # XXXX XXXX  ACCT # XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX # XXXX XXXX  XXXX ACCT # XXXX XXXX XXXX  ACCT # XXXX, ACCT # XXXX, ACCT XXXX XXXX XXXX ACCT # XXXX XXXX XXXX ACCT # XXXX XXXX XXXX ACCT # XXXX Policy States According to the FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT FCRA 611 ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 ) Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy ( a ) Reinvestigation of Disputed Information ( 1 ) Reinvestigation Required a. In general. Subject to Subsection ( f ), if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumers file at a consumer agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly thorough a reseller, of such dispute free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with paragraph ( 5 ), before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or reseller.

Therefore, my position is being clearly stated, these accounts do not belong to me, meaning that you are reporting inaccurate account information within my credit file. The fact that these are inaccurate account information means to you, this credit reporting agency, are reporting incorrect accounts.

Finally, you are reporting the INQUIRES that are a result of the same type of fraudulent activities. It must be noted that I did not apply for credit accounts with the below listed and companies and creditors, some of these are the result of attempts to open accounts, but the companies did not approve these accounts. Therefore, these inquiries must be deleted from within my credit file. You can not delete the fraudulently opened accounts without also deleting the fraudulent inquires. 
Inquires that are made by someone else without my authorization is not a factual record of access to my credit, it is a fraudulent activity, and it must be addressed as such. The reason that these inquires are being disputed is because they were not made by me, and when I report this to you, it is your responsibility to investigate my claims, and when you can not prove that these inquires were made by me, they must be removed from my credit file. It is not my responsibility to go directly to each creditor, the obligation lies at your feet because you are reporting inaccurate information within my credit report, and this violates the FCRA. 
It should be noted that any inquiry that was not made by me is not a factual record, just as a fraudulently opened account is not a factual record and not referred to the creditor to be disputed directly with them. The credit reporting agencies have attempted to address an inquiry as a factual record of file access, but if it was done though fraudulent means, it is not a factual record. As a consumer I should not be required to dispute each fraudulent inquiry with each company. These inquires are the result of fraudulent activity and therefore inaccurate information in which the credit reporting agencies or the creditors can not verify, meaning that these inquiries are unverifiable information and must be deleted from out of my credit file.

I am well aware of my rights as a consumer. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that you, the credit reporting agency, report an accurate and/or correct account information within my credit file. My credit issues are very specific, these accounts and/or items do mot belong to me. This means that you are reporting incorrect account information within my credit report. It is with this in mind that I request that these listed accounts and items be UPDATED and/or DELETED! 

CREDIT INQUIRES XXXX  XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XX/XX/XXXX Policy states... 
According to the FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT \ '' FCRA\ '' 611 ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 ), Procedure In Case of Disputed Accuracy...

( a ) Reinvestigations of Disputed Information ( 1 ) Reinvestigation Required ( a ) In general. Subject to Subsection ( O, if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer\ 's file at a consumer agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with paragraph ( 5 ), before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or reseller.

The FCRA requires furnishers to comply with federal guidelines and regulations dealing with the accuracy of information provided to CRAs by furnishers. Federal regulations and guidelines are available at www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore. Section 623 ( e ).

General Prohibition on Reporting Inaccurate Information The FCRA prohibits information furnishers from providing information to a CRA that they know or have reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. However, the furnisher is not subject to this general prohibition if it clearly and conspicuously specifies an address to which consumers may write to notify the furnisher that certain information is inaccurate. Sections Duty to Correct and Update Information If at any time a person who regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes information to one or more CRAs determines that the information provided is not complete or accurate, the furnisher must promptly provide complete and accurate information to the CRA. In addition, the furnisher must notify all CRAs that received the information of any corrections, and must thereafter report only the complete and accurate information. Section Duties After Notice of Dispute from Consumer If a consumer notifies a furnisher, at an address specified for the furnisher for such notices, that specific information is inaccurate, and the information is, in fact, inaccurate, the furnisher must thereafter report the correct information to CRAs. Section 623 ( a ) ( I ) ( B ).

If a consumer notifies a furnisher that the consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of any information reported by the furnisher, the furnisher may not subsequently report that information to a CRA without providing notice of the dispute. Section 623 ( a ) ( 3 ).

Furnishers must comply with federal regulations that identify when an information furnisher must investigate a dispute made directly to the furnisher by a consumer. Under these regulations, furnishers must complete an investigation within 30 days ( or 45 days, if the consumer later provides relevant additional information ) unless the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant or comes from a \ '' credit repair organization.\ '' Section 623 ( a ) (. Federal regulations are available at www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore.Section 623 ( a ) ( Duties After Notice of Dispute from Consumer Reporting Agency If a CRA notifies a furnisher that a consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of information provided by the furnisher, the furnisher has a duty to follow certain procedures. The furnisher must : Conduct an investigation and review all relevant information provided by the CRA, including information given to the CRA by the consumer. Sections 623 ( b ) ( I ) ( A ) and Report the results to the CRA that referred the dispute and, if the investigation establishes that the information was in fact, incomplete or inaccurate, report the All furnishers must have in place reasonable procedures to respond to notifications from CRAS that information furnished is the result of identity theft, and to prevent refurnishing the information in the future. A furnisher may not furnish Information that a consumer has identified as resulting from identity theft unless the furnisher subsequently knows or is informed by the consumer that the information is correct. Section 623 ( a ) ( 6 ). If a furnisher learns that it has
furnished inaccurate information due to identity theft, it must notify each CRA of the correct information and must thereafter report only complete and accurate information. Section 623 ( a ) ( 2 ). When any furnisher of information is notified pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 605B that a debt has resulted from identity theft, the furnisher many not sell, transfer, or place for collection the debt except in certain limited circumstances. Section 615 ( 0.

The CFPB\ 's website, www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore, has more information about the FCRA , including publications for business and the full text of the FCRA .

Citations for FCRA sections in the U.S. Code, IS U.S.C. 1681 et seq. : I have provided all of the above listed items within this package. Therefore, I expect these listed accounts to be deleted and blocked within four ( 4 ) business days. This is clearly an identity theft issue. I am also entitled to receive a free copy of my credit report, so I am requesting a free credit report and that all of these accounts, public records items, and inquiries be permanently blocked and deleted. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX