Consumer complaint received 2024-02-21
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (IL)

My previous case [ No. XXXX ] has been closed and I am requesting for another investigation. My response letter from XXXX is attached confirming that they completed a charge-off for non-payment on XX/XX/XXXX and that they are unable to change how my account is being reported to the credit agencies. A charge off is considered a Certificate of Indebtedness which is considered income and must be removed per the law.

I am demanding the XXXX account be deleted immediately from all credit reporting agencies. 

In addition, this is a violation of my privacy rights under The Privacy Act of 1974.

Privacy Act of 1974 ( 5 U.S. Code 552a ) Important Definitions ( 4 ) the term record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph ; This includes consumer reports ( b ) Conditions of Disclosure.No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record would be ( 12 ) to a consumer reporting agency in accordance with section 3711 ( e ) of title 31.

Again they need prior written instruction of the individual to whom it relates.

Section 3711 ( e ) of title 31 States ( 1 ) When trying to collect a claim of the Government under a law except the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 1 et seq. ), the head of an executive, judicial, or legislative agency shall disclose to a consumer reporting agency information from a system of records that a person is responsible for a claim if ( E ) the head of the agency has established procedures to ( iii ) get satisfactory assurances from each consumer reporting agency that the agency is complying with all laws of the United States related to providing consumer credit information ; and Either way they have violated not only the Fair Credit Reporting Act but also the Privacy Act of 1974 Opt Out Laws PART 1016 - PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION ( REGULATION P ) 12 CFR 1016.1 Purpose and scope.

( a ) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph ( b ) of this section. This part : ( 1 ) Requires a financial institution to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices ; ( 2 ) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties ; and ( 3 ) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated third parties by opting out of that disclosure, subject to the exceptions in 1016.13, 1016.14, and 1016.15.

Every company owes you a privacy notice before they furnish any information to our consumer report 12 CFR 1016.4 Initial privacy notice to consumers required.

( a ) Initial notice requirement. You must provide a clear and conspicuous notice that accurately reflects your privacy policies and practices to : ( 1 ) Customer. An individual who becomes your customer, not later than when you establish a customer relationship, except as provided in paragraph ( e ) of this section; and ( 2 ) Consumer. A consumer, before you disclose any nonpublic personal information about the consumer to any nonaffiliated third party, 12 CFR 1016.7 Form of opt out notice to consumers ; opt out methods.

Section ( a ) ( 1 ) Form of opt out notice. If you are required to provide an opt out notice under 1016.10 ( a ), you must provide a clear and conspicuous notice to each of your consumers that accurately explains the right to opt out under that section. The notice must state : ( i ) That you disclose or reserve the right to disclose nonpublic personal information about your consumer to a nonaffiliated third party ; ( ii ) That the consumer has the right to opt out of that disclosure; and ( iii ) A reasonable means by which the consumer may exercise the opt out right.

( 2 ) Examples ( ii ) Reasonable opt out means. You provide a reasonable means to exercise an opt out right if you : ( A ) Designate check-off boxes in a prominent position on the relevant forms with the opt out notice ; ( B ) Include a reply form together with the opt out notice that, in the case of financial institutions described in 1016.3 ( l ) ( 3 ) of this part, includes the address to which the form should be mailed ; ( C ) Provide an electronic means to opt out, such as a form that can be sent via electronic mail or a process at your Web site, if the consumer agrees to the electronic delivery of information ; or ( D ) Provide a toll-free telephone number that consumers may call to opt out.

( iii ) Unreasonable opt out means. You do not provide a reasonable means of opting out if : ( A ) The only means of opting out is for the consumer to write his or her own letter to exercise that opt out right; or ( B ) The only means of opting out as described in any notice subsequent to the initial notice is to use a check-off box that you provided with the initial notice but did not include with the subsequent notice.

( g ) Time to comply with opt out. You must comply with a consumer 's opt out direction as soon as reasonably practicable after you receive it.

( h ) Continuing right to opt out. A consumer may exercise the right to opt out at any time.

( i ) Duration of consumer 's opt out direction.

( 1 ) A consumer 's direction to opt out under this section is effective until the consumer revokes it in writing or, if the consumer agrees, electronically.

Per the FCRA, as a federally protected consumer, I am not opting out of any and all authorization, I the consumer may have given you written, unwritten, verbal and nonverbal per 15 USC 6802.