Consumer complaint received 2025-04-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this formal complaint against Equifax for a recent and unjustified drop of XXXX points to my credit score, which occurred following a {$30.00} balance increase on XXXX of my accounts. The severity of this drop is extreme and entirely disproportionate to the change reported. 

On or around XX/XX/year>, my Equifax credit score dropped from XXXX to XXXX. The only activity that occurred during this reporting period was a small balance increase of {$30.00} on my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX cardfrom {$15000.00} to {$15000.00}. There were no new accounts, no late payments, no charge-offs, no collections, and no inquiries to explain or justify such a steep decrease. 

Additionally, the account had a remark code removed and re-added, though Equifax has not provided transparency about how this impacted scoring, nor why such a minor balance fluctuation triggered a penalty of this magnitude. 

Most importantly, I have maintained a 100 % on-time payment history across all of my credit accounts. That fact alone should serve as a strong indicator of creditworthiness and should offset any temporary or minor balance shifts. 

I am requesting a full investigation by the CFPB into the following : XXXX. Whether XXXX scoring model responded appropriately to the minor change in balance. 
XXXX. What effect the remark code change had on the account scoring treatment. 
XXXX. Whether Equifaxs handling of this data violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) or resulted in an unfair, deceptive, or abusive act or practice ( UDAAP ) under CFPB standards. 

This score drop has materially harmed my financial position, and Equifax has not provided adequate explanation or recourse for correction. I am attaching documentation and am prepared to provide further information as needed. 

In addition to the personal financial harm Ive experienced, I am deeply concerned that this type of disproportionate and unexplained credit score drop XXXX reflect a broader pattern of disparate impact against XXXXXXXX XXXX consumers ( this appears to be a trend online among XXXXXXXX XXXX consumers ). If credit scoring models or reporting practices consistently penalize individuals with 100 % payment histories for minor fluctuationswhile offering no transparency or fair recoursethis raises serious concerns under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( ECOA ) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). Practices that result in statistically significant harm to a protected class, even without explicit intent, XXXX constitute unlawful discrimination under federal civil rights laws. I request that the CFPB not only investigate my case individually but also assess whether the scoring algorithms and reporting behaviors in question are contributing to systemic XXXX disparities in access to fair credit. 

Otherwise, I have no choice but to file a formal credit discrimination complaint with the DOJ.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief