Consumer complaint received 2026-05-26 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against Experian Information Solutions , Inc. and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., arising from the inaccurate, unverifiable, and legally unsupported reporting of a XXXX XXXX account on my Experian credit report. The account in question is listed as 'XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ' account type XXXX XXXX, with a reported past-due balance of {$15000.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX. I have simultaneously submitted a formal written dispute to Experian pursuant to FCRA 1681i and am filing this CFPB complaint to create a formal regulatory record and to invoke the CFPB 's supervisory authority over both Experian and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX as a data furnisher. The most fundamental basis for this complaint is that the XXXX XXXX obligation underlying this account was never legally established because XXXX was never determined through any legally recognized process. Under the Michigan Paternity Act ( MCL 722.711 et seq. ) and federal Title IV-D child support enforcement law ( 42 U.S.C. 651 et seq. ), a valid and enforceable child support obligation requires either a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity executed in compliance with MCL 722.1003 and MCL 722.1007, or a court order establishing paternity through legal adjudication which under Michigan law must include the opportunity for XXXX XXXX testing upon request pursuant to MCL 722.716. Neither step was completed. No court-ordered DNA or genetic testing was ever performed, and no valid Voluntary Acknowledgment of XXXX was executed. Without a legally valid XXXX determination, no enforceable XXXX XXXX obligation exists under Michigan or federal law. Under FCRA 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ), a furnisher shall not report information it knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. Reporting a debt arising from an obligation where paternity was never legally established as a valid, verified consumer debt violates this standard. Under FCRA 1681e ( b ), Experian is required to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy accepting this tradeline without verifying the legal foundation of the paternity obligation fails this requirement. The account is listed as 'Closed ' on my Experian report yet simultaneously carries {$15000.00} as actively past due as of XX/XX/XXXX. A closed account should not maintain an actively accruing past-due balance unless there is a court judgment in place, which would appear as a separate public record on my credit report. No public records appear on my Experian report as of XX/XX/XXXX. The absence of any public record means there is no court judgment that could legally support an active past-due balance on a closed account. This creates an internal data contradiction a closed account with an active past-due balance and no supporting judgment that violates FCRA 1681e ( b ) 's accuracy requirement and XXXX XXXX data field standards for consumer credit reporting. The Terms field for this account is reported as " XXXX Month. ' A XXXX XXXX obligation is by its legal nature an ongoing monthly obligation that continues until the XXXX reaches the age of majority XXXX years under Michigan law ( MCL 552.605b ), or longer if the XXXX remains in high school. A term of " XXXX Month ' on a XXXX XXXX account opened in XXXX is a XXXX XXXX data field entry error that is factually impossible and demonstrates that the account data is not being accurately maintained or reported by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Under FCRA 1681e ( b ), this material inaccuracy in a required data field constitutes a violation of the maximum accuracy standard. The payment history for this account shows only XXXX month XX/XX/XXXX with a " XXXX ' ( XXXX ) notation. All remaining months spanning years of the alleged obligation show XXXX XXXX. ' Under XXXX XXXX standards and FCRA accuracy requirements, a tradeline where the overwhelming majority of payment history is coded as unavailable can not be verified as accurately reported. For this account to remain on my credit report, the XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX must be able to provide a complete, month-by-month verified payment history from the inception of the support order. The XXXX XXXX ' coding across virtually the entire payment history demonstrates that the furnisher can not verify the account as accurate, and under FCRA 1681i ( a ) ( 5 ), unverifiable information must be promptly deleted. This State of Michigan XXXX XXXX account appears exclusively on my Experian credit report. It does not appear on XXXX or XXXX. If this were a valid, accurately reported obligation, there is no logical reason it would appear on only XXXX of XXXX major consumer reporting agencies. The exclusive appearance of this tradeline on Experian suggests either that the obligation is not being reported consistently or accurately by the furnisher, that the other bureaus have already investigated and removed this tradeline following prior disputes, or that the account is being selectively reported in a manner inconsistent with standard XXXX XXXX reporting practices. Under FCRA 1681e ( b ), Experian 's reasonable procedures for accuracy should include scrutiny of whether a tradeline of this nature appears on other bureaus, and its singular appearance on Experian is itself a red flag that warrants investigation. I respectfully request that the CFPB : ( XXXX ) compel Experian Information Solutions XXXX Inc. to conduct a thorough and reasonable investigation of this disputed tradeline ; ( XXXX ) compel the XXXX XXXX Michigan XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to provide complete documentation establishing legal paternity through court-ordered DNA testing or a valid Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity, the original court order establishing the support obligation, a complete verified month-by-month payment history, and an itemized breakdown of the {$15000.00} balance ; ( XXXX ) if the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX not provide complete legal XXXX documentation, compel Experian to delete this tradeline immediately as the underlying obligation is legally unverifiable ; ( XXXX ) investigate the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX reporting practices for compliance with FCRA 1681s-2 furnisher obligations regarding paternity-based support obligations ; and ( XXXX ) issue a finding regarding whether Experian 's acceptance of this tradeline without verifying the legal foundation of the underlying paternity obligation meets the reasonable procedures standard required under FCRA 1681e ( b ). The continued reporting of this legally unverifiable obligation is causing material and ongoing harm to my credit profile, financial opportunities, and economic wellbeing.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief