Consumer complaint received 2025-12-15 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: MO

Complaint narrative:
This CFPB complaint is being submitted because the credit reporting agencies have now crossed from negligence into clear willful noncompliance. The most recent dispute letters placed Equifax Experian and TransUnion on explicit notice of specific factual inaccuracies Metro2 violations and identity contamination. Despite that notice the bureaus chose to continue publishing the same defective data while claiming verification without producing a single piece of competent evidence. 

This is not a disagreement over interpretation. This is a failure of basic data integrity. 

The most egregious example is the XXXX XXXX XXXX  account. TransUnion admitted to removing incorrect personal identifiers from my file while simultaneously verifying this collection account as accurate. That position is legally indefensible. If the underlying file contained contaminated identity data serious enough to require deletion of names addresses and employer information then any account tied to that same corrupted dataset can not be verified. Verification under those conditions is not reasonable and not lawful.

Across Equifax Experian and TransUnion the XXXX XXXX account is reported with conflicting account statuses conflicting dates opened conflicting dates last active and conflicting last reported dates. One bureau reports the account as open while others report it as closed. Activity dates differ by years. These are core Metro2 fields that must align if the data is accurate. An account can not exist in multiple contradictory states at the same time. Continuing to report it as verified proves that no real investigation occurred. 

The XXXX XXXX collection account reflects the same pattern of abuse. It is reported with different open dates different activity dates and different statuses across bureaus. No original creditor is clearly identified. No chain of ownership has been established. No contract no payment history and no proof of lawful reporting authority has ever been produced. Reporting a collection account opened in XXXX with no documentation and no consistent data is not a clerical error. It is reckless reporting. 

In addition multiple hard inquiries remain on my credit file that I did not authorize. These include XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. I did not apply for credit with these companies. The bureaus have failed to produce any evidence of permissible purpose such as a signed application or consumer initiated transaction. Each day these inquiries remain on my file is a continuing violation of my privacy rights. 

The bureaus have also demonstrated ongoing mishandling of personal identifying information. Although some incorrect names addresses and employer entries were removed others remain or reappear connected to disputed accounts. This creates an active mixed file risk and destroys the credibility of any verification performed. A file that is admitted to be partially inaccurate can not be selectively treated as reliable. 

At every stage the bureaus relied on automated furnisher responses instead of conducting a lawful reasonable reinvestigation. No original contracts no billing statements no complete account level transaction histories and no reconciliation of cross bureau conflicts were ever reviewed. Accepting automated confirmations in the face of obvious contradictions is not compliance. It is willful disregard of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

This conduct has caused measurable harm. Collection accounts and hard inquiries are among the most damaging elements in FICO scoring. The continued reporting of this false data has suppressed my credit scores increased borrowing costs interfered with access to credit and caused significant stress and disruption to my financial life. I have acted in good faith. The credit bureaus have not.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation