Consumer complaint received 2025-07-07 00:00:00
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.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am formally disputing the following accounts on my credit report under my rights granted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) 15 U.S.C. 1681, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) 15 U.S.C. 1692g, and the Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) 15 U.S.C. 1641 ( g ).

I have identified multiple legal violations regarding these accounts, and failure to correct these errors within 30 days will result in formal legal action against your agency for willful noncompliance. 
ACCOUNTS IN DISPUTE : AccountXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Balance Reporting on a Charged-Off Account : The account continues to report an increasing or inflated balance after charge-off, which is not permissible unless post-charge-off interest/fees are legally allowed and contractually valid this may violate FCRA 607 ( b ) ( reporting with maximum accuracy ) and FDCPA 807 ( 2 ) ( A ) ( misrepresenting amount owed ).

Outdated and Stale Negative Information : The last payment was in XXXX, and no recent activity has occurred since XXXX yet the account continues to report monthly in XXXX. Continuous updating of charge-off account

s may be seen as re-aging, which is illegal under the FCRA and Metro 2 reporting standards if done improperly. Inconsistent and Conflicting Data Across Bureaus : XXXX  lists a {$0.00} high credit, while XXXX  shows {$3000.00}, and Equifax is blank. 
XXXX and XXXX show different past due and balance amounts despite the same charge-off status. 
These contradictions violate the requirement for data furnishers to report complete and consistent information.

No Payment History to Support Current Status : XXXX  reports the account in continuous charge-off status with a string of CO codes but no evidence of recent delinquency or new payment events, which is misleading and punitive. 
Account- XXXX XXXXXXXX Account Continuously Reporting with No Activity : The last payment occurred in XXXX, and yet the bureaus continue to update this account monthly as derogatory in XXXX, which may be considered re-aging. This is misleading and potentially a violation of FCRA 607 ( b ) and Metro 2 guidelines.

Conflicting Dates and Values Across Bureaus : High Credit : {$20000.00} ( XXXX  ) vs {$11000.00} ( XXXX  ) Last Active Date : XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  ) vs XX/XX/XXXX ( XXXX  ) These discrepancies indicate inconsistent data furnishing, a violation of the FCRAs accuracy requirements.

Duplicate or Misaligned Account Numbers : The account numbers reported by XXXX  and XXXX  do not match, yet they appear to reference the same debt. This is not only confusing but may reflect improper account duplication or misreporting.

Equifax Discrepancy : This derogatory account does not appear at all on Equifax, suggesting further inconsistency and questions regarding the validity or verification of the tradeline.

Overstated and Unverified Balance After Charge-Off : The balance is still reported in full even after the charge-off, without clarity on whether interest or fees continued to accrue this may be inaccurate and misleading, especially if not contractually or legally permitted.

Account- XXXX XXXX XXXX. Conflict in Account Status XXXX  is reporting this account as Paid, while XXXX  still reports it as Collection/Charge-off, despite the balance being {$0.00}. This is misleading and violates FCRA 607 ( b ), which requires that all data be complete and accurate. 
2. Mismatched Payment History Dates XXXX  shows recent activity in XXXX, whereas XXXX  shows the last payment and activity as early XXXX a significant discrepancy for what is allegedly the same account. This raises concerns about re-aging and data accuracy.

3. High Credit and Credit Limit Reporting Errors XXXX  reports a high credit of {$7400.00} but a credit limit of {$0.00}, while XXXX  reports a {$7500.00} credit limit and {$0.00} high credit. These conflicts could affect utilization scoring unfairly and must be corrected.

4. Outdated Derogatory Status on Paid Account Since the balance is clearly {$0.00} and the account was settled, any ongoing derogatory status should have ceased. Continuing to report it as a collection is misleading, especially postsettlement.

Account- XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Inconsistent Status Reporting Across

Bureaus XXXX  lists the account as Paid, while XXXX  is still reporting a Derogatory/Charge-Off status even though the balance is {$0.00} and a settlement was clearly accepted. FCRA 607 ( b ) mandates maximum possible accuracy, and these conflicting statuses violate that standard.

Mismatched Activity and Payment Dates The " Date Last Active '' and " Date of Last Payment '' differ significantly between bureaus, by nearly 3 years again, for what is evidently the same account. This is either a reaging issue or a failure to update data consistently. 
XXXX Balance But Derogatory Not Removed Since the debt was settled and paid ( per comments and XXXX balance ), the continued derogatory reporting, especially by XXXX, is potentially misleading and could impact credit decisions unfairly.

Inconsistent Credit Limit / High Credit Reporting One bureau reports a high credit of over {$18000.00} but a credit limit of {$0.00}, which is contradictory. This may affect credit utilization ratios and scoring algorithms.

LEGAL DEMANDS & GROUNDS FOR DELETION 1. PROOF OF DEBT OWNERSHIP REQUIRED ( 15 U.S.C. 1641 ( g ) ) Under TILA 15 U.S.C. 1641 ( g ), if a debt is sold or transferred, the new owner must provide proper notification and proof of assignment.

The original creditor has already been paid via securitization and no longer owns this account.

If no legally admissible proof of ownership is provided, this account must be deleted immediately.

Required Action : REMOVE the account or provide the full chain of ownership with original signed agreements proving legal standing.

2. FAILURE TO CONDUCT A REASONABLE INVESTIGATION ( 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ) Under the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), credit bureaus must conduct a reasonable investigation upon dispute.

Simply verifying data with a creditor is NOT a valid investigation.

If you claim this information is verified, provide the method of verification ( MOV ) as required by 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 2 ) ( B ).

Required Action : REMOVE the account if no legitimate MOV and full documentation is provided.

3. FALSE & MISLEADING REPORTING BY THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR ( 15 U.S.C.

1681s-2 ( a ) ) If the original creditor sold or charged off this debt, they are no longer the legal owner, yet they are still reporting it.

Under FCRA 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), inaccurate reporting must be corrected or removed.

If the creditor was paid via securitization or insurance write-off, they must update the tradeline to Transferred/Sold or remove it completely.

Required Action : DELETE the account immediately if the original creditor has no current ownership rights.

4. FAILURE TO REPORT A CHARGED-OFF ACCOUNT CORRECTLY ( GAAP & IRS LAWS ) According to GAAP ( Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ) and IRS reporting laws, a charge-off means the original creditor wrote off the debt as a loss.

If a charged-off account was sold, the creditor has no right to continue reporting a balance or updating the status.

Reporting a balance on a charged-off account is falsifying financial information, which is deceptive under 15 U.S.C. 45 ( FTC Act ).

Required Action : REMOVE the charge-off immediately, or provide accounting records proving the creditor still legally owns the balance.

5. COLLECTION AGENCY VIOLATIONS UNDER FDCPA ( 15 U.S.C. 1692g & 1692e ) If this account is now with a debt collector, I demand full validation under FDCPA 1692g.

Collection agencies must prove : o A valid assignment from the original creditor.

o A signed contract showing I agreed to this debt transfer.

o A full payment history proving what is allegedly owed.

If the collection agency can not provide all of the above, they are in violation of FDCPA, and the debt must be removed.

Required Action : DELETE the collection account immediately if the collector can not provide all required validation documents

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief