Consumer complaint received 2024-12-29 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: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this formal complaint regarding violations of federal and California state laws by XXXX XXXX, and consumer reporting agencies, EXPERIAN, XXXX, and XXXX. These entities have engaged in unlawful practices that infringe upon my federally and state-protected rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ( GLBA ), Privacy Act of 1974, Federal Trade Commission ACT / Holder Rule , and related California laws .

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 USC 1681 section 602 ( a ) states, " There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. XXXX, XXXX, AND EXPERIAN, are consumer reporting agencies, and I am the Consumer. I have the right to make sure my private information isn't shared which is supported by 15 USC 6801 which states It is the policy of the Congress that each financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers nonpublic personal information. '' XXXX XXXX is a financial institution by definition under that title. 15 USC 1681 section 604 a section 2 states that " In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. XXXX XXXX and the Consumer reporting agencies XXXX, XXXX AND EXPERIAN do not have my consent to furnish this information, and they surely do not have my written consent. Any and all consent that may have been given to XXXX, XXXX, EXPERIAN, and XXXX XXXX whether it be verbal, non-verbal, written, implied or otherwise is revoked. 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states that A financial institution may not disclose non-public personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. XXXX XXXX never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. Not only that 15 USC 1681C ( a ) ( 5 ) states, Except as authorized under subsection ( b ), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. '' This account is an adverse item they are reporting again without my permission which is against the law. Under 15 USC 1681 Section 604 ( a ), agencies are prohibited from furnishing reports without explicit written instructions from the consumer. I have not provided such instructions, yet my information has been unlawfully reported. 
There should be no late payments being reported to any of my accounts. Payment history is illegal to post to a credit report. 15 USC Code 1681 ( b ) outlines Permissible purposes of consumer reports. Per 15 USC 1681c - Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports, no adverse item besides the conviction of crimes should be in your report. Any item that is a derogatory mark is not allowed into consumer reports without the consumers consent. " Violation of 15 USC 1681a ( 2 ) ( a ) ( i ) and 1681s-2 ( a ) - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX inaccurate and misleading information to consumer reporting agencies, including EXPERIAN, XXXX, and XXXX, XXXX violation of 15 U.S. Code 1681a ( 2 ) ( a ) ( i ) and 15 U.S. Code 1681s-2 ( a ). Specifically, the FCRA states that consumer reports should not include information solely related to transactions or experiences ( e.g., payment history, charge-off status ) between a consumer and the entity reporting, XXXX XXXX XXXX Additionally, 15 U.S. Code 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) prohibits a furnisher from providing any information to a consumer reporting agency if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. Despite my notification to XXXX XXXX regarding inaccuracies in their reporting, they have failed to cease furnishing incorrect data to these agencies. As a federally protected consumer, I hereby demand that XXXX XXXX immediately cease all reporting of inaccurate information and correct the errors with all consumer reporting agencies. 
Breach of Privacy Act of XXXX and Unauthorized Sharing of Information : XXXX XXXX violated the Privacy Act of XXXX by unlawfully sharing my personal financial information with non-affiliated third parties, specifically EXPERIAN, XXXX, and XXXX, which are not affiliates of XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX own terms and conditions prohibit sharing such information with non-affiliates, yet they have disregarded this obligation. Per the Privacy Act of 1974 ( 5 U.S. Code 552 ( a ), I hereby revoke any and all authorizations given written, verbal, non-verbal that may have been previously provided to XXXX XXXX. Effective immediately, XXXX XXXX is prohibited from sharing, reporting, or distributing any of my personal or financial information to any third party, including consumer reporting agencies. 
Non-Compliance with Opt-Out Provisions under 15 U.S.C. 6802 ( Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ) : As a federally protected consumer under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6802 ), I hereby opt-out of any and all authorizations, written or verbal, that I may have provided to XXXX XXXX regarding the sharing of my personal information. XXXX XXXX has failed to honor its obligations under federal law by continuing to share my information without proper authorization, and I demand immediate compliance. 
XXXX XXXX has inaccurately reported information about transactions and experiences, such as late payments and charge-off statuses, in violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681a ( a ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( i ) and 1681s-2 ( a ). It is illegal for a consumer reporting agency to report a consumer 's experiences and transactions, including payment history. These " late payments '' must be removed, and this account must be updated immediately. Despite being notified of these inaccuracies, they continue to furnish misleading information to Experian, XXXX, and XXXX, which also violates 15 U.S.C. 1666 ( a ), as they failed to send periodic statements at least 21 days before the due date, improperly marking payments as late. I have not received the required notices or statements, which caused further harm to my credit profile.

Per 15 U.S.C. 1666 ( a ) Time to make payments : A creditor may not treat a payment on a credit card account under an open-end consumer credit plan as late for any purpose, unless the creditor has adopted reasonable procedures designed to ensure that each periodic statement including the information required by section 1637 ( b ) of this title is mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than twenty-one days before the payment due date. XXXX XXXX is in violation of this code. 
Violations of the Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) Failure to Address Credit Balances ( 15 U.S.C. 1666d ) : When a credit balance exceeding {$1.00} arises from payments, rebates, or other transactions, the creditor must : ( A ) Credit the amount to the consumer 's account. ( B ) Refund any remaining balance upon the consumer 's request. ( C ) Make a good-faith effort to refund balances exceeding six months unless the consumer 's current location can not be determined. I formally requested documentary evidence under 15 U.S.C. 1666 ( b ) ( 2 ) and 44 to clarify disputed amounts and resolve the BILLING ERROR NOTICE sent to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX has failed to comply with these provisions, depriving me of the rightful return of funds. Failure to Provide Documentary Evidence ( 15 U.S.C. 1666 ( b ) ( 2 ) and 44 ) : Under these sections, I again formally request documentary evidence, including books of account, to clarify disputed amounts and resolve this billing error. Forfeiture of Collection Rights ( 15 U.S.C. 1666 ( e ) ) : Creditors who fail to address disputes and comply with billing error resolution requirements forfeit their rights to collect on disputed amounts. The creditors continued noncompliance means they have forfeited the right to collect on all past, present, and future amounts related to this account. 
XXXX XXXX, Experian, XXXX, and XXXX have also violated the Privacy Act of 1974 ( 5 U.S.C. 552a ) by unlawfully sharing my personal financial information with non-affiliated third parties, including consumer reporting agencies, without authorization.

Violation of 16 CFR 433.1 and 433.2 Under the FTCs Holder Rule ( 16 CFR Part 433 ), creditors are not exempt from responsibility for compliance with consumer protections. Specifically, according to 16 CFR 433.3 ( a ), any seller who has taken or received an open-end consumer credit contract before XX/XX/XXXX, shall be exempt from certain requirements only if the contract does not cut off the consumer 's claims and defenses. Any attempts by this creditor to waive or limit my rights are invalid under these provisions. Despite this, XXXX XXXX has attempted to limit my rights by reporting false and inaccurate data. Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibits unfair and deceptive practices, mandating that consumer credit reports be accurately maintained.

Under California Civil Code 1785.25 ( a ), furnishing inaccurate or incomplete information to consumer reporting agencies is prohibited. XXXX XXXX has knowingly submitted false data. California Civil Code 1785.31 allows consumers to seek damages for inaccuracies. Additionally, under the California Financial Code 4052-4053, financial institutions must disclose how personal financial information is shared or used, which XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX do. 
I formally exercise my right to opt out of any disclosures of my personal information under 15 U.S.C. 6802 ( GLBA ), 12 CFR 1016.7 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( ii ), and 16 CFR 313.7. FORM OF OPT OUT NOTICE TO CONSUMERS/OPT OUT METHODS- SECTION ( f ) A consumer may opt out at any time. I revoke all implied or expressed consent for the use or disclosure of my data. Additionally, under the Privacy Act of 1974, my Social Security number must not be disclosed to any third parties except federal agencies as required by law.

The penalties for these violations are substantial. Violations of GLBA result in civil penalties of up to {$100000.00} per violation, personal liability for officers and directors of up to {$10000.00} per violation, and possible imprisonment. TILA violations may incur damages of up to {$1000.00} per violation, class action damages up to {$500000.00} or 1 % of the creditors net worth, and legal fees. Under the FTC Act, deceptive practices can lead to significant fines and corrective measures.

Removal of erroneous hard Inquiries : Pursuant to 17 CFR 424, I hereby demand that XXXX, XXXX, and Experian remove all inquiries related to my personal information that are not linked to an active account from your records and any third-party reporting systems, including credit agencies, within XXXX business days. These inquiries include : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, MI XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, NC XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX TN XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX  SD XXXX XXXX XXXX 
I formally request that XXXX XXXX and the consumer reporting agencies including XXXX, XXXX, and Experian immediately cease all unauthorized sharing of my personal information, correct all inaccuracies in my credit reports, and provide the accounting per the NOTICE OF BILLING ERROR. These entities must adhere to my opt-out rights under 15 U.S.C. 6802-6805, prohibiting further distribution or processing of my data without my explicit consent. Compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 is also required to prevent any unauthorized handling or dissemination of my personal information.

The unlawful practices described have caused significant financial harm, emotional distress, and reputational damage. The continued sharing of private information, inaccurate reporting of adverse items, and failure to address disputes have severely compromised my financial stability and undermined my rights as a federally protected consumer. 
I urge the CFPB to investigate these violations thoroughly and impose appropriate enforcement actions. If these issues are not resolved promptly, I reserve the right to pursue additional legal remedies.

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 explanation