Consumer complaint received 2024-06-02 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: TX

Complaint narrative:
Equifax has seriously violated my rights under the FCRA. Public records information is never validated by the Recorder of Deeds nor the XXXX XXXX system due to the Fair Credit Reporting Agency Privacy Law. Equifax lied and did not validate or verify the public record entries on my credit report, constituting a violation of 15 USC 1681e ( b ), which requires credit reporting agencies to follow reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy of the information reported. It has come to my attention that Equifax has employed XXXX as a third-party to report and allegedly verify the bankruptcy record associated with my file. This practice raises significant legal and accuracy concerns under the FCRA. 
The bankruptcy record reported on my credit report was disputed on XX/XX/year>, yet Equifax responded on XX/XX/year>, stating that the record had been " verified ''. Not only did this verification fail to involve the original creditor, as XXXX is not the original creditor, but it also involved an incorrect court address, which does not correspond to any court where the alleged bankruptcy could have been filed, nor associated with record it is reporting. 
Furthermore, 15 USC 1681i ( a ) requires Equifax to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate. Relying on third-party data vendors such as XXXX, which do not directly obtain information from the original sources ( i.e., the courts ), does not satisfy this requirement. This procedural failure has led to incorrect data being reported on my credit profile, which constitutes a misrepresentation of my financial history and a direct infringement on my consumer rights. 
The reliance on XXXX to furnish and verify bankruptcy information, where XXXX is neither an original creditor nor a direct witness to the alleged bankruptcy, is improper and unauthorized under 15 USC 1681s-2 ( a ). This section stipulates that furnishers of information, like Equifax, must ensure the accuracy and integrity of the data they report to consumer reporting agencies. Moreover, it is illegal and a violation of my consumer rights for a third party, rather than the original creditor, to be used to obtain and report information on my consumer report. 
To further support Equifax lies and manipulation, in the attached letter from the XXXX XXXX XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy XXXX, where the alleged bankruptcy was reported states that the court never reports bankruptcies, nor confirms a bankruptcy filing. This demonstrates that Equifax intentionally provided false information and attempted to deceive me, violating 15 USC 1681i ( a ), which mandates that consumer reporting agencies must reinvestigate disputed information and verify its accuracy. 
Per 15 USC 1681c ( a ), bankruptcy information is excluded from the consumers report. Equifaxs fraudulent activity and continuous violations are causing me significant harm, preventing me from receiving credit to support and sustain my family. 
Furthermore, for the past XXXX years I have disputed XXXX other accounts on multiple occasions that Equifax has alleged stated were verified. With those disputes I sent letters outlining the violations and discrepancies of the accounts reported, FTC reports, and police reports verifying the fraudulent accounts, yet Equifax continued to report these accounts which they allegedly verified. As result, of being caught lying about verifying this alleged bankruptcy this further supports that Equifax has never truly investigated and verify any of these disputed accounts on my credit report. 
These actions are a clear violation of my rights. I have been denied multiple credit accounts and loans and was denied refinancing for home loan demand the immediate and permanent deletion of the bankruptcy information and all other disputed accounts currently associated with my social security number from my credit report. Additionally, I demand some monetary relief for the false claims and the significant losses I have suffered as a result of your actions. I will be a complaint the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now as result of this today. If this unauthorized public record information and disputed accounts are not removed within the next XXXX  days, I will file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and file a small claims action against your company.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief