Consumer complaint received 2024-07-27 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:
Reinvestigate the Inaccurate account on my report. I a federally protected consumer ..... 


Please remove all non mailable addresses. update to current address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 USC 1681, Section 602 ), " 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. '' As consumer reporting agencies, Equifax must adhere to these principles. As a consumer, I have the right to ensure my private information is not shared. This is further supported by 15 USC 6801, which states, " It is the policy of 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. '' The furnisher of information to credit agencies is defined as a financial institution under this title. According to 15 USC 1681, Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ), " 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. '' The financial institution, Equifax, do not have my consent to furnish this information, and they certainly do not have my written consent. Any and all consent to Equifax, and the furnisher of information to credit agencieswhether verbal, non-verbal, written, implied, or otherwiseis revoked.

Furthermore, 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states, " A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. '' The furnisher of information to credit agencies never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. Additionally, 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 without my permission, which is against the law.

Moreover, 15 USC 1681s2 ( A ) ( 1 ) ( A ) states, " A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. '' Additionally, 15 USC 1681e states, " Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. '' Equifax and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Lastly, 12 CFR 1016.7 states, " A consumer may exercise the right to opt-out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services.

Credit Reports for collection of delinquent child support, judgments, fines and liens may no longer be permitted Federal courts recently have issued rulings about the use of consumer reports for the collection of an account under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). 1 These cases note that certain definitions were added to the FCRA as part of the 2003 amendments ( FACT Act ). In particular, the word credit was defined. As a result of the new definition the position that is being advocated is that a collection of an account is a permissible purpose to obtain a consumer report only when the collection is in connection with a credit transaction. 
The courts have specifically rejected prior case law and FTC guidance that a judgment creditor had permissible purpose, noting that those decisions pre-dated the FACT Act. These cases have held that a delinquent child support obligation, municipal fines arising from parking tickets, and a statutory debt resulting from the towing and impound of an illegally parked vehicle did not arise from a credit transaction. As a result, the courts found that collection of those accounts was not a valid permissible purpose to obtain a consumer reportAs an example, for collectors of delinquent child support debt, judgments, fines, or liens, you must have in hand : A court order authorizing a consumer reporting agency to provide a consumer report, A written authorization from the debtor to obtain a consumer report, or Some type of contractual agreement with the consumer that rises to the level of a credit transaction under law.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief