Consumer complaint received 2025-11-18 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Information belongs to someone else
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: DE

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Equifax Reporting Unauthorized/False Hard Inquiries and Failing to Produce Proof of Permissible Purpose To the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau : I am submitting this complaint against Equifax for its continued reporting of unauthorized hard inquiries and its repeated failure to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). These inquiries were never authorized by me, and Equifax has failed to produce any documentation demonstrating a permissible purpose for their appearance on my consumer report. 

Despite multiple disputes, Equifax continues to report these inquiries without providing written proof of authorization, an application initiated by me, or any evidence that the inquirers had a lawful reason to access my credit file. 

Unauthorized / Unverified Hard Inquiries Equifax has failed to provide documentation for the following inquiries, which I did not authorize and did not initiate : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX These companies have never provided me with any service, loan, application, consent form, or written disclosure requiring or permitting a credit pull. 

FCRA Laws Violated by Equifax 1. 15 U.S.C. 1681b ( a ) ( 2 ) Written Instructions Required A credit reporting agency may furnish a credit report only if the consumer has given written instructions authorizing the inquiry.

Equifax has not produced any such documentation.

2. 15 U.S.C. 1681b ( a ) ( 3 ) ( A ) Consumer-Initiated Credit Transaction A credit report may be accessed only in connection with a credit transaction initiated by the consumer. 

I did not initiate applications with any of the companies listed above. 

Equifax has provided zero proof that I initiated any transaction requiring a credit pull.

3. 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) Duty to Conduct a Reasonable Reinvestigation When I disputed these inquiries, Equifax responded with a generic statement claiming the furnishers certified permissible purpose. 

However, Equifax failed to : Provide written authorization Provide evidence of an application Provide any documents supporting permissible purpose Show the method of verification A furnishers certification is not a lawful reinvestigation. Courts have consistently ruled that a CRA must obtain actual evidence, not rely on self-serving automated responses.

4. 15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ) Failure to Maintain Reasonable Procedures for Accuracy By continuing to report inquiries that can not be verified with actual documentation, Equifax is failing to maintain procedures ensuring maximum possible accuracy, a direct statutory violation. 

Financial Harm and Ongoing Damages Unauthorized inquiries lower my credit score, affect my ability to secure credit, increase my cost of borrowing, and damage my financial health. Equifaxs failure to delete unverified inquiries constitutes : Willful noncompliance under 1681n Negligent noncompliance under 1681o These violations continue to cause measurable harm. 

Requested CFPB Action I am requesting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau require Equifax to : Produce verifiable documentation proving permissible purpose for each inquiry listed above including my written authorization or a consumer-initiated application, OR Delete all unauthorized and unverified inquiries immediately for failure to comply with 1681b, 1681e ( b ), and 1681i. 

Equifax has had multiple opportunities to correct these errors, yet continues to report inaccurate information unsupported by any lawful proof. 

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation