Consumer complaint received 2025-10-09 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: TN

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this complaint because my Experian credit file contains inaccurate and misleading information being furnished by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) regarding a federal student loan tradeline. 

The account in question reports a status of Petition for XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy / Never late. This notation is both legally and factually incorrect. My credit report itself lists any referenced bankruptcy matter as dismissed, which means there is no active or discharged bankruptcy in effect. A dismissed petition has no legal bearing on any account, and therefore no tradeline may be reported as included in bankruptcy or under petition. 

Additionally, under federal law and U.S. Bankruptcy Code 523 ( a ) ( 8 ), federal student loans are not dischargeable and can not be included in, or affected by, a bankruptcy petition unless specifically adjudicated and excepted by a court order, which did not occur. 

The data furnished by XXXX also conflicts internally : the tradeline shows Never late/ Pays as agreed, confirming a positive payment history, while simultaneously carrying the phrase Petition for XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy. These XXXX statuses are mutually exclusive. Reporting a current, never-late federal education account as part of a bankruptcy petition constitutes the furnishing of false and misleading information in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) ), which prohibits furnishers from reporting information they know or should know is inaccurate.

Moreover, Experians acceptance of this data without verification violates FCRA 607 ( b ), which requires consumer-reporting agencies to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. A dismissed bankruptcy record can not legally attach to a federal education loan opened months earlier, and any implication that it was included is inaccurate and damaging. 

At the time this account was opened ( XX/XX/year> ), I was actively enrolled in school and the loan was in current, active status. There is no factual or legal basis for Experian or XXXX to associate it with a bankruptcy petition of any kind. This false connection has resulted in a significant, unjustified score reduction and the appearance of derogatory information that is unsupported by the underlying facts or law. 

I am requesting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus assistance to compel Experian and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Remove all bankruptcy-related language ( Petition for XXXX XXXX  Bankruptcy or similar ) from this account and any associated tradeline ; XXXX. Correct the account status to reflect its true payment history ( Pays as agreed / Never late ) with no bankruptcy reference ; and XXXX. Provide written confirmation that this inaccurate notation has been permanently deleted from my credit file. 

This inaccurate reporting has caused material harm to my credit profile and violates both the FCRA and established federal bankruptcy law. I have attached supporting screenshots showing the false tradeline, the dismissed status appearing on my credit file, and documentation confirming that federal student loans can not be included in or discharged through a bankruptcy petition absent a specific court determination.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation