Consumer complaint received 2024-12-19 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Investigation took more than 30 days
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am filing this formal complaint against [ EquifaxXXXX XXXX XXXX hereinafter referred to as " the Agency '' ) for their repeated violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), Fair Credit Billing Act ( FCBA ), and their failure to comply with federal consumer protection laws regarding the reporting of inaccurate and unverifiable information on my credit report. 

Background and Summary of Dispute : On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted a formal dispute to the Agency regarding the reporting of the following accounts : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Charge-off amount : {$10000.00} ) XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Account number : XXXX. 
In my correspondence, I explicitly requested the following information to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of these accounts : Authenticated Double-Entry Accounting Records proving the accuracy of the debt.

Original Signed Contracts or Agreements demonstrating my obligation to pay the debt.

1099-C Forms confirming any charge-offs or debt cancellations, as required under IRS regulations.

Proof of Legal Authority to report the debt to the credit bureaus.

Despite my repeated efforts, the Agency has failed to provide this information within the legally mandated 30-day timeframe outlined in 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ). This delay violates their obligation to conduct a reasonable investigation and either verify or delete the disputed information.

Legal Violations by the Agency : Failure to Conduct a Reasonable Investigation : Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), the Agency must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed information within 30 days. Their reliance solely on information provided by the creditors, without independent verification, constitutes a failure to meet this obligation.

Failure to Comply with the Fair Credit Billing Act ( FCBA ) : Under 15 U.S.C. 1666b, creditors and credit reporting agencies are prohibited from reporting late payments or debts as delinquent until a proper dispute has been resolved. By reporting this information while failing to provide validation or complete the dispute process, the Agency is in violation of the FCBA.

Failure to Provide Verification or Documentation : The Agency has not provided any supporting documentation, such as periodic statements or evidence of compliance with 15 U.S.C. 1637 ( b ), which requires clear disclosure of payment terms and due dates.

They have also failed to comply with my requests under 15 U.S.C. 1681g ( a ) ( 2 ) for information regarding how the debts were verified.

Reporting of Unverified and Inaccurate Information : 15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ) requires credit reporting agencies to ensure the accuracy of information reported. XXXX, a separate credit reporting agency, has already removed the XXXX XXXX XXXX account, deeming it unverifiable. This inconsistency highlights the failure of the Agency to ensure accurate reporting. 
Reporting unverifiable accounts constitutes a violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 5 ), which mandates deletion of unverifiable information. 
Precedent : XXXX XXXX Equifax Information Services, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( S.D. XXXX XXXX ) : In this case, the court clarified that under the FCRA, if a credit reporting agency is unable to verify the accuracy of disputed information, it is obligated to delete or correct the information. The court held that if verification can not be completed within the statutory period, the CRA must remove the item from the consumers credit report. The Agency 's failure to remove these accounts after being unable to verify their accuracy directly violates this legal precedent. 
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) : If the debts were reported by a third-party debt collector, their failure to provide validation as requested violates 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation