Consumer complaint received 2025-04-04 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: Affirm Holdings, Inc
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I identified an unauthorized Affirm tradeline on my XXXX credit report a loan I did not apply for, authorize, or consent to in any form. The account in question reflects a transaction allegedly initiated on XX/XX/XXXX, for a XXXXe purchase totaling {$110.00}, with a 34.44 % APR and 12 monthly installments of {$10.00}. Although the tradeline currently reflects positive payment history, its presence is both misleading and unlawful. 

I have never established any account with Affirm, nor have I signed any agreement or submitted an application to them or any affiliated merchant. Upon discovering this account, I promptly contacted Affirm on XX/XX/XXXX, via their help center to dispute the tradeline and request its immediate removal. 

Instead of conducting a legally required investigation or providing documentation proving a valid permissible purpose, Affirm relied solely on internal system data to claim the account is accurate. They failed to produce any evidence that I initiated this loan, agreed to its terms, or authorized them to report on my credit no signed application, no IP logs, no identity verification records.

1. Violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681b No Valid Permissible Purpose Affirm unlawfully accessed and reported my credit information to XXXX without obtaining the legally required permissible purpose. Under the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681b ( a ) and 1681b ( f ), a company must have clear and provable consumer authorization to access or furnish consumer credit data. 

Affirm has failed to provide any evidence demonstrating that I authorized this account, including : A signed application or contract, Digital consent logs showing I agreed to the transaction, IP address or device fingerprinting data, Any authentication records confirming my identity. 
Absent this documentation, Affirms data furnishment is facially invalid and constitutes an unauthorized pull and disclosure of my credit data. Without provable consumer consent, this tradeline should never have appeared on my credit report and must be removed immediately. 

2. Violation of 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ) Failure to Conduct a Reasonable Investigation Once I disputed this account on XX/XX/XXXX, Affirm became legally obligated to conduct a reasonable investigation, as required by FCRA 1681s-2 ( b ). This includes : Investigating the dispute using more than automated system data, Reviewing all relevant evidence provided by the consumer, Deleting or correcting information that could not be independently verified. 
Instead, Affirm merely reviewed its internal records, declared the reporting " accurate, '' and produced no proof that I ever applied for or consented to the loan. Affirms investigation failed to meet the minimum legal threshold for reasonableness under the FCRA. 

Even more troubling, Affirms response to the CFPB contains contradictory statements they simultaneously claimed that the investigation was ongoing and that the account had already been verified. This contradiction is further evidence that no serious investigation took place, and the dispute was handled in a procedurally flawed and dismissive manner. 

3. Internal Database Records Legal Authorization Affirms entire justification rests on internal backend data. But under the FCRA, this is legally insufficient. System-generated records are not a substitute for verifiable consumer authorization.

In disputes involving potential identity theft or unauthorized access, the burden is on the data furnisher to prove the consumer 's identity and consent. Affirm has not met that burden. If a company can not produce objective, traceable evidence of consumer authorization, the account is legally unverifiable and under federal law, must be deleted. 

4. Federal and Industry Standards Mandate Deletion of Unverifiable Accounts Affirms apparent belief that it must report this account is false and misleading. Removal of unverifiable tradelines is not only allowed it is required under : FCRA 1681i and 1681s-2 ( b ) Unverifiable or inaccurate information must be promptly removed, not preserved.

Metro 2 Format Manual ( XXXX ) Permits and provides mechanisms for furnishers to delete accounts that can not be substantiated. 
Data Furnisher Agreements with XXXX and Other CRAs Require maximum possible accuracy and cooperation in resolving disputes. 
Affirms failure to delete this account despite the absence of documentation, consent, or verification is a material violation of these federal and contractual standards, exposing the company to regulatory penalties and civil liability. 

This account may seem minor in dollar value, but the legal and financial harm is significant. I did not open this account, did not authorize it, and am now being forced to carry the burden of a tradeline I never created. 

Affirm has offered no proof of authorization, yet it insists on continuing to report this account. This conduct is : Legally indefensible under the FCRA, Procedurally flawed, based on a flawed " investigation, '' And equitably unjust, as I am suffering the consequences of an account that has no verified legal origin. 
To preserve consumer trust in the credit reporting system, furnishers must be held accountable when they ignore their obligations and default to protecting internal systems over consumer rights, does Affirm expect me to pay the entirety for an account that is in good standing, when I did not authorize the charges and received no benefit?

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation