Consumer complaint received 2025-12-29 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: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this as a new complaint based on Experians failure to comply with federal and Washington State law after notice through a prior CFPB complaint. Although Experian acknowledged my prior submission and repeatedly characterized it as a dispute submitted through the CFPB Complaint Portal, its response failed to demonstrate that a reasonable reinvestigation was conducted. 

Experian relied on generalized statements that entities certified a permissible purpose to access my credit report. Certification alone does not constitute verification. Experian did not provide documentation establishing lawful authorization for each disputed inquiry, including signed applications, digital consent, or dealer finance agreements, as required under FCRA 604 ( a ). Experian also failed to identify the specific furnishers or public data sources relied upon to retain disputed inquiries or outdated personal identifiers. Without identifying sources or producing evidence, Experian can not demonstrate maximum possible accuracy as required by FCRA 607 ( b ) and RCW 19.182.110 ( 1 ). 

Experian further failed to disclose the results of any reinvestigation, including what information was reviewed, which furnishers were contacted, what documentation ( if any ) was obtained, or how accuracy was confirmed. This constitutes non-compliance with FCRA 611 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) and FCRA 611 ( a ) ( 6 ) ( B ), as well as RCW 19.182.070, which require reasonable reinvestigation and disclosure of verification results. 

Instead of responding substantively to the issues raised, Experian redirected me to its private dispute portal. Consumers are not legally required to use a credit bureaus internal website to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information. Having elected to treat my CFPB submission as a dispute, Experian can not reclassify it as a customer-service inquiry in order to avoid its statutory obligations under federal or state law. 

Experians response explains how inquiries may generally be reported but does not address whether the specific disputed inquiries and personal identifiers on my file were lawfully obtained, accurately reported, or properly verified. A generalized explanation of policy does not resolve a consumer dispute and does not satisfy the Fair Credit Reporting Act or Washington State law.

Experians handling of this matter reflects a broader process failure in which consumer disputes are unnecessarily diverted, delayed, or complicated rather than substantively investigated. By relying on boilerplate explanations, redirecting consumers between portals, and withholding source-level verification, Experian creates procedural friction that discourages consumers from pursuing their lawful rights. This approach appears designed to promote consumer attrition while protecting the credit bureaus own operational interests, rather than ensuring compliance with the accuracy, transparency, and reinvestigation requirements mandated by law. 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act does not permit credit reporting agencies to complicate the dispute process, delay resolution, or rely on consumer exhaustion as a substitute for compliance. Such practices frustrate the statutes purpose and undermine the consumer protections established by Congress and Washington State law. 

Because Experian failed to identify sources, failed to provide documentation, failed to disclose reinvestigation results, and failed to demonstrate that any reasonable investigative steps were taken after notice, Experian remains in non-compliance with FCRA 604 ( a ), 607 ( b ), 611 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), and 611 ( a ) ( 6 ) ( B ), as well as RCW 19.182.070 and RCW 19.182.110 ( 1 ).

I am requesting regulatory review and appropriate corrective action to require Experian to correct its dispute-handling process and to delete any information that can not be fully verified in compliance with federal and Washington State law

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation