Consumer complaint received 2025-08-02 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: MS

Complaint narrative:
b'Dear CFPB Team,\nI am submitting this formal complaint to bring to your immediate attention numerous inaccuracies and violations on my credit report, reported by various furnishers and credit reporting agencies. These errors include incorrect addresses, disputed late payments, wrongful charge-offs, and unauthorized hard inquiries. These inaccurate entries severely harm my credit profile, violate federal laws, and undermine my financial stability.\XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  WRONG ADDRESS\nIssue: This address is completely unconnected to my identity and has caused false associations on my credit file\nLaw: FCRA mandates that all reported information must be both accurate and verifiable under Section 1681e(b)\nStory: This entry has contributed to file merging errors with someone elses accounts showing under my profile, which has caused emotional distress and financial hardship, remove it immediately\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  WRONG ADDRESS\nIssue: I have never resided at or received mail at this location and it does not reflect my verified history\nLaw: Under FCRA, reporting unverifiable addresses violates my consumer rights and must be corrected promptly\nStory: Including this address has resulted in accounts I do not recognize being tied to me, which jeopardizes my personal and financial integrity, I demand this address be deleted at once\nDEPT OF EDUCATION/XXXX   XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  LATE PAYMENT\nIssue: This late payment is inaccurate because the account was under approved deferment during the period in question\nLaw: Per FCRA Section 1681s-2 and Higher Education Act guidelines, creditors must report deferred loans accurately and may not mark them late\nStory: I submitted proper documentation and received confirmation of deferment, yet this loan was wrongly reported as late, resulting in score damage and denial of opportunities, I demand this be corrected or removed immediately\nDEPT OF EDUCATION/XXXX   XXXX   Opened: XXXX  Balance: $XXXX   LATE PAYMENT\nIssue: The reported delinquency is inaccurate and misrepresents the actual loan status during hardship\nLaw: According to FCRA and Department of Education reporting standards, periods of forbearance or deferment must not be recorded as delinquent\nStory: I was facing financial hardship and my loan was in a protected status, yet the bureau falsely reflected me as late, which misled lenders and harmed my financial future, I request full reinvestigation and removal\nDEPT OF EDUCATION/XXXX  XXXX  Opened: XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXnIssue: The account was under forbearance when the alleged late payment occurred and should not reflect delinquency\nLaw: Under FCRA and student loan servicing regulations, this constitutes misreporting of payment history\nStory: This error has repeatedly caused denial of credit and employment background check issues, despite my efforts to dispute it previously, I demand deletion or correction immediately\nDEPT OF EDUCATIONXXXX XXXX XXXXened: 06/27/2012  Balance: XXXX   LATE PAYMENT\nIssue: Incorrect delinquency reporting for a very small balance has unfairly damaged my credit\nLaw: FCRA requires data furnishers to maintain and report only accurate and complete data\nStory: My score has suffered significantly because of this trivial but false negative entry, which also creates false assumptions about my credit responsibility, I request its removal without delay\nDEPT OF EDUCATION/XXXX XXXX  Opened: XXXX  Balance: XXXXXXXX  LATE PAYMENT\nIssue: This late mark is inaccurate and misleading given the loan status during the reporting period\nLaw: FCRA Section 623 mandates creditors to report accurate account history or correct any error upon notification\nStory: Because of this error, I lost eligibility for certain federal programs and experienced unnecessary hardship, I ask for this to be reviewed and corrected or removed immediately\n1XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Balance: XXXX   CHARGE OFF\nIssue: This charge-off was settled but remains inaccurately listed as an unpaid charge-off\nLaw: FCRA Section 1681i requires that outdated or incorrect status must be corrected by the bureau\nStory: I resolved this debt with the creditor, and they confirmed payment, yet the charge-off status remains, unfairly lowering my credit score, this must be updated to paid/settled or removed entirely\nXXXX XXXX  Opened: XXXX  Balance: XXXX XXXXHARGE OFF\nIssue: Extremely small balance wrongfully charged off, causing disproportionate harm\nLaw: FCRA Section 1681c requires that insignificant or outdated information should not be unfairly penalizing\nStory: A XXXX charge-off should never remain years later to damage credit  this is unreasonable and must be removed without hesitation\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Opened: XXXX  Balance: XXXX  CHARGE OFF\nIssue: This account is unknown to me, likely the result of fraud or account error\nLaw: FCRA Section 1681i requires verification of account ownership before reporting negative status\nStory: I never opened or used any Kikoff Lending product, and the appearance of this as a charge-off is false and damaging, I request immediate deletion as unverified\nMULTIPLE HARD INQUIRIES\nIssue: Numerous hard inquiries were performed without my consent, are repeated by same institutions, or were unauthorized\nLaw: Under FCRA 1681b(c), inquiries must be permissible, authorized, and relevant to credit applications initiated by me\nStory: I have not authorized many of these inquiries listed below, and the duplicate entries by the same companies suggest mishandling or data sharing across affiliates which I never approved, these repeated inquiries have damaged my credit score and should be removed entirelXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  08/19/2023\n\n\tThese inaccuracies collectively cause significant damage to my credit reputation and violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I request CFPBs assistance in enforcing compliance with federal laws by ensuring that these errors are promptly investigated and corrected by the credit reporting agencies and furnishers.\n\tPlease investigate these matters and require the responsible parties to provide evidence of the legitimacy of their reporting or remove the inaccurate information immediately. I expect a timely response and resolution.\n\tThank you for your attention to this serious matter.'

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief