Consumer complaint received 2024-01-31 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: NY

Complaint narrative:
My consumer report is inaccurate and inequitable since Equifax is reporting information for which it does not have my written instruction to report pursuant 15 USC 1681b ( a ) ( 2 ). All credit reporting is voluntary. There is no law that requires any person to report any information on a consumer. There is no law that requires Equifax to assemble and evaluate my personal information. Equifax assumed the vital role of assembling and evaluating my credit information and it has not exercised its grave responsibilities to me with fairness, impartiality, and respect for my privacy. The multiple responses I receive from my multiple notices Ive sent to Equifax, pursuant to 15 USC 1681i, prove an illegal pattern of activity as Equifax neglects to uphold the responsibilities for the role it assumed pursuant to 15 USC 1681. I have filed more than one complaint which means Equifax has had a full understanding of the violations after I complained the first time. My complaints regarding these issues prove Equifax has willfully violated this act and Equifaxs willful noncompliance makes it liable to me for at least {$1000.00} per violation. In my past dispute notices I requested that Equifax provide me with a description of how it verified the disputed accounts and to send me a copy of all documentation received from the person furnishing the information but I never received that description or documentation. 

My consumer reports are blocked for promotional purposes. This proves that I have opted out of affiliate sharing. In my consumer reports Equifax has been including the transactions and experiences between me and the person making the report and then it sells those reports, via soft inquiry, to its affiliates so said affiliates they can market credit cards, loans, and debt consolidation product to me. Equifax violating the provisions of 15 USC 1681s-3 is willful and Equifax is noncompliant with the requirements under the rules of construction pursuant 15 USC 1681a ( d ) ( 2 ). Equifax DOES NOT have my consent to share my consumer reports with its affiliates. For failing to comply with the requirements pursuant to 15 USC 1681a, Equifax is liable to me at least {$1000.00} for each time it failed to comply pursuant 15 USC 1681n. Therefore dating back to the earliest account appearing on my consumer report and for each reporting account appearing on my consumer report Equifax is liable to me for at least {$1000.00} for each day it had an opportunity to but failed to comply with excluding my transactions and experiences from my consumer report. Pursuant 15 USC 1681n Equifax owes me an amount of at least {$650000.00} for XXXX XXXX account ending in XXXX and an amount of at least {$520000.00} for XXXX XXXX XXXX account ending in XXXX. Equifax owes me a total of {>= $1,000,000} for said violations. 

Equifax has been furnishing my consumer reports to its affiliates without my permission, without a court order, and without my written instruction. Pursuant to 15 USC 1681b ( a ) ( 1 ) - ( 2 ) Equifax may not furnish a credit report without a court order or my written consent. Since Ive opted out of affiliate sharing and Equifax being without a court order or my written consent, Equifax has no reason to believe that it has permissible purpose, pursuant to 15 USC 1681b ( 3 ) ( A ) - ( F ), to share my nonpublic personal information with any person. Equifax has been furnishing my consumer reports to its affiliates without permissible purpose. For failing to comply with the requirements pursuant to 15 USC 1681b Equifax is liable to me for at least {$1000.00} each time it fails to comply pursuant 15 USC 1681n. There are XXXX inquiries on my consumer report. Pursuant 15 USC 1681n Equifax owes me an amount of at least {$210000.00} for said violations. 

The guidelines of 15 USC 1681c only apply if Equifax has my written consent giving it permission to make reports containing any of the information described in 15 USC 1681c. Pursuant to 15 USC 1681b ( a ) ( 2 ) Equifax does not have my permission to make reports containing the information pursuant to 15 USC 1681c ( a ) ( 1 ) - ( 8 ). Equifax can antedate my report for up to seven years in accordance with 15 USC 1681c ( a ) ( 4 ) ONLY if Equifax has my permission to do so and Equifax DOES NOT have my permission to do so. Immediately and permanently delete all charged off accounts and all collection accounts from my consumer report. Equifax DOES NOT have my permission to antedate my account for up to seven years in accordance with 15 USC 1681c ( a ) ( 5 ). Reporting late payments are adverse items of information. Equifax is required to stop reporting late payments, charge offs, and collections, if any, to any of my accounts reporting late payments because the information is inaccurate and most importantly Equifax does not have my written instruction to report such information. Pursuant to 15 USC 1681n Equifax is liable to me for at least {$1000.00} for each day a collection account appears on my consumer report. Equifax owes me an amount of at least {$7000.00}. 

Pursuant 15 USC 1681e, a person may procure a consumer report from Equifax for resale. This means that consumer reports, whether or not procured for the purpose of resale, are sold to persons by Equifax. Equifax has been selling my non public personal information to its affiliates without my consent and without compensating me for its sale of my information. All of the soft inquiries listed on my consumer report are from Equifaxs affiliates that it sold my information to. Equifax has been furnishing my consumer reports without permissible purpose and it has been preparing my consumer reports without assuring maximum possible accuracy of my information. By violating 15 USC 1681b and 15 USC 1681c Equifax is also violating 15 USC 1681e.

I know that Equifax is fully aware it is are breaking the law because in Equifaxs agreements with the SEC and other regulatory agencies, and in its agreements with the consumers of whom it assumed the vital role of gathering information on, Equifax agreed to follow the law but it has not done so. 

Pursuant to 5 USC 552a ( 4 ) the term record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph. This means that my consumer report is a record. 5 USC 552a ( b ) clearly states that no agency shall disclose any record by means of communication without my written request or without prior written consent. Any and all consent knowingly and or unknowingly, verbal, nonverbal, written, implied and or otherwise given Equifax allowing it to disclose my records is revoked. Equifax has not only violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act but it has also violated the Privacy Act of 1974. 

Equifax is acting under the color of law by using my private information to make a profit from the maintaining and sharing of the files containing my private information with its affiliates and non affiliates. Since I have never given Equifax my consent to disclose my non public personal information and since I have never received an opportunity to opt out pursuant to 15 USC 6802 Equifax is, in addition to being noncompliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, noncompliant with the provisions of the Graham Leech Bliley Act. Pursuant to 15 USC 6809 Equifax is also considered a financial institution, pursuant to 12 USC 1843 ( k ), subject to the rule making authority pursuant to 15 USC 6804, and is subject to the criminal penalties of title 18 pursuant to 15 USC 6823 for its participation in prohibited activity pursuant to 15 USC 6821. Equifax makes reports containing my transactions and experiences then it shares my information allowing soft inquires under the false pretense of it having my written consent to share my information. Equifax then allowed the persons who bought my information from it to send me solicitations based on my non public personal financial information. The soft inquiries appearing on my consumer report are breaches of my financial privacy. Making reports containing my transactions and experiences also constitute a breach of my privacy. Equifax is not upholding its continuing obligation with respect to my privacy pursuant to 15 USC 6801.

Public Law 90-321 ( 82 Stat. 146 ) states that, other than having my permission, an agency can only obtain my consumer report in response to a request by the head of a State or local child support enforcement agency ; or a State or local government official authorized by the head of such agency. 

Opt out laws are governed by Regulation P. 12 CFR 1016.1 requires Equifax to provide me with notice about its privacy policies and also provide me a method to opt out of having my nonpublic personal information disclosed with unaffiliated third parties. I am the first party and Equifax is the second party ; Everyone else is an unaffiliated third party. Equifax has failed to meet its initial notice requirements pursuant to 12 CFR 1016.4. Equifax has left me with unreasonable opt out means and pursuant to 12 CFR 1016.7 I am opting out of Equifaxs reporting services. Equifax must notify me and obtain my written consent prior to making any reports on my behalf.

For violating the Privacy Laws Equifax may be civilly liable to me. Equifax is acting under the color of law by using my information to make a profit.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief