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 — Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CT

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this additional complaint against Equifax through the CFPB portal to address a serious error in their handling of my previously submitted FTC identity theft report and prior CFPB complaint ( reference : XXXX ). This error has resulted in Equifax improperly disputing and potentially blocking all of my legitimate XXXX XXXX credit card accounts as fraudulent, which was never my intent and is causing me significant stress and potential harm to my credit and financial relationships. I am requesting immediate correction under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ).

To recap the background from my prior complaint : I disputed an unauthorized inquiry from XXXX XXXX  on my Equifax credit report, provided evidence from the creditor that it was unauthorized and unfulfilled, and requested removal, a consumer statement of dispute, and other remedies. Equifax failed to properly investigate or comply, leading to my initial CFPB filing. Subsequently, I submitted my FTC identity theft report via the CFPB portal to support removing the inquiry.

In completing the FTC identity theft report : Under the section for fraudulent information on credit reports, I specifically listed only unauthorized inquiries that appeared on my credit reports. I did NOT include any accounts, inquiries, or other information related to XXXX XXXX in this section, as there is no fraudulent information from XXXX XXXX appearing on my credit reports.

In other sections of the report, such as those asking for suspect information and details about who may be using my information, I provided the name of an individual I believe is responsible.

In the statement section explaining the identity theft, I described how this individual went through my belongings, stole property including my physical XXXX XXXX credit card, and used it without my permission. As a result, I listed my XXXX XXXX account under accounts affected by the crime to provide context about the theft of the card itself and unauthorized usenot because the account is fraudulent or contains inaccurate information on my credit report.

Despite this clear distinction, Equifax has misinterpreted my FTC report and is now disputing all of my credit card accounts with XXXX XXXX as fraudulent. They have informed me that because the XXXX XXXX account was mentioned in the report, they are treating it as identity theft-related and can not withdraw the action. This is a grave error : The XXXX XXXX accounts are legitimate accounts opened by me, with no fraudulent information reporting on my credit file related to them. 
The mention in the FTC report was solely about the physical theft and unauthorized use of the card ( which I have already resolved directly with XXXX XXXX ), not an allegation of fraudulent reporting under FCRA 1681c-2. 
I never identified any XXXX XXXX information as information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as resulting from an alleged identity theft as required for blocking under FCRA 1681c-2 ( a ).

This misapplication violates FCRA provisions, including : 1681c-2 ( a ) : Equifax is required to block only information specifically identified by the consumer as resulting from identity theft, upon receipt of proper documentation. They have overreached by applying the block/dispute to accounts not identified as such, without my explicit identification or statement that the information does not reflect transactions I made.

1681c-2 ( c ) : Equifax has the authority to decline or rescind a block if they reasonably determine it resulted from an error or material misrepresentation of fact. Here, their initial action appears to be based on an error in interpreting my report, and they must rescind it upon clarification.

1681i ( a ) : Failure to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of my disputes and this new issue, as their response ignores the specifics of my FTC report and prior communications.

1681n and 1681o : Willful and/or negligent noncompliance, as Equifax is refusing to correct this despite my multiple events of contacting them by phone and explanations, leading to potential harm.

As a result of this error : I am at risk of XXXX XXXX closing my legitimate accounts, which would devastate my credit history ( these are long-standing accounts with positive payment history ).

This has caused me extreme stress, anxiety, and time spent trying to resolve it, including multiple calls to Equifax where they insist they can not reverse the action.

It compounds the original harm from the unaddressed fraudulent inquiry, further damaging my creditworthiness and ability to obtain new credit.

Information about the attached documents : I am re-attaching my original FTC complaint in addition with a screenshot from my FTC portal highlighting in a red box that I confirmed no fraudulent accounts are found on my credit report, yet Eqifax entered valid accounts I own into a dispute, notifying my bank, causing damage to a financial relationship I have.

I have attached an amended FTC complaint specifically stating I do not notice any fraudulent accounts on my report, in response to Equifaxs statement that I reported the accounts as such, which is untrue.

Image of my ID attached per Equifaxs request to verify my identity.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation