Consumer complaint received 2026-02-24 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: CA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint due to the continued reporting of unauthorized hard inquiries on my consumer credit reports and the failure of the credit reporting agencies to properly investigate and remove fraudulent information in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). I am a confirmed victim of identity theft. I filed an official Identity Theft Report with the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC Report Number : XXXX ), which documents fraudulent and unauthorized inquiries that appeared on my credit reports. A copy of this FTC report has already been provided to the credit reporting agencies. The unauthorized inquiries include : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX These inquiries were not authorized by me. I did not apply for credit with these entities, I did not initiate any transaction with them, and I did not provide written, verbal, electronic, or implied consent for them to access my consumer report. Under FCRA 604 ( 15 U.S.C. 1681b ), a creditor must have a permissible purpose before accessing a consumer report. No permissible purpose exists here. Accessing my credit file without authorization constitutes unlawful access and a violation of federal law. Additionally, under FCRA 605B, once a consumer submits a valid Identity Theft Report, the credit reporting agencies are required to block and remove information resulting from identity theft. I provided an FTC Identity Theft Report clearly identifying these inquiries as fraudulent. Despite this, the inquiries continue to report. Under FCRA 611, the credit reporting agencies are required to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed information. A reasonable reinvestigation requires more than automated verification. I formally requested : The method of verification used The source relied upon A copy of the original signed application Documentation proving permissible purpose Proof of written authorization To date, I have not received competent evidence showing that I authorized these inquiries. I have also been impacted by the Equifax XXXX XXXX and the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, significantly increasing the likelihood that my personal identifying information was compromised and used fraudulently. Given this elevated risk, the continued reporting of unauthorized inquiries reflects a failure to apply heightened scrutiny as required when identity theft is documented. Furthermore, I have disputed inaccurate personal identifiers appearing on my credit files, including incorrect names, outdated or inaccurate addresses, and incorrect employer information. Reporting inaccurate personal identifiers exposes me to additional identity theft risk and violates the requirement to maintain maximum possible accuracy under FCRA 607 ( b ). The continued reporting of : Incorrect name variations Incorrect addresses Incorrect employer information Unauthorized hard inquiries constitutes negligent and/or willful noncompliance under FCRA 616 and 617. These violations have caused : Damage to my credit profile Unfair credit denials Higher interest rates Emotional distress Ongoing risk of identity misuse The credit reporting agencies are not permitted to report information that can not be verified with competent evidence. They are also prohibited from reinserting previously removed information without proper written notice under FCRA 611 ( a ) ( 5 ). At this point, I am demanding the following corrective action : Immediate removal of all unauthorized hard inquiries listed above Permanent blocking of any information resulting from identity theft pursuant to FCRA 605B Removal of all inaccurate personal identifiers not properly verified Written confirmation of the method of verification used Written confirmation that reinvestigation was conducted manually and not solely through automated systems Failure to comply after receiving an FTC Identity Theft Report constitutes willful noncompliance with federal law. If these violations are not corrected immediately, I will pursue further action including escalation to state regulators, additional federal complaints, and civil remedies available under FCRA for statutory, actual, and punitive damages. I am requesting the CFPB to intervene and require the credit reporting agencies to fully comply with federal law and remove all fraudulent and unverified information from my consumer reports immediately.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation