Consumer complaint received 2025-07-28 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
Both TransUnion and Experian are currently reporting a collection account from XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( Account No. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  ), dated XX/XX/year> with an outstanding balance of {$3500.00} * *, and I am formally disputing its accuracy, validity, and continued presence on my credit reports. This account has been sitting on my file for years without proper documentation, without verification, and without any substantiated evidence from the original creditor or any third-party collector. Its ongoing appearance violates multiple provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and continues to cause real, ongoing harm to my financial standing and credit integrity. 

To begin with, this account has never been properly validated. I have never received a full accounting of this alleged debt, no copies of billing statements, no legally required validation notices, and no signed contract or evidence from either XXXX XXXX XXXX or any debt collector that this balance is accurate or enforceable. And yet, despite that lack of documentation, both TransUnion and Experian continue to publish this collection tradeline as if it were verified and substantiated. This is a direct failure under 15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ), which requires credit reporting agencies to maintain and report only information that is maximally accurate and verifiable. Allowing an unresolved collection account with no current documentation, no collector contact, and no recent activity to persist on my report for over five years without a thorough review is a reckless and unlawful practice. 

When I formally disputed this account with both TransUnion and Experian, I requested verification under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. What I received instead was the typical boilerplate response stating that the account had been verified. But there was no explanation, no documentation, and no evidence that either bureau contacted XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX or any debt collector to confirm the accuracy or validity of the data being reported. That generic verification response is not a reinvestigationit is a failure to comply with 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ), which mandates that a credit bureau conduct a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed information. No original statements. No communication. No validation. No legal proof. Simply checking an internal box and marking it as verified does not fulfill the obligations of a lawful reinvestigation. If the bureaus can not produce documentation from the creditor confirming the legitimacy of the balance and the authority to report it, then they must remove the tradeline entirely. 

This collection account is also now at an age where its legal reportability is questionable. With a reported charge-off date of XX/XX/year>, it is nearing the seven-year limit imposed by 15 U.S.C. 1681c ( a ). However, TransUnion and Experian have not disclosed the date of first delinquency that led to this charge-off, which is the determining factor in how long negative information may be lawfully reported. If the delinquency occurred even slightly before XX/XX/year>, this tradeline may already be unreportable under federal law. By failing to disclose or verify the true delinquency date, both bureaus are again violating their duty to ensure lawful, accurate, and transparent credit reporting. 

In the meantime, this collection entry continues to damage my financial life. I have been denied refinancing, flagged during credit checks, and offered less favorable terms on credit productsall because of this one tradeline that remains unresolved, undocumented, and unjustifiably reported. This is not a reflection of my current financial standing. This is the result of two credit reporting agencies that would rather perpetuate outdated and unverifiable information than take the steps required by law to ensure it belongs there.

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