Consumer complaint received 2025-12-26 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this formal dispute regarding unauthorized and impermissible credit inquiries made in connection with my motorcycle purchase from XXXX  XXXX in or around XXXX [ Year ]. 

At the time of purchase, I expressly instructed the dealership that my credit application was to be submitted only to a single financial institution, as I was already preapproved. The dealership acknowledged and agreed to this limitation. I did not authorize my credit application to be submitted to multiple lenders. 

Despite my explicit instructions, I later discoveredafter reviewing my credit reportthat my application was submitted to numerous financial institutions, resulting in multiple hard inquiries. This practice is commonly referred to as shotgunning a credit application and is not permitted without proper authorization. 

The dealership later claimed that I had provided blanket authorization when submitting my application. This claim is inaccurate and contradicted by the dealerships own acknowledgment agreement, which states : The words you, your, and yours mean each person submitting this application. The words we, us, our, and ours as used below refer to the dealer and to the Financial Institutions selected to receive your application. You authorize the dealer, as part of the credit underwriting process, to submit this application and any other application submitted in connection with the proposed transaction to the Financial Institutions disclosed to you by the dealer, for review. In addition, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you authorize that such Financial Institutions may submit your applications for review to other Financial Institutions that may want to purchase your contract.

This language makes clear that the dealer may submit the application only to financial institutions disclosed to and approved by the consumer. I did not approve or authorize submission to multiple lenders. Therefore, these inquiries were made without a permissible purpose as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ).

Violations The unauthorized inquiries constitute violations of, but are not limited to : FCRA 604 ( a ) No permissible purpose FCRA 606 Improper furnishing and use of consumer credit information FCRA 611 ( a ) Requirement to investigate and delete unverifiable or inaccurate information Demand for Relief Accordingly, I demand the following : Immediate deletion of all unauthorized hard inquiries associated with this transaction Written confirmation of the results of your reinvestigation Identification of each entity that accessed my credit report in connection with this matter Copies of any documents you rely upon to claim permissible purpose If this matter is not corrected promptly, I am prepared to pursue further remedies, including filing complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), State Attorney General, and seeking civil relief as provided under federal law.

This letter serves as a good-faith attempt to resolve this matter. Please govern yourselves accordingly.

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