Consumer complaint received 2025-11-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, CA XXXX Phone : ( XXXX ) XXXX Email : XXXX I am filing this complaint because Equifax has not fairly or reasonably handled my dispute regarding a XXXX XXXX XXXX auto loan on my credit report and has now labeled my follow-up dispute as frivolous instead of properly investigating it. 

The tradeline in dispute is a XXXX XXXX XXXX auto loan ending in XXXX, reported with a status of charged off as bad debt, balance and past due both {$29000.00}, comments transferred to recovery, and responsibility shown as co-signer, with a Date Opened of XX/XX/XXXX. 

When I reviewed my Equifax report and my own records, I saw several problems in how this XXXX account is reporting, including how my personal liability is being shown, the status and past-due amounts after charge-off/transfer, and the dates and amounts tied to the account : Date Opened, balances, and the Date of First Delinquency. I do not concede that this is my personal consumer obligation, and I asked Equifax to verify any claimed personal liability with competent evidence, such as a signed application or guaranty in my name. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I wrote Equifax a detailed written dispute about this XXXX tradeline, where I identified the account both by name and by number, listed what I believed were the specific errors on my report, and cited the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that require maximum possible accuracy and a reasonable reinvestigation. 

Instead of performing the careful reinvestigation I had requested, Equifax responded with an XX/XX/XXXX, letter to me indicating that since a dispute was currently in process for this XXXX item, my new written dispute was being considered frivolous and they would not research this new dispute. Indeed, their letter states that they consider this new dispute frivolous and will not research it, and I would just get the results of the earlier dispute. It also states I can call or mail additional relevant information, but Id already provided detailed written information and documentation. 

Put differently, I did exactly what a consumer is instructed to do : I identified the item, laid out specific issues about liability, dates and status, and supported it with documentation. Equifaxs response was to stamp the follow-up dispute as frivolous, thereby shutting down further investigation. That does not feel like a good-faith attempt to ensure my report is accurate ; it feels like they used the frivolous label as a shortcut to avoid looking again at a clearly-identified, complex auto loan tradeline. 
Because of the way this XXXX account is reported and because of the way Equifax has processed my disputes, my credit scores are being dragged down, and I am facing more scrutiny, denials, and worse terms when I apply for credit. It is stressful and discouraging to feel like I am doing everything by the book and still being told my dispute is frivolous when it is detailed and supported. I am asking the CFPB to review whether Equifaxs use of the frivolous or irrelevant designation in this situation is consistent with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and CFPB expectations for a reasonable reinvestigation. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Equifax a formal written dispute specifically about the XXXX XXXX XXXX account ( Acct XXXX ). In that letter, I identified the account exactly as it appears on my Equifax file, disputed my personal liability, and listed detailed items for Equifax to verify or correct ( responsibility/liability ; status and past-due after charge-off and transfer ; dates, amounts, and Date of First Delinquency ; and proper dispute coding during reinvestigation ). 
After that, Equifax sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, informing me that because a dispute for this XXXX account was currently in process, they considered my new dispute frivolous and would not research it. They didnt explain why my detailed letter was supposedly frivolous or exactly what they thought was missing. 

I wrote to Equifax again on XX/XX/XXXX, in a letter entitled Improper Frivolous or Irrelevant Coding XXXX XXXX XXXX Tradeline. I indicated in the letter that I had identified the account clearly, set forth specific reasons why the reporting is inaccurate or incomplete, and attached supporting documentation. I also explained that its frivolous determination itself is defective and inconsistent with FCRA requirements for a reasonable reinvestigation. 

Meanwhile, I have also disputed the same XXXX tradeline with XXXX  and have sent a direct dispute to XXXX XXXX XXXX as furnisher so that the credit bureaus and the originator of this information take an opportunity to correct it. 

Even after all these steps, the XXXX tradeline continues to report in a manner I believe is inaccurate and misleading, and Equifax continues to treat my follow-up dispute as frivolous instead of simply performing the full reinvestigation that I requested. 
What would be a fair resolution? 
This would be a fair resolution from my perspective : Equifax to delete the designation of frivolous or irrelevant on my XXXX dispute and recognize my follow-up dispute as valid and detailed ; That Equifax conduct a full, good-faith reinvestigation of the XXXX XXXX Services auto loan ending in XXXX, forwarding all relevant information and documentation that I have provided to the furnisher ; For Equifax to correct or delete the XXXX tradeline if it can not be verified as accurate, complete, and fairly reported in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act ; and That Equifax provide me with a clear written explanation of what it actually did in the reinvestigation, including the method of verification and what it obtained from XXXX XXXX Services, and send me an updated copy of my credit report showing all changes. I also received the results of an Equifax reinvestigation recently stating : THE DISPUTED ITEM IS NOT CURRENTLY REPORTING ON THE EQUIFAX CREDIT FILE. Company Name : XXXX XXXX Account Number : XXXX ( End of Report ). 

There has never existed a XXXX account with an account number of XXXX on my Equifax file, or on any of my other credit reports. That account number seems to be little more than the last digits of the vehicles VIN, not an actual creditor account number. In other words, it appears Equifax internally created or referenced a phantom account ID -XXXX  XXXX Account Number : XXXX, which is not a real consumer tradeline, and then treated it as if it were something they had verified. This makes me extremely concerned that Equifax is not tracking accurately or investigating the true XXXX auto loan tradeline but generating internal references that do not correspond to any real account being reported in my name. This raises grave questions about the accuracy and integrity of Equifaxs reinvestigation process in my case and further supports my belief that Equifax is not complying with its duty to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation