Consumer complaint received 2025-01-31 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: GA

Complaint narrative:
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 USC 1681 section 602 a state " There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. '' Transunion, Equifax, and Experian are consumer reporting agencies, and I am the Consumer. I have the right to make sure my private information isn't shared which is backed by 15 USC 6801 which states " It is the policy of the Congress that each financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers nonpublic personal information. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) is a financial institution by definition under that title. 15 USC 1681 section 604 a section 2 states that " In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) the financial institution and the Consumer reporting agencies TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian do not have my consent to furnish this information, and they surely do not have my written consent. 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states that " A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) Never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. 12 CFR 1022.3 Identity theft means a fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of another person without authority. Anything added to your report without your written consent could be considered identity theft. According to 15 U.S. Code 1681 ( a ) ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report. Reporting Transaction history is illegal. 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 ( A ) ( 1 ) A states " A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. The IRS publication 4681 states charge off are Certificate of indebtedness which is income and income can't be on my credit report. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) is a federal law enacted in 1974 that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA applies to any public or private elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school. 20 USC 1232g ( b ). 15 U.S. Code 1681o - Civil liability for negligent noncompliance in general. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure Negligent noncompliance means the law was violated not on purpose but just due to a lack of knowledge on the required reporting procedures. 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 - Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies. Prohibition Reporting information with actual knowledge of errors. A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. Reporting information after notice and confirmation of errors. A person shall not furnish information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person has been notified by the consumer, at the address specified by the person for such notices, that specific information is inaccurate ; and the information is, in fact, inaccurate. Once you notify the consumer agencies that there is inaccurate information, they must immediately stop reporting that information until they can prove that it is valid. Those are a few violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that you can use in your complaint against not only the reporting agencies but the furnisher of that information to them. Privacy Act of 1974 ( 5 U.S. Code 552a ) Important Definitions the term record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph ; This includes consumer reports Conditions of Disclosure.No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record would be to a consumer reporting agency in accordance with section 3711 ( e ) of title 31. Again, they need prior written instruction of the individual to whom it relates. Section 3711 ( e ) of title 31 States When trying to collect a claim of the Government under a law except the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. 1 et seq. ), the head of an executive, judicial, or legislative agency shall disclose to a consumer reporting agency information from a system of records that a person is responsible for a claim if the head of the agency has established procedures to get satisfactory assurances from each consumer reporting agency that the agency is complying with all laws of the United States related to providing consumer credit information ; and Either way they have violated not only the Fair Credit Reporting Act but also the Privacy Act of 1974

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief