Consumer complaint received 2025-09-09 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:
Response to CFPB / XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Previous report : # XXXX Rebuttal Date : XX/XX/XXXX Revised on XX/XX/XXXX This letter serves as my formal rebuttal to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX response to my complaint regarding the inaccurate and unlawful credit reporting of the Visa account ending in XXXX. 

1. FCRA Violations Accuracy and Duty to Investigate Under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ), furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies have a duty to provide information that is complete and accurate. Furthermore, once a consumer disputes information through a consumer reporting agency, the furnisher must conduct a reasonable investigation under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ). 

XXXX claims it is mandated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to report accurate information, yet its reporting remains misleading and incomplete. 

Case law such as XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX. XXXX ) holds that technically accurate reporting may still be misleading and therefore violative of the FCRA. Reporting a charge-off without properly updating or clarifying the collection status, payments, or dispute status misrepresents the true character of the debt. 

2. FDCPA Applicability and Failures While XXXX itself may not always be classified as a debt collector, once it assigned or transferred the alleged debt to a third-party agency, the FDCPA was triggered. 

15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ) requires that if a consumer disputes a debt in writing, collection activities must cease until proper validation is provided. The duplicate letters XXXX references do not satisfy validation requirements. The law requires that the alleged debt be verified with competent evidence, not merely re-stating prior claims. 

Courts have held that boilerplate validation letters fail to meet FDCPA standards ( XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ) requires meaningful verification, not form responses ). 

3. Failure to Properly Note Consumer Dispute The FCRA requires disputed information to be reported as such under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 3 ). Failure to mark an account as in dispute after receiving a consumers written challenge is a violation. XXXX response does not demonstrate compliance with this requirement. 

4. Misrepresentation of Charge-Off Status XXXX position that charged-off status does not cancel, discharge, or absolve the debt is misleading in the context of consumer reporting. While that may be true in a contractual sense, reporting a charge-off must also accurately reflect whether the debt was sold, transferred, or otherwise resolved. In XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ), courts reiterated that incomplete or misleading charge-off reporting can constitute a violation of the FCRA. 

5. Right to Cease Communication and Harassment Concerns XXXX acknowledges receipt of a cease-and-desist request. Under 15 U.S.C. 1692c ( c ), once a cease and desist is issued, collectors must halt communication except in limited circumstances. While XXXX states a cease and desist does not stop consumer reporting, it fails to acknowledge that continued attempts to collect or communicate beyond lawful boundaries may constitute harassment under the FDCPA.

Relief Requested Immediate correction or deletion of inaccurate and misleading credit reporting related to the XXXX account ending in XXXX. 

Confirmation that any third-party collector acting on XXXX behalf has been directed to cease all communications in compliance with FDCPA. 

Proof that all consumer reporting agencies have been notified of the dispute, with proper notation in compliance with 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 3 ).

Failure to comply with these obligations may result in further complaints, arbitration, or civil litigation under the FCRA and FDCPA for statutory and actual damages, including attorneys fees. 

Respectfully submitted, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation