Consumer complaint received 2025-10-05 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: NY

Complaint narrative:
I am submitting this formal complaint pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ), regarding the continued, improper reporting of inaccurate and unverifiable debts on my consumer credit report. I have previously disputed these accounts, including filing formal complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) on or around XX/XX/XXXX, specifically citing violations of the FCRA and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ). Despite having clearly disputed these accounts, they remain improperly verified and reported. 
The following accounts are either collection accounts or charged-off accounts that were disputed, and which remain inaccurately or unverifiably reported on my file as of XX/XX/XXXX. Many of the collection accounts are currently or were recently marked as " Consumer Disputes This Account Information '' ( Narrative Code XXXX or similar remarks ), yet they still appear : Portfolio Recovery Associates ( Debt Buyer ) Account Number : * XXXX ( Equifax ) Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$2300.00} Status : Collection Account. Reported continuing collection activity despite dispute and request to cease communication. Failure to provide chain of title validation. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX  ) Account Number : * XXXX ( Equifax ) Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$1500.00} Status : Collection Account. Marked : Consumer Disputes This Account Information ( Code 166 ). Improperly verified without full validation documentation. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Account Number : * XXXX ( Equifax ) Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$1400.00} Status : Collection Account. Marked : Consumer Disputes This Account Information ( Code 166 ). Improperly verified/re-reported after dispute. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) Account Number : * XXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$1000.00} Status : Collection Account. Marked : Consumer Disputes This Account Information ( Code 166 ). 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Original Creditor : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Numbers : XXXX XXXXXXXX and XXXX XXXXXXXX ( Equifax/Experian ) XXXX Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$740.00} Status : Collection Account. Still reporting disputed collection. 
XXXX XXXX ( Original Creditor : At Home Professions Seminars ) Account Number : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ( Experian ) Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$260.00} Status : Collection Account. Still reporting disputed collection. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX  Account Number : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$34000.00} Status : Charge Off. Account closed. Continued reporting of charged-off status with outstanding balance after closure. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Account Number : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$5100.00} Status : Charge Off. Account closed XX/XX/XXXX. Continued reporting of charged-off status with outstanding balance after closure. 
XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX Account XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$4200.00} Status : Charge Off. Marked as Account Previously in Dispute - Now Resolved by Data Furnisher ( Code XXXX ). 
XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Date Opened : XX/XX/XXXX Balance : {$940.00} Status : Charge Off. Last Payment Date XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX of negative payment history remains inaccurate ( charged-off status reported through XXXX despite {$0.00} balance/closure ). 
BASIS FOR COMPLAINT AND SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS Your agency is in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) by failing to perform reasonable reinvestigations and continuing to report inaccurate or unverifiable information related to these accounts.

Failure to Conduct Proper Reinvestigation ( 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ) : Despite providing clear disputes, your agency failed to conduct a reasonable investigation as required by law. The continued reporting of these disputed accounts demonstrates a failure to resolve the underlying inaccuracies before verification, which is required under FCRA 1681i. The CRAs verified these accounts, sometimes adding remarks like " Account previously in dispute - investigation complete, reported by data furnisher '', without deleting the contested, highly negative data that have been formally disputed, demonstrating a failure to ensure maximum possible accuracy. For debt buyers like XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX, documentation establishing a continuous and unbroken chain of assignment to the specific account must be provided for verification to be proper. By reporting these debts as verified, your agency implicitly accepted inadequate documentation.

FDCPA Violations by Furnishers and CRAs : The collection accounts listed ( e.g., XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) continue to be reported as collection activity. This violates FDCPA 1692g ( b ), which requires debt collectors to cease collection of a disputed debt until verification is obtained and mailed to the consumer. In the case of XXXX XXXX XXXX, they responded to a CFPB complaint by confirming measures were taken to stop communication, yet the account remains listed as a collection on my credit reports, showing conflicting information and ongoing collection activity ( credit reporting ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief