Consumer complaint received 2026-05-25 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: American Credit Bureau, Inc.
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
This complaint concerns American Credit Bureau Inc. ( " XXXX '' ), a debt collector located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. XXXX has failed to validate an alleged debt within thirty days of receiving a written validation request under 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ), while continuing to furnish the alleged debt to a consumer reporting agency and certifying it as accurate through the standard XXXX process. XXXX has also misrepresented itself as the original creditor on the disputed tradeline. BACKGROUND On XX/XX/year>, I sent XXXX a written debt validation request by USPS Certified Mail, tracking number XXXX, under 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ). The request was sent without acknowledgment of the underlying alleged debt and demanded that XXXX provide written verification of the debt, the name and address of the original creditor, and documentation of XXXX 's authority to collect. XXXX 's reported address ( XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, XXXX, FL XXXX for collections correspondence, with the main office at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX ) appears on the tradeline data XXXX discloses for this account. The thirty-day FDCPA validation window expired on XX/XX/year>. As of the filing date of this complaint, XXXX has not responded in any form. XXXX has provided no validation, no original-creditor identification, no documentation of its collection authority, and no acknowledgment of the validation request. CONTINUED COLLECTION ACTIVITY DESPITE NO VALIDATION During the period in which validation was outstanding, XXXX continued to furnish the alleged debt to Equifax and certified the debt as accurate in response to a parallel dispute filed with Equifax on XX/XX/year> ( USPS Certified Mail tracking XXXX ). On XX/XX/year>, XXXX issued its investigation results ( Confirmation # XXXX ) stating : " Our investigation concluded that the disputed information is reporting accurately. '' XXXX had not validated the debt at any point before XX/XX/year>, and has not validated it since. XXXX 's certification of the debt as accurate through the XXXX process, in the absence of any validation in response to my 1692g request, is itself prohibited collection activity under 1692g ( b ) and a false representation of the character and status of the debt under 1692e ( 2 ) ( A ) and 1692e ( 8 ). MISREPRESENTATION OF ORIGINAL CREDITOR On the XXXX tradeline data disclosed in the XX/XX/year> investigation results, XXXX lists itself as the original creditor. XXXX is a debt collection agency. XXXX is not the original creditor on this alleged debt. Listing itself as the original creditor on a consumer credit reporting tradeline is a false representation of the character or status of the debt under 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( 2 ) ( A ), a false representation of the credit information being furnished under 1692e ( 8 ), and a deceptive means of attempting to collect a debt under 1692e ( 10 ). PARALLEL DISPUTES FILED Parallel disputes were filed with XXXX and XXXX concerning the same tradeline. XXXX XXXX dispute results, returned on XX/XX/year>, stated " Remains '' the tradeline was not corrected. XXXX XXXX dispute results, returned XX/XX/year>, stated the information was " reporting accurately '' and added an Additional Information field reading " Consumer Disputes This Account Information. '' The tradeline does not appear on TransUnion. In all three bureau interactions, XXXX had the opportunity to respond to a notice of dispute under the XXXX process and to provide validation. XXXX did neither. XXXX simply certified the tradeline as accurate without producing the validation a 1692g written request requires. VIOLATIONS ALLEGED Based on the facts above, XXXX appears to have violated the following provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act : 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( b ) Failure to validate the alleged debt within thirty days of a written validation request, while continuing to engage in collection activity ( i.e., continuing to furnish to a consumer reporting agency and certifying the debt as accurate ). 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( 2 ) ( A ) False representation of the character, amount, or legal status of the debt, by certifying the debt as accurate through the XXXX process without producing validation, and by misrepresenting itself as the original creditor. 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( 8 ) Communicating credit information that is known or should be known to be false, by furnishing unvalidated information to a consumer reporting agency and certifying it as accurate. 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( 10 ) Use of false representations or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect a debt, by misrepresenting itself as the original creditor on the tradeline. Separately, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ), XXXX is prohibited from furnishing information to a consumer reporting agency that XXXX knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. Certifying an unvalidated debt as accurate, and reporting itself as the original creditor when it is not, appears to violate this provision as well.

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