Consumer complaint received 2024-03-18 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: MI

Complaint narrative:
I am now aware that my rights as student under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ( FERPA ) ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ) are being violated. These Federal laws protect the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Those loans are now defaulted and in the hands of a third party company called XXXX ( though my loan amounts are reported under " US Department of Educaiton '' and " XXXX XXXX ). FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children 's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of XXXX or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are " eligible students. '' Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student 's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions ( 34 CFR 99.31 ) : School officials with legitimate educational interest ; Other schools to which a student is transferring ; Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes ; Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student ; Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school ; Accrediting organizations ; To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena ; Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies ; and State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law. Schools may disclose, without consent, " directory '' information such as a student 's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification ( whether special letter, inclusion in a XXXX XXXX  student handbook, or newspaper article ) is left to the discretion of each school. Based on the said laws & codes I exercise my rights as a consumer to have my personal student loan information removed from all credit reports via credit reporting agencies as it is being used unlawfully and without my consent. This unlawful act has caused me an unfathomable amount of stress, forfeited opportunities and public humiliation. Further this is now a " Charge-Off '' considered a certificate of indebtedness per the IRS and income can not be reported. The IRS Clearly defines a charge off as Gross or Ordinary income, INCOME DOES NOT GET REPORTED ON THE CONSUMER REPORT which in fact makes the reporting of this account inaccurate! I provided a screenshot from the IRS website. By Definition, the IRS Clearly says a Cancelled debt or Charge off is Income. The reporting of this account as a debt is inaccurate & unlawful. As well as sharing or selling my personal student loan info per the The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ). 

The other Charge Off that shouldn't be reported on my credit report is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Other than the fact that it shouldn't be included in my report to begin with ( in reference to the above ), Equifax is reporting INCORRECTLY that I have been " Past Due-90 days late '' 30 TIMES. The other two credit bureaus have reported one at most. This not only severely hurts my credit score, health and opportunities to secure further credit, but it is a violation and completely inaccurate. Please remove immediately.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief