Consumer complaint received 2025-08-15 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Between XX/XX/year>, and XX/XX/year>, my personal credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion were accessed multiple times by companies with whom I have no relationship, without my authorization, and without any lawful permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). The unauthorized hard inquiries are as follows : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXX/XX/year> I did not apply for credit, request financing, or initiate any transactions with any of these entities. At no time did I provide written authorization or verbal consent for them to access my consumer reports. These inquiries were discovered during my credit monitoring review, and each one was immediately disputed in writing with the credit bureaus. 

In my disputes, I specifically cited FCRA 1681b, which clearly limits the furnishing of consumer reports to entities with a demonstrable permissible purpose, supported by either consumer consent or a consumer-initiated credit transaction. I also invoked 1681e ( b ), which requires credit reporting agencies to maintain reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy in their reporting, and 1681i ( a ), which mandates a reasonable reinvestigation of disputed items.

To support my position, I included my FTC Identity Theft Report ( FTC Report # XXXX ), copies of my government-issued identification, and proof of address, explicitly requesting that XXXX XXXX either provide physical documentation ( such as a signed application or contractual agreement ) demonstrating that I authorized the inquiries, or immediately delete them from my file. Despite this, all three credit bureaus have failed to remove the inquiries or provide any evidence of permissible purpose. 

Their continued reporting of these unverifiable inquiries constitutes willful noncompliance under FCRA 1681n and 1681o. They have not demonstrated that they obtained verification from the furnishers, nor have they shown compliance with Metro 2 reporting standards, which require that all furnished data including inquiries be accurate, complete, and verifiable. XXXX XXXX  failure to delete the inquiries after a proper dispute, coupled with their inability to produce documentation, indicates a disregard for their statutory obligations.

This mishandling has caused me harm by : Damaging my creditworthiness and lowering my scores Increasing my risk for future unauthorized pulls and identity theft Forcing me to expend time, resources, and emotional energy to correct inaccuracies that should have been resolved upon first dispute I am requesting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigate the actions of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion in this matter, compel them to permanently delete all of the above unauthorized inquiries, ensure full compliance with FCRA 1681b, 1681e ( b ), and 1681i ( a ), and require that all bureaus implement safeguards to prevent further unauthorized access to my credit files.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation