Consumer complaint received 2025-11-24 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: GA

Complaint narrative:
I am writing to dispute several inquiries appearing on my credit report that are inaccurate, misleading, or reported without my authorization. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) 1681i, I have the right to dispute any item on my report that I believe to be erroneous or unverifiable. The first issue relates to the inquiry reported from XXXX XXXX XXXX  on XX/XX/year>. I have never initiated, authorized, or applied for any financial product that would give XXXX XXXX XXXX  a permissible purpose under FCRA 604 ( a ) ( 3 ) to access my credit file. This unauthorized inquiry has created confusion for me and has negatively affected my credit score by falsely implying recent credit-seeking activity. I ask that your bureau obtains verification from XXXX XXXX XXXX  proving that I initiated a request that permitted this access. If they can not provide such documentation, I request that the inquiry be removed immediately. 
The second matter involves the inquiries reported on XX/XX/year>, specifically XXXX XXXX XXXX  and XXXX XXXX. I have no record of contacting these companies, applying for credit through them, or consenting to any credit evaluation from these entities. These two inquiries appeared on my report without my knowledge, and their listing represents a breach of my privacy, my financial autonomy, and the protections afforded to me under the FCRA. Because of these inquiries, I was questioned by a lender about whether I was shopping for large loans, which disrupted a legitimate credit application I was pursuing. This has caused unnecessary stress and damage to my credit reputation. I ask that your bureau conduct a full reinvestigation, obtain signatures or application records proving permissible purpose, and remove the inquiries if no such evidence exists. 
The final set of disputed inquiries relate to XXXX on XX/XX/year> and XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/year>. I am extremely concerned about these entries because they imply financial activity I did not initiate. I have never had communication with these companies nor have I authorized any credit pull from them at any time. The presence of these inquiries suggests that either my information was used without my consent or the entities accessed my credit report in error, both of which are violations of the protections guaranteed to me under the FCRA. These inquiries have impacted my credit profile by artificially increasing the appearance of credit-seeking behavior, which has already caused hesitation from lenders I am actively working with. I am requesting that you contact both companies and require them to provide proof, such as an online application confirmation, phone application recording, or signed agreement, demonstrating that I granted permission for these inquiries. If they can not validate the permissible purpose, I demand that the inquiries be deleted promptly from my credit file.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation