Consumer complaint received 2025-11-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Information belongs to someone else
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XX/XX/year> Online XXXX Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) Attn : Office of the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  Subject : FORMAL COMPLAINT REGARDING FAILURE TO CONDUCT REASONABLE INVESTIGATION OF FRAUDULENT INQUIRIES ( FCRA 611 ) BY EQUIFAX - XXXX XXXX Dear CFPB XXXX XXXX, I am writing to file a formal complaint against Equifax for its failure to conduct a reasonable and timely investigation into a specific dispute regarding fraudulent information on my consumer credit report, in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), 15 U.S.C. 1681i ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ). 
Summary of the Failure to Investigate : On XX/XX/year> at approximately XXXX XXXX  XXXX  XXXX, I filed a dispute with Equifax concerning several unauthorized, fraudulent hard inquiries related to an attempted vehicle purchase. I have reason to believe these inquiries are the result of attempted identity theft, as I have recently paid off both of my current vehicles this year and did not authorize any new auto loan inquiries. 
Crucially, Equifax completed this " investigation '' by XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX the following morning, XX/XX/year>. An investigation completed in less than XXXX XXXX  the middle of the nightis clearly perfunctory, automated, and lacks the necessary depth of review required by law. This timeline strongly suggests Equifax did not forward the dispute to the furnisher, review relevant documents, or attempt any genuine investigation, instead opting for an automated, pre-programmed response. 
Contradictory Evidence and Verification Failure : Equifax claimed that these disputed inquiries were " verified. '' This purported verification stands in stark contrast to the result I received from another major Credit Reporting Agency ( CRA ), XXXX. XXXX  took the legally appropriate XXXX period to conduct their investigation and subsequently found that the same inquiries could not be verified. 
The fact that XXXX CRA requires a full month to investigate and finds the information unverified, while Equifax instantaneously " verifies '' it, serves as definitive evidence that XXXX investigation process is inadequate and failed to meet the standard of reasonableness required by the FCRA. 
Specific Demands and Requested Action : I demand the following actions be taken immediately : Re-Opening of Investigation : Equifax must immediately re-open the investigation and conduct a genuine, reasonable investigation, including contacting the furnisher ( XXXX ) to obtain proof of authorization. 
Provision of Verification Documents : Under my rights, I demand that Equifax provide me with a complete, certified copy of the documentation and evidence they claim was used to " verify '' these fraudulent inquiries. This documentation must be sent to my address listed above. 
Deletion : Based on the evidence of fraudulent activity and XXXX clear failure to conduct a reasonable investigation, the unauthorized hard inquiries must be immediately deleted from my Equifax credit report. 
I trust the CFPB will take swift action to compel Equifax to comply with the FCRA and correct this significant error caused by their inadequate dispute procedure. I look forward to your prompt confirmation that this matter has been assigned for review. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation