Consumer complaint received 2025-12-09 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: NC

Complaint narrative:
CFPB Complaint Narrative Equifax ( Identity Theft, FCRA, NC Law Violations, Compliance Failure ) Documented Identity Theft and Protective Measures I am a resident of XXXX XXXX and a verified victim of identity theft. As required under FCRA 605A, I placed an extended fraud alert on my Equifax  credit report, currently active through XX/XX/XXXX. I also placed a security freeze effective XX/XX/XXXX, under both the FCRA and XXXX XXXX  Identity Theft Protection Act ( XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX ). Equifax has acknowledged receipt of these protections. 

Violation of FCRA 605B Failure to Block Fraudulent Tradelines I submitted a formal identity theft dispute to Equifax under FCRA 605B, accompanied by a valid FTC identity theft affidavit, police report, government-issued ID, and proof of address. Despite meeting the statutory requirements, Equifax failed to block the fraudulent tradelines within the required XXXX period, in direct violation of the statute. The disputed accounts remain on my credit report. 

Violation of FCRA 611 Unreasonable Reinvestigation Equifax claimed to have verified fraudulent accounts despite the documentation I submitted. This constitutes a failure to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation under FCRA 611. Equifax appears to be relying on third-party data sources such as XXXX and The Work Number, instead of directly reviewing consumer-submitted evidence. This practice undermines my rights and violates the reinvestigation obligations under federal law. 

Security Freeze and Fraud Alert Ignored During Investigation While a fraud alert and security freeze were in place, Equifax continued to allow third-party furnishers to report or update disputed information, without following the required verification procedures. This behavior reflects systemic compliance failure and exposes consumers like me to further harm. 

Possible Reinsertion Without Proper Notice Some information previously removed or suppressed has been reinserted without notice, which violates FCRA reinsertion provisions. No communication was provided as required under federal law, and the reinvestigated items were not meaningfully reviewed. 

Violations of XXXX XXXX Law As a XXXX XXXX consumer, I am protected under the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act ( N.C. Gen. Stat. 75-60 to 75-68 ). Equifaxs actionsincluding ignoring my extended fraud alert, failing to honor my freeze, and allowing reinsertion of identity-theft-related dataconstitute violations of these statutes. These actions also amount to unfair and deceptive trade practices under N.C. Gen. Stat. 75-1.1, and may entitle me to statutory and treble damages.

Pattern of Abuse and Noncompliance Equifaxs ongoing conduct demonstrates a pattern of : Disregarding fraud alerts and freezes Verifying fraudulent data based on flawed external sources Failing to block identity-theft-related tradelines as required by FCRA 605B Providing boilerplate responses to complex disputes Ignoring consumer-supplied evidence in favor of automated verifications Requested Enforcement and Corrective Action I respectfully request that the CFPB investigate Equifax for : Violations of FCRA 605A, 605B, and 611 Violations of the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act Violations of N.C. Gen. Stat. 75-1.1 Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Improper reinsertion of previously blocked information

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation