Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports -- Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes -- Complaint #5317533

Complaint Overview

Complaint ID: 5317533

Company: Equifax, INC.

Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports

Sub-Product: Credit reporting

Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

State: Florida

ZIP Code: 33024

Date Received: 2022-03-12T12:00:00-05:00

Date Sent to Company: 2022-03-12T12:00:00-05:00

Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response: Yes

Consumer Disputed: N/A

Submitted Via: Web

Consumer Narrative

Even though a had a Fraud Alert place on my Equifax ( and others ) credit file, Equifax let a Credit Issuer access my credit file and placed a HARD inquiry, even though this inquiry was unauthorized and potentially fraudent, no attempt was made to verify my ID over the phone, and Credit Issuer 's application contain NO social security number, Drivers Lic did not match, No DOB, different address, different phone number, different email address. Only matching info was First and Last Name, and City, State and Zipcode. Even with a Fraud Alert on my account, Equifax permited this issuer access to my credit. On top of that, when I disputed the inquiry, they hours later came back with the results of the investigation stating the inquiry was factual and will remain for 2 years. Highly unlikely they did any investigation without a few overnight hours, specially since a simple call or inquiry to the Credit Issuer and the Issuer would've been unable to provide any info that match my profile. Equifax needs to stop being so lose with permiting issuers to gain access with such little personal information, let alone access to those who have Fraud Alerts placed on their credit. Secondly, when a consumer reports potential fraud or unauthorized inquiry or opening of an account, Equifax needs to place the burden on the issuer to prove it belongs to the consumer in question, not require the consumer to have to now prove it was unauthorized. I was the victim here, I shouldn't have to waste countless hours calling Equifax, calling the Credit Issuer, filing complaints etc, specially when there is a clear cut case. In this case, the Credit Issuer from Day 1 agreed the information provided by their potential customer did not match my information, and thus the inquiry should've been to my credit file. They have expressed willingness to confirm this to Equifax, but Equifax has failed to inquire to the issuer a out the legitimacy of the inquiry. Since I was in the process of potentially buying a house, this has caused an enormous burden & stress, and I still have been given no resolution 30 days later after more then a dozen calls to Equifax. All they recomended is for me to file a FTC complaint to report Identity Theft in order to remove the credit inquiry, but the evidence so far seems to only prove negligence by Equifax and not actual ID theft.

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This analysis is AI-generated based on publicly available CFPB complaint data. It does not constitute financial or legal advice.

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