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Equifax caught red handed

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Stugotsv10
Frequent Contributor

Equifax caught red handed

Family member has a "Gov Misc" Debt on her report she has NO clue what it is, disputed couple times, naturally they "Validate" 

 

Debt has no open date, no payment amount, its in collections and shows late every month....

 

So we have been calling the so called "creditor" weekly to try to see whats going on and how it came about, they started an internal investigation, so far no results, so now comes the Gov shutdown and they are no longer there to communicate with, so we file a dispute with Equifax and guess what??? For a place thats shut down and not there, THEY RESPONDED AND VALIDATED!!!!  

 

So I call the CFPB and had a long convo with someone, and she said that they have been suspecting Equifax of doing exactly this for a long time, just never even contacting the creditor and validating, so she decided to CONFIRM that this section of the Gov is 100% down right now and there is NO WAY they can have validated....

 

SO NOW WE KNOW THEY ARE NOT PLAYING BY THE RULES / LAW... now what?

Message 1 of 23
22 REPLIES 22
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

Since you have disputed and the CRA responded with verification of accuracy of the reported information, you now have the right under FCRA 623(c) to bring your own civil action contesting the reasonableness of the investigation by the furnisher of the dispute.

Government shutdown may be part of a showing of lack of any reasonable investigation by the furnisher.

 

You also have a separate issue of whether the CRA actually sent a copy of your dispute to the furnisher, as required under FCRA 611(a)(2)(A)..

You can send the CRA a so-called method of verification request, which requries them to disclose the procedure they used in referral of your dispute to the furnisher.  See FCRA 611(a)6)(B)(iii) and 611(a)(7).

That may be helpful in any legal action against the CRA should you find they did not comply with their statutory obligation to send a copy to the furnisher as part of the dispute process.

 

You can thus choose to file your own civil action seeking review by the courts, which then provides recourse to the court's discovery process, and thus access to the evidence they used to verify the accuracy of the disputed information.

 

The CFPB also has the separate authority to initiate their own civil action on behalf of any consumer, and can do so directly for review of the accuracy of their reporting, as opposed to a consumer, who must first file a dispute and then must bring civil action with regard to the reasonableness of their investigation of the dispute.

However, the CFPB normally will not bring its own civil action unless it has multiple prior complaints or they determine that the issue affects a large segment of consumers.  They rarely bring civil action based on a complaint from a single consumer.

Based on your communication with the CFPB where they stated that they have active investigation of similar complaints, you might call them back and ask if there is any possibillity that they will pursue the matter, or whether you should bring your own civil action.

Message 2 of 23
Stugotsv10
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

I'd LOVE to see the method of verification!!! LOVEEEE too because I think this is whats been happening 

Message 3 of 23
Stugotsv10
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

how would I go about that? 

Message 4 of 23
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

It is done by writing the CRA and making a formal request that they provide a description of the procedure they used to verify the accuracy of the dispute.  See FCRA 611(a)6)(B)(iii) and 611(a)(7).

I would make sure to cite FCRA 611(a)(7) in the first line of your request to ensure that it is clear what you are requesting, and would send certified mail to establish a clear date for running of the required 15-day statutory response period.

 

Note that a so-called MOV request does not require that they get into the substance/proofs of the verification.

It is a procedural matter.

It is a request for disclosure of the procedure they used, and thus goes to the process rather than substance of the verification.

More specifically, it involves disclosure of who they contacted and who responded.

Message 5 of 23
Stugotsv10
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

in the letter there is no way to demand to see a signature?

Message 6 of 23
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

You can request anything you want.

However, there is no statutory or regulatory requirement that they document.

The MOV process only mandates that they provide a "description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy or completeness of the (disputed) information."

 

Requiring proofs in support of a description is available if you become involved in civil action, as you can then obtain discovery of evidence by motion to the court.

Proofs are not required to support admin findings provided in the FCRA dispute or MOV processes.

 

Message 7 of 23
Stugotsv10
Frequent Contributor

Re: Equifax caught red handed

got cha!!!  Thanks

 

CFPB said Equifax is in the crosshairs right now!!!  they have been screwing up badddd and breaking every law out there

Message 8 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Equifax caught red handed

Exactly! They did something similar to me and said they verified from lexis nexus which has been Frozen for over a year and when i called they had not even contacted them. I called CS for equifax and they stated it was done via the 3rd party and they said they called and got court records and verified directly from them which i know is a lie. Even the supervisor was lying. It was a mess.
Message 9 of 23
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Equifax caught red handed

Stugotsv10 ... put 'em in jail! Why are they allowed wander the streets? Smiley Mad

Message 10 of 23
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