EQUIFAX, INC.

2017-09-13

Tuckasegee, NC

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Burbank, CA

Incorrect information on your report

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

Account status incorrect
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Hemby, NC

Incorrect information on your report

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

Account information incorrect
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Nyc, NY

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: As you are aware, on XXXX XXXX, 2017, Equifax disclosed that it did not properly secure financial data of millions of Americans and as a result my information was improperly accessed by third parties.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

AL

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: I am one of the 140 million American whose data was exposed by the Equifax breach. In order to protect my credit and my financial future, I now have to freeze my credit with all three credit bureaus, including Equifax. As Equifax charges a fee for this freezing, they are essentially charging me for their own negligence and profiting off of this situation. I should not have to pay for this company 's negligence.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

IL

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: My complaint is in regards to the XXXX/XXXX 2017 Equifax breach. I had just learned about the breach on X/X/2017, and evidently Equifax did not notify customers that their personal identifiable information ( SS #, name, address, birthday, etc ) had been compromised as soon as they learned about it. Such negligence could have allowed numerous hackers to commit identity fraud that could have been prevented. They are also defrauding these injured parties with hidden terms of service that waive their right to sue the company in what is clearly a situation of criminal negligence/fraudulent behavior as indicated by the three Equifax executives that dumped stock immediately prior to the data breach announcement. In addition to Equifax 's negligence, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX should NOT be charging customers with potentially leaking information a fee to set up a Security Alert. A police report should not be necessary in situations such as a massive hack. Furthermore, they have a responsibility to notify EACH and EVERY individual who was a victim of this hack.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Warrenton, VA

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: I am deeply concerned by the recent Equifax data breach. Equifax 's negligence has allowed the personally identifiable information of 140,000,000+ Americans to be stolen. This includes names, date of birth, social security number, past addresses, and loan information. This breach poses a serious threat to all of those affected. The practice of using social security number for loan verification purposes is deeply flawed system and requires swift and immediate overhaul. Currently, the only way to protect oneself by placing a credit freeze with each of the three credit reporting firms. This is an arduous process, in which the credit reporting firms attempt to sell identify theft protection at every turn. To make matters worse, if a consumer does freeze their credit they are required to pay the firm in the future to lift the freeze. To summarize : 1 : Americans have no choice but to allow these credit rating firms to collect their private information. 2 : The credit rating firms allow citizens ' private information to be stolen. 3 : The victims have little protection, if any, and now have a lifetime of worry ahead of them. 4 : The victims of this crime have to pay the very same firms who leaked their information to protect them. Please take action to rectify this grave injustice and protect the American public. Credit rating verification should not be in the hands of these reckless firms. It should reside with government.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

VA

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: Our Credit was compromised / stolen during the XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/2017 Equifax data breach.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Saginaw, MI

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Reidsville, NC

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: Credit reporting agencies collect, retain, and distribute my personal and financial information, most of which is done without my explicit consent. Now XXXX of these agencies has compromised the data of nearly every American adult. I should not have to pay a fee to freeze my credit, or an additional fee to thaw that freeze later. I would like governmental intervention to make freezing and thawing free.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Havana, FL

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: Upon learning about the Equifax security breach I and doing research on my options I decided to try to freeze my credit at all 3 credit reporting institutions. It 's already bad enough that every adult in the United States has to assume that their information has been compromised and that we all have to worry about a heightened risk to identity theft. The issue is that I ca n't get my credit frozen at ANY of the 3. As of today, which is Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I have tried to freeze my credit online and over the phone at all 3 major credit institutions. I 've run into issues ranging from websites being down, to automated messages saying that my information could n't be verified. We need a central agency that can handle this kind of thing like a professional, because it 's clear these amateurs ca n't. It 's despicable that these agencies are now trying to sell their credit " locking '' services in which they are charging compromised consumers money for THEIR mistake.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

San Francisco, CA

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: XXXX used inadequate security countermeasures to protect my most sensitive personal information. As a result of their lackadaisical attitude to online security, my most secure personal information has been compromised. Now I must pay to put a credit freeze on my account -- this is unacceptable. Almost half the citizens of the United States have had their most sensitive information compromised. This is a clear example of the need for more government safeguards on Equifax and other financial reporting agencies. They have collected my personal information without my consent, safeguarded it improperly, compromised and distributed all my information, and now are attempting to profit off their own failings. This is as wrong as it gets.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Taft, OH

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: After chasing down information myself, I discovered through the Equifax website that they might have compromised my personal information in their recent hack. They have yet to give me a definite answer as to whether or not my information was compromised, nor have they provided an avenue toward a resolution. The information in question was not voluntarily given to this company by signing up for their services, but rather collected by Equifax as a facet of their business model. Not protecting this data properly is an enormous violation of the privacy of me and others in my situation who did not choose to explicitly trust this company with our private data.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

OH

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: Equifax, due to negligence, has leaked my personal information. I have attempted to contact Equifax to free my credit, and they only seem to be interested in SELLING me credit monitoring services. It is completely unacceptable that Equifax is going to be able to PROFIT from their negligence.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Charlotte, NC

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: In XXXX of this year, Equifax experienced a data breach affecting almost all adults in the US. This data breach was due to criminally negligent data security architecture. In addition to the almost certain exposure of my name, ssn, address, phone, and other PII they did not announce the breach for almost 6 weeeks. Congress needs to do something to protect all US citizens from the inflated risk of identity theft as there is now no way to be 100 % certain who a given creditor evaluating - you or an identity thief.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Point Arena Air Force Statio, CA

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: I have tried to place a 90 day fraud alert hold on my credit with Equifax for 7 days now ( starting on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ), and each time I get a generic error : " Our system is currently unavailable We are currently unable to add initial 90 day fraud alert or XXXX XXXX alert to credit file online. Please try again later or click here to print a request form. If you need to install XXXX XXXX click here ''
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Hinkley, CA

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Berthoud, CO

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Complaint: To Whom It May Concern : I am writing in regards to the Equifax data breach reported to have occurred mid-XXXX through XXXX of 2017. I am concerned about several things related to this breach, namely : There is a general lack of transparency from Equifax about the event. They made no effort to inform affected individuals of the breach and associated risks, instead issuing a press release. This release was some weeks after the discovery of the problemit should have been disclosed immediately so consumers could take appropriate action to protect themselves. Apparent illegal trading by Equifax executives made in light of discover of the breach, but before the breach was made public. This is unacceptable and should be investigated by the appropriate law enforcement agencies. ( http : XXXX ) Lack of transparency on who has been affected and to what extent. Equifaxs tool is returning value for random input, which leads me to believe that this tool is not actually checking anything, just returning a set response. ( https : XXXX ) Credit reporting infrastructure is not equipped to handle the number of requests. Equifax had several weeks between when the breach was discovered in XXXX and when it was announced in XXXX in which they could have scaled up IT infrastructure to handle an influx of credit reporting /freezing requests. I have tried multiple times in the last week to request credit reports through federal resources ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and none of the three credit bureaus were able to process my request. I also attempted to freeze my credit several times over the last few days, and none of the three credit bureaus were able to complete the request. In both reporting and freezing, the websites timed out or gave me error messages relating the problems to higher than normal load. While this is a valid response, I think Equifax should have scaled up to handle the higher than normal load that anyone would have anticipated following news of the breach. After the breach occurred, many sources suggested that the most prudent way to protect myself from fraud is to freeze my credit with each of the three credit agencies. I am very upset to note that I will be responsible for paying a fee to un-freeze my credit when I eventually need to use it. Equifax was negligent in protecting my information, and having to pay them to provide protection from an event caused by their own negligence feels like extortion. If each of the 143MM consumers affected by the breach were to freeze their credit and subsequently pay Equifax to unfreeze, it is a windfall of almost {$1.00} XXXX for Equifax aloneand the same amount will be paid to each of the three credit bureaus. This is unacceptable, and I ask that you use all means available to you to compel the bureaus to waive the fees to unfreeze in light of Equifaxs negligence. I would request the following of you : Instigate a full investigation of the breach and subsequent actions of Equifax to determine who perpetrated the breach, who bears responsibility for preventing an attack on my data, and if Equifax followed proper legal course of action in reporting the breach Apply pressure on all three credit bureaus to provide, free of charge, extensive identity theft protection for all customers on their databases. Work to modernize the credit system to include two-factor authentication, enable the American public to monitor their credit more easily, and to require more strict information security for all three credit bureaus. If negligence is determined in the investigation, punish those responsible to the full extent of the law. Equifax should not be able to pay their way out of thisthey took the trust of the public and threw it away, and should be punished for that. I look forward to following your response to this incident. Please let me know how you plan on addressing the issues raised above, and what action you intend to take to right them. Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX, CO XXXX
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

San Francisco, CA

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: Reporting company Equifax used my report improperly, and divulged my information without my consent. They also spent too long ( months ) before making me aware of this fact, during which time I could have placed security freezes on my credit. This has resulted in compromised security to my finances, my credit, and my health.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Elk Grove, CA

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Milwaukee, WI

Improper use of your report

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

Reporting company used your report improperly
Complaint: Due to the recent privacy breach at Equifax, to properly secure my credit report I am required to pay to freeze and subsequently unfreeze my credit at a later time due to gross negligence of company that has my personal information without my consent and I have no opportunity to opt out of this. This is wholly unexceptionable and at a minimum their services to freeze and unfreeze reports for the 3 credit reporting companies should be mandated to be a free service provide by them. If it is profitable for the reporting agencies to secure individual 's information, this incentivizes them to not handle this data with the possible level of security. Additionally, the potential harm that can be caused to me as a result of the data breech in no way, could be possibly properly compensated by equifax with any possible monetary value short of a receiving an amount of money where I could be considered independently wealthy. Clearly this is not a realistic possibility. My future ability to secure credit for transportation and housing is at risk and thus my well being and lively hood are at potentially in jeopardy. I implore all powers that be to take action in a way that is fair to the consumer and protects them when the consequences of failing to do so are so dire. For me, the bare minimum of that would be the ability to freeze and unfreeze credit reports at no cost to the consumer. Thank you for your time.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Washington, DC

Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem

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

Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone
Complaint: Freezing my credit report should be easier, and free The current situation is absurd
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Eldorado, WI

Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services

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

Received unwanted marketing or advertising
Complaint: I want to protect my families credit. i being the head of household should be informed and in control of all credit requests. how this is not tied to my email or cell phone number is beyond ridiculous. lets get into this century. if i want to access my bank account i need a username/password and then you need to have my PHONE with a 2step verification password. but to open a new credit account in my name you need just some basic data ... .and then i may need to prove that i did n't open it? equifax breech shows you that its time to modernize your system of allowing credit based on nominal information that can be easily scraped and hacked. how is it allowed that people could open credit on my behalf without contacting me directly using verified contact/adress/phone/email methods? i understand that not everyone is so savvy but let me enroll in 2step as i want to actively monitor and secure my credit. not let it passively be passed around. its ludicrous. now i need to monitor my credit or freeze my credit and then pay to unfreeze? thats how i make sure i 'm secure? or pay someone else to do so? this is bull. figure it out.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

Winterville, NC

Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

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

Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2017-09-13

CA

Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services

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

Billing dispute for services
Complaint: I was part of the Equifax credit information hack. I find it unacceptable that I have to PAY to freeze my credit when I did n't consent to my information being stored by Equifax, XXXX, or XXXX in the first place. Congress should make credit freezes and unfreezes free federally. Credit reporting agencies already make money off of my information and I should not be required to pay them additional money to protect my information, especially when they are doing a POOR job in the first place. Thank you for taking time to read my complaint.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response