{"took":314,"timed_out":false,"_shards":{"total":5,"successful":5,"skipped":0,"failed":0},"hits":{"total":{"value":10,"relation":"eq"},"max_score":null,"hits":[{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"10824770","_score":15.423073,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"On XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed a dispute and request to Equifax requesting certification under FCRA section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) as instructed by me that I gave permission to disseminate my credit report. I am writing to formally file a complaint against Equifax regarding multiple unauthorized disclosures of my credit report to creditors included in my Chapter 7 Bankruptcy proceedings, as well as other violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). These unauthorized actions have caused significant harm to my credit and have been done without my consent or any permissible purpose. \n\nBackground and Unauthorized Credit Report Disclosures : In XXXX, I filed for XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy, and as part of that process, certain accounts were discharged, including those with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX However, Equifax continued to disseminate my credit report to these and other creditors despite the discharge of these debts. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) : This account was included in my XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy and discharged in XXXX. Despite this, Equifax continued to report a balance on this account for 13 months, from XXXX through XXXX, and shared my credit report with XXXX XXXX XXXX without any permissible purpose. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX Account Ending # XXXX ) : Similarly, this account was included in the bankruptcy, but Equifax continued to report it as a charge-off, which is inaccurate and misleading. This reporting is contrary to the discharge of the debt, and Equifax had no legal basis for continuing to share this information with creditors. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX : Equifax provided my credit report to XXXX XXXX XXXX on several occasions, including : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX However, XXXX XXXX XXXX has sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, confirming that they have not placed any credit inquiries on my report. I am submitting this correspondence as evidence that these credit inquiries were unauthorized. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX This account was also included in my XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy, and Equifax provided my credit report to XXXX XXXX XXXX on multiple occasions : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Since this debt was discharged, these actions constitute unauthorized access to my credit report and violations of the FCRA. \n\nRequest for Compensation and Remediation : These unauthorized disclosures have caused significant damage to my credit, and I am requesting the following remedies : Statutory Damages : I am requesting {$38000.00} in statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) for these violations, which I understand are actionable under Section 1681n of the FCRA, which allows for recovery of actual or statutory damages up to {$1000.00} per violation. \n\nIn addition to the damages for unauthorized access to my credit report, I am also entitled to statutory damages for willful noncompliance by Equifax under Section 1681n of the FCRA. \n\nInquiries Removal : I am requesting that all unauthorized credit inquiries be deleted from my credit report, including those made by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX as they were not made with a permissible purpose under Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA.\n\nCease Unauthorized Access : I request that Equifax cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other unauthorized parties. Any future disclosures should only occur with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA.\n\nLegal Support and Case Law : The actions of Equifax in disseminating my credit report without a permissible purpose and continuing to report inaccurate information violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), specifically Sections 604 and 1681n. These statutory violations have been addressed in case law within the 7th Circuit and across federal courts, which have consistently held that consumers are entitled to damages for improper reporting and disclosure.\n\nFCRA Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) limits who can access a consumers credit report to those with a permissible purpose.\n\nFCRA Section 1681n provides for statutory damages of up to {$1000.00} per violation for willful noncompliance.\n\nCase law supports that reporting of discharged debts post-bankruptcy or the unauthorized access to consumer credit reports is an actionable violation under the FCRA. \nI am attaching all relevant documentation, including my XXXX XXXX Discharge Order, correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX, and any other evidence supporting my claim. \n\nConclusion : I respectfully request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) investigate these actions and assist in securing the requested {$38000.00} in statutory damages for these violations, as well as require Equifax to remove the unauthorized inquiries from my credit report and cease further unauthorized disclosures. My consumer report has had a freeze for well over 24 months, and these unauthorized inquiries are unlawful and in violation of my rights. Equifax has a history of requesting copies of an individual 's id and social security when it was included in the original dispute as a stalling tactic. Exhibits of correspondence attached, dated XX/XX/XXXX. \n\nThank you for your attention to this matter. Please confirm receipt of this complaint and keep me informed of any developments. Should you need any further information contact me. \n\nSincerely, XXXX XXXX Enclosures : Consumer Report showing unauthorized inquiries XXXX XXXX Discharge Order Correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) Additional Exhibits as Relevant","date_sent_to_company":"2024-11-16T15:42:08.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"60452","tags":"Older American","has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"10824770","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with non-monetary relief","submitted_via":"Web","company":"EQUIFAX, INC.","date_received":"2024-11-16T14:45:16.000Z","state":"IL","company_public_response":null,"sub_issue":"Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Cease <em>Unauthorized</em> <em>Access</em> : I request that Equifax cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other <em>unauthorized</em> parties. Any future disclosures should only <em>occur</em> with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA."]},"sort":[15.423073,"10824770"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"10821640","_score":15.394437,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"On XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed a dispute and request to XXXX requesting certification under FCRA section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) as instructed by me that I gave permission to disseminate my credit report. I am writing to formally file a complaint against XXXX regarding multiple unauthorized disclosures of my credit report to creditors included in my XXXX  XXXX Bankruptcy proceedings, as well as other violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). These unauthorized actions have caused significant harm to my credit and have been done without my consent or any permissible purpose. \n\nBackground and Unauthorized Credit Report Disclosures : In XXXX, I filed for XXXX  XXXX Bankruptcy, and as part of that process, certain accounts were discharged, including those with XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Account Ending # XXXX ), XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Ending # XXXX ), and XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX However, XXXX continued to disseminate my credit report to these and other creditors despite the discharge of these debts. \n\nSelect Portfolio Servicing ( Account Ending # XXXX ) : This account was included in my XXXX  XXXX Bankruptcy and discharged in XXXX. Despite this, XXXX continued to report a balance on this account for XXXX months, from XXXX through XXXX, and shared my credit report with XXXX XXXX XXXX without any permissible purpose. \n\nXXXX XXXX ( Account Ending # XXXX ) : Similarly, this account was included in the bankruptcy, but XXXX continued to report it as a charge-off, which is inaccurate and misleading. This reporting is contrary to the discharge of the debt, and XXXX had no legal basis for continuing to share this information with creditors. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX provided my credit report to XXXX XXXX XXXX on several occasions, including : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX However, XXXX XXXX XXXX has sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, confirming that they have not placed any credit inquiries on my report. I am submitting this correspondence as evidence that these credit inquiries were unauthorized. \n\nFifth Third Bank : This account was also included in my XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy, and XXXX provided my credit report to XXXX XXXX XXXX on multiple occasions : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Since this debt was discharged, these actions constitute unauthorized access to my credit report and violations of the FCRA. \n\nRequest for Compensation and Remediation : These unauthorized disclosures have caused significant damage to my credit, and I am requesting the following remedies : Statutory Damages : I am requesting {$38000.00} in statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) for these violations, which I understand are actionable under Section 1681n of the FCRA, which allows for recovery of actual or statutory damages up to {$1000.00} per violation. \n\nIn addition to the damages for unauthorized access to my credit report, I am also entitled to statutory damages for willful noncompliance by XXXX under Section 1681n of the FCRA. \n\nInquiries Removal : I am requesting that all unauthorized credit inquiries be deleted from my credit report, including those made by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX  , as they were not made with a permissible purpose under Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA. \n\nCease Unauthorized Access : I request that XXXX cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other unauthorized parties. Any future disclosures should only occur with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA. \n\nLegal Support and Case Law : The actions of XXXX in disseminating my credit report without a permissible purpose and continuing to report inaccurate information violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), specifically Sections 604 and 1681n. These statutory violations have been addressed in case law within the XXXX XXXX and across XXXX XXXX, which have consistently held that consumers are entitled to damages for improper reporting and disclosure. \n\nFCRA Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) limits who can access a consumers credit report to those with a permissible purpose. \nFCRA Section 1681n provides for statutory damages of up to {$1000.00} per violation for willful noncompliance.\n\nCase law supports that reporting of discharged debts post-bankruptcy or the unauthorized access to consumer credit reports is an actionable violation under the FCRA. \nI am attaching all relevant documentation, including my XXXX XXXX Discharge Order, correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX, and any other evidence supporting my claim. \n\nConclusion : I respectfully request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) investigate these actions and assist in securing the requested {$38000.00} in statutory damages for these violations, as well as require XXXX to remove the unauthorized inquiries from my credit report and cease further unauthorized disclosures. My consumer report has had a freeze for well over XXXX  months, and these unauthorized inquiries are unlawful and in violation of my rights. XXXX has a history of requesting copies of an individual 's id and social security when it was included in the original dispute as a stalling tactic. Exhibits of correspondence attached, dated XX/XX/XXXX. \n\nThank you for your attention to this matter. Please confirm receipt of this complaint and keep me informed of any developments. Should you need any further information contact me. \n\nSincerely, XXXX XXXX Enclosures : Consumer Report showing unauthorized inquiries XXXX  XXXX Discharge Order Correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) Additional Exhibits as Relevant","date_sent_to_company":"2024-11-16T15:42:18.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"60452","tags":"Older American","has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"10821640","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with non-monetary relief","submitted_via":"Web","company":"CITIBANK, N.A.","date_received":"2024-11-16T15:42:15.000Z","state":"IL","company_public_response":"Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response","sub_issue":"Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Cease <em>Unauthorized</em> <em>Access</em> : I request that XXXX cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other <em>unauthorized</em> parties. Any future disclosures should only <em>occur</em> with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA."]},"sort":[15.394437,"10821640"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"10821641","_score":15.366745,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"On XX/XX/XXXX, I mailed a dispute and request to XXXX requesting certification under FCRA section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) as instructed by me that I gave permission to disseminate my credit report. I am writing to formally file a complaint against XXXX regarding multiple unauthorized disclosures of my credit report to creditors included in my XXXX  XXXX Bankruptcy proceedings, as well as other violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ). These unauthorized actions have caused significant harm to my credit and have been done without my consent or any permissible purpose. \n\nBackground and Unauthorized Credit Report Disclosures : In XXXX, I filed for XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy, and as part of that process, certain accounts were XXXX, including those with XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Account Ending # XXXX ), XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Ending # XXXX ), and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX However, XXXX continued to disseminate my credit report to these and other creditors despite the discharge of these debts. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX  ( Account Ending # XXXX ) : This account was included in my XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy and XXXX in XXXX. Despite this, XXXX continued to report a balance on this account for XXXX months, from XXXX through XXXX, and shared my credit report with XXXX XXXX XXXX without any permissible purpose. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX Account Ending # XXXX ) : Similarly, this account was included in the bankruptcy, but XXXX continued to report it as a charge-off, which is inaccurate and misleading. This reporting is contrary to the discharge of the debt, and XXXX had no legal basis for continuing to share this information with creditors. \n\nDiscover Financial Services : XXXX provided my credit report to Discover Financial Services on several occasions, including : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX However, Discover Financial Services has sent me a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, confirming that they have not placed any credit inquiries on my report. I am submitting this correspondence as evidence that these credit inquiries were unauthorized. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX  : This account was also included in my XXXX XXXX Bankruptcy, and XXXX provided my credit report to Fifth Third Bank on multiple occasions : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Since this debt was discharged, these actions constitute unauthorized access to my credit report and violations of the FCRA. \n\nRequest for Compensation and Remediation : These unauthorized disclosures have caused significant damage to my credit, and I am requesting the following remedies : Statutory Damages : I am requesting {$38000.00} in statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) for these violations, which I understand are actionable under Section 1681n of the FCRA, which allows for recovery of actual or statutory damages up to {$1000.00} per violation. \n\nIn addition to the damages for unauthorized access to my credit report, I am also entitled to statutory damages for willful noncompliance by XXXX under Section 1681n of the FCRA. \n\nInquiries Removal : I am requesting that all unauthorized credit inquiries be deleted from my credit report, including those made by XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX Discover Financial Services, and XXXX XXXX XXXX , as they were not made with a permissible purpose under Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the FCRA.\n\nCease Unauthorized Access : I request that XXXX cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other unauthorized parties. Any future disclosures should only occur with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA. \n\nLegal Support and Case Law : The actions of XXXX in disseminating my credit report without a permissible purpose and continuing to report inaccurate information violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. ), specifically Sections 604 and 1681n. These statutory violations have been addressed in case law within the XXXX XXXX and across federal courts, which have consistently held that consumers are entitled to damages for improper reporting and disclosure. \n\nFCRA Section 604 ( a ) ( 2 ) limits who can access a consumers credit report to those with a permissible purpose. \nFCRA Section 1681n provides for statutory damages of up to {$1000.00} per violation for willful noncompliance. \nCase law supports that reporting of discharged debts post-bankruptcy or the unauthorized access to consumer credit reports is an actionable violation under the FCRA. \nI am attaching all relevant documentation, including my XXXX XXXX Discharge Order, correspondence from Discover Financial Services, and any other evidence supporting my claim. \n\nConclusion : I respectfully request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) investigate these actions and assist in securing the requested {$38000.00} in statutory damages for these violations, as well as require XXXX to remove the unauthorized inquiries from my credit report and cease further unauthorized disclosures. My consumer report has had a freeze for well over XXXX months, and these unauthorized inquiries are unlawful and in violation of my rights. XXXX has a history of requesting copies of an individual 's id and social security when it was included in the original dispute as a stalling tactic. Exhibits of correspondence attached, dated XX/XX/XXXX. \n\nThank you for your attention to this matter. Please confirm receipt of this complaint and keep me informed of any developments. Should you need any further information contact me. \n\nSincerely, XXXX XXXX Enclosures : Consumer Report showing unauthorized inquiries XXXX  XXXX Discharge Order Correspondence from Discover Financial Services ( XX/XX/XXXX ) Additional Exhibits as Relevant","date_sent_to_company":"2024-11-16T15:42:18.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"60452","tags":"Older American","has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"10821641","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with non-monetary relief","submitted_via":"Web","company":"DISCOVER BANK","date_received":"2024-11-16T15:42:15.000Z","state":"IL","company_public_response":null,"sub_issue":"Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Cease <em>Unauthorized</em> <em>Access</em> : I request that XXXX cease disclosing my credit report to these creditors and any other <em>unauthorized</em> parties. Any future disclosures should only <em>occur</em> with written consent from me, in accordance with the requirements of the FCRA."]},"sort":[15.366745,"10821641"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"7053123","_score":12.384937,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"XX/XX/2023 Subject : Unlawful Access and Misuse of XXXX XXXX XXXX 's Online Experian Credit Reports Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to bring to your attention a distressing incident involving the unlawful access and misuse of my Experian credit reports. On XX/XX/2023, at approximately XXXX XXXX, I discovered that an individual or group, likely using a [ n ] fictitious, similar, or exact names and/or one or more of them has changed their legal name to match mine, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX had intentionally, knowingly, and willfully gained unauthorized access to my online Experian credit file account. This intentionally and repeatedly unauthorized access occurred on several occasions, specifically dated on XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, and XX/XX/2023. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals has obtained my login Personal Identifiable Information ( PII ), including my email address, password, and cellular phone two-steps authentication codes ( received via SMS text messages ), and subsequently deleted these text messages from my XXXX XXXX Messages App, leaving no trace my online Experian credit file account had been compromised. Please refer to Exhibit A for evidence. \n\nTo substantiate my claims, I have maintained a written logbook of my online Experian credit file account activities. Although, I had accessed my online Experian credit file account dated on XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, and XX/XX/2023, for the sole purpose of printing out my Experian credit reports, I had noticed one discrepancy. The Experian credit report generated on XX/XX/2023, is missing from the list displayed dropdown menu within my online Experian credit file account which is particularly notable. However, I possess a printed copy of the missing Experian credit report unlisted from that date ( XX/XX/2023 ). Please refer to Exhibit B for evidence. This discrepancy confirms that the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals had unlawful accesses to my online Experian credit file account and generated my online Experian credit reports dated on XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, and XX/XX/2023, without my lawful authorities. Therefore, I have conclusive evidence of the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals unauthorized and intentional nature of their actions against my online Experian credit file account. \n\nI want to emphasize that I have taken extensive precautions to safeguard my online Experian credit file account. I have regularly cleared my browser data daily in order to prevent unauthorized tampering, refrain from sharing my files with anyone, and abstain from signing any official notarized instruments, including power of attorney, affidavits, or waivers of rights, with anyone person even family members. Despite these measures, the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have deliberately targeted, threatened, harassed, and hacked into my computer devices, asserting their ownership and property rights over my personal identification documents, authentication features, identification cards and online Experian credit file account. \n\nThe fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals who have assumed my full legal name, XXXX XXXX XXXX, unlawfully obtained, accessed, allocated, allowed, assigned, advocated, granted, permitted, and disseminated my online Experian credit reports through an enabler ( s ) who, in turn, believed the psychological gaslighting tactics employed by the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals. These enablers have employed backdoor identity theft methods or schemes, with the intention of controlling my life by using my online Experian credit reports for fraudulent activities, without any legal proof, evidence, or due process of the law. Their actions resemble those of vigilantes, denying me the protection of the law and suggesting that I have stolen my own identity from individuals of XXXX or XXXX descent or from a XX/XX/XXXX individuals, all without due process of the law. \n\nIt is evident that the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals purpose behind these unauthorized accesses actions were to obtain hard copies of my online Experian credit reports, which the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals intended to use for their own benefit without my consent, acknowledgement, and lawful authority. This constitutes consumer fraud, as the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have fraudulently presented my Experian credit reports to various governmental and non-governmental entities, such as for : apartment rental opportunities, employment opportunities, vehicle purchases opportunities, banking institutions ( in order to open bank accounts ), post educational institutions ( for applicability of admission acceptance into colleges and universities ), and contractual lease agreements. \n\nBy providing these various governmental and non-governmental entities with my online Experian credit reports without my lawful authorities, the fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have committed acts that violates my Constitutional or Civil Rights.\n\nThese actions have violated my fundamental rights in several ways : 1. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have infringed upon my guaranteed protection rights, such as the right to be secure in my person, apartment, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches, seizures, or intentional damages.\n\n2. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have encroached upon my life, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness rights.\n\n3. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have deprived me of my rights to be informed of the nature and cause of accusations, as well as the right to confront witnesses against me.\n\n4. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have enforced involuntary conditions of servitude against my personal identification goods, documents, authentication features, identification cards, and online Experian credit file account.\n\n5. The fictitious, similar, or exact name individuals have violated my equal protection rights.\n\nIn order to prevent such incidents in the future, I strongly recommend that Experian to implement security measures for users login credentials such as, the implementations of security keys, password encryption using programming technologies such as, Express Session and Passport ( e.g., XXXX or XXXX Libraries in Node JavaScript language ) instead of storing users passwords in plain texts within Experian database, would greatly enhance the protection of users Experian accounts and could prove beneficial in this regards. \n\nI kindly request your immediate attention and a thorough investigation into these distressing incidents of identity theft involving my online Experian credit reports. It is imperative that the responsible individuals are identified, held accountable for their actions, and appropriate measures are taken to ensure my safety, privacy, and the restoration of my rights. Any assistance and support you can provide in resolving these urgent matters would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me at my email address at your earliest convenience. \n\nThank you for your prompt attention to this serious issue. I eagerly await your response and decisive action. \n\nRespectfully, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : XX/XX/2023XX/XX/2023","date_sent_to_company":"2023-05-31T18:50:02.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"58103","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"7053123","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with non-monetary relief","submitted_via":"Web","company":"Experian Information Solutions Inc.","date_received":"2023-05-31T18:35:39.000Z","state":"ND","company_public_response":null,"sub_issue":"Reporting company used your report improperly"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["This intentionally and repeatedly <em>unauthorized</em> <em>access</em> <em>occurred</em> on <em>several</em> <em>occasions</em>, <em>specifically</em> dated on XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, XX/XX/2023, and XX/XX/2023."]},"sort":[12.384937,"7053123"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"13552903","_score":9.884877,"_source":{"product":"Credit card","complaint_what_happened":"This compliant is being filed against Bank of America ( Credit Card Fraud ) regarding the Bank 's failure to : 1. Keep the cardholders ' financial information ( and PII/NPI ) secure and private, by allowing the credit card data, specifically cardholders ' credit card, CVV and expiration numbers to be compromised and exposed to be used to place fraudulent charges ; 2. Properly stop fraudulent charges when identified and reported ; 3. Provide secure customer service, by assisting a fraudster impersonating the cardholder ( s ) clear a fraud charge ; 4. Act in good faith with regard to seeking a reversal of charges with the merchants involved ; 5. Work with law enforcement in seeking out the fraudsters who placed the charges ; 6. Provide a secure transaction approval system through the use of an unsecure and risky text based approval system that can be easily manipulated by fraudsters and relying on that unsecure system to place the financial burden of large fraudulent charges on the cardholders ; 7. Provide secure offshore customer service and operations in allowing the cardholders personal and financial information to be exposed for fraudulent purposes ; and 8. Provide competent customer service guidance when it was communicated to the Bank, by the cardholders, that fraudsters are clearly manipulating the Bank 's operations and data. \n\nThe Bank 's bad faith, poor customer service and negligence in exposing the cardholders ' credit card information, as outlined above, led to {$18000.00} of fraud charges being placed on the cardholders ' credit card, and the Bank is determining unilaterally that the cardholders are solely liable for these fraud charges, even though the Bank 's operations and systems directly led to the improper processing of the fraudulent charges and that the cardholders did not make the charges nor receive the goods/services purchased. \n\nThis is a summary of the facts : On XX/XX/year> a fraudster, impersonating the cardholder, placed a fraudulent charge on the cardholder 's account for airline tickets. In addition to placing the charge, the fraudster called Bank of America 's Call Center and impersonated the cardholder in order to get the charge cleared by the Bank 's system. From that call, the Bank call center representative assisted the fraudster as if she was the cardholder. \nIn order to submit the charge, the fraudster needed the full credit card number, the credit card CVV code and the credit card expiration date. The cardholders know that the this initial fraudulent charge was placed because the cardholders saw the charge appear as \" pending '' on the Bank of America online/website customer activity. This charge would not have made it to this pending stage without the entry of the full card number/CVV and expiration date. \n\nThis card was previously not used for almost 5 years with ANY merchant and the card statements support the non-usage of the card by the legitimate cardholders up to this date. These statements are provided to support this complaint. Outside of the credit card, the only system that has all three sets of numbers ( card number/CVV/Expiry date ) is Bank of Americas internal systems . This is de facto evidence that the Bank 's systems were compromised, either by internal employees or by hackers and that these numbers were provided to the fraudsters who placed these charges, either inadvertently or intentionally in furtherance of the fraud, by the Banks own employees, or were attained by a hack of Bank of Americas systems. \n\nSubsequent to the initial XX/XX/XXXX fraud charge, the cardholders diligently reported a number of additional fraudulent charges ( placed with various XXXX  XXXX merchants ) several times to the Banks Customer Service and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. In these communications/calls, the customer service that the Bank provided was consistently poor, with wrong information, guidance and a lack of urgency being evidenced by the Banks employees. The Bank either provided incorrect guidance, such as telling the cardholders themselves to call the merchants to seek a reversal of the fraud charges and the Bank Representatives refused to block pending additional fraud charges that occurred ( again in XXXX ) because the \" call center was closing for the day '' and claiming that the \" fraud claim and reporting of the fraud would protect the cardholders against the additional fraudulently placed charges. '' The Bank 's failure to block/mitigate the several fraud charges that occurred in the days subsequent to the initial fraud charge placed on XX/XX/XXXX, ballooned the total fraudulent charges to over {$18000.00}. \n\nAfter the fraudster placed charges exceeding {$18000.00} ( most of the balance was made up of expensive airline ticket purchases ), the Bank began its fraud claim dispute process and claimed to investigate this matter. The cardholders also reported the fraud charges to their local police. In addition, several times during the Bank 's supposed investigation, the cardholders told the Bank Representatives that they were gathering evidence to assist in the investigation and that they needed the Bank to contact the merchant to reverse or attain the identity of the airline ticket holders in order to assist the police in their investigation. Although being assured by Bank 's Customer Service representatives that their fraud investigators would contact the police and take 90 days to research the matter, the Bank, on XXXX occasions over a 70 day period, closed their investigation, stating that \" the cardholder approved the charges on the cardholder 's device, '' even though a Bank representative advised the cardholder that the Bank approved the charges and assisted a fraudster impersonator on XX/XX/XXXX. Each time the cardholders demanded that the Bank reopen its investigation. \n\nIn its investigations, the Bank acted in bad faith by not allowing a Bank investigators to speak to the cardholders to outline what the Bank was doing in reviewing this fraud case. Did they talk to the assigned police officer who is investigating the case? Did they try to reverse the charges by engaging with the merchant to potentially block the use of the airline tickets? Did the Bank identify the airline ticket holders ' names in order to potentially track down the fraudsters? Why did the Bank consistently allow several charges to process/finalize and thereby fail to mitigate the damages subsequent to the initial fraud charge, after the cardholders advised the Bank that pending fraud charges were showing in the card activity data? Did the Bank review if their systems were compromised either externally or internally through unauthorized access to the cardholder credit card and security numbers? The cardholders have no clue as to what the Bank did in its review, outside of a generic letter stating that the cardholder \" approved the charges. '' A sample copy of one such investigation and dispute closure letter is attached to this compliant. \n\nThe cardholders are looking to have the fraudulent charges reversed permanently by the Bank, due to Bank of America 's bad faith in investigating this matter, for the Bank 's negligence in allowing a compromise of the cardholders ' credit card number, CVV and expiration date, in not providing proper security of the cardholders ' PII/NPI, for establishing and maintaining unsecure approval systems that are easily manipulated by fraudsters, and using such unsecure systems as their rationale for not crediting cardholders for fraudulently placed charges that the Bank facilitated XXXX for assisting a fraudster/cardholder impersonator on a phone call to approve charge ( s ), and for consistently providing incorrect guidance and assistance in this fraud dispute matter. \nBank of America 's response to this complaint needs to address every point being made by the cardholders in this complaint.","date_sent_to_company":"2025-05-16T04:49:14.000Z","issue":"Problem with a purchase shown on your statement","sub_product":"General-purpose credit card or charge card","zip_code":"08016","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"13552903","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with explanation","submitted_via":"Web","company":"BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION","date_received":"2025-05-16T02:38:03.000Z","state":"NJ","company_public_response":"Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response","sub_issue":"Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["<em>several</em> fraud charges that <em>occurred</em> in the days subsequent to the initial fraud charge placed on XX/XX/XXXX, ballooned the total fraudulent charges to over {$18000.00}."]},"sort":[9.884877,"13552903"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"4529315","_score":9.849209,"_source":{"product":"Mortgage","complaint_what_happened":"Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am writing to seek this email to obtain your assistance regarding the matter of a major financial investment theft and identity fraud that occurred to me while dealing with Key Bank loan servicing department. \n\nI became a victim of a major financial fraud due to XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2021. We had closed on our new home on XX/XX/2021 and we were moving to our new house on XXXX XX/XX/2021. While I was driving to my new home address, I lost my cellular service around approximately between XXXX to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2021. When my cellular service did not return on my cell phone for some time, I tried using cellular carrier XXXX  and they told me that they could not locate my original sim on their network. I then drove to the nearest XXXXXXXX store located near XXXX location where I was provided a new XXXX sim card approximately around XXXX XXXX. \nLater that night, I could not access my primary email account. I also could not access my XXXX and XXXX crypto investment accounts. I found that my XXXX account balance was completely wiped out on which I had originally invested around XXXX . Also, my XXXX XXXX XXXX account which was attached to XXXX and XXXX suffered unauthorized transactions while the scammer tried to steal XXXX funds from my XXXX account for buying more crypto, however those transactions were thankfully suspended in a timely manner by XXXX account under their fraud protection insurance and my account was suspended at my request for any transactions due to fraudulent activity. \n\nLater that day on XX/XX/2021, I was able to recover some emails from my deleted folder of my email account ( once I got the access back of the email account by resetting password with a request code sent to my cell phone number ), I learnt that my email password was reset on XXXX XXXX at XX/XX/2021 using my attached cell phone number. XXXX and XXXX passwords were reset on retrospective investigation on XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX respectively ( found some emails on my deleted box folder of my email ) which was immediately after the change of my email password. \nAfter further investigation, the drop of cellular network was just not a coincidence, it was a very well planned event and I became the victim of a Sim Swap attack. My Sim number was swapped and assigned to someone else. The Sim swap attack from cellular carrier service and hence cryptotheft becomes only easily possible if someone has personal identifiable data about the victim and the exact knowledge about crypto holding accounts with the associated email and phone account information. The timing of the event is very peculiar in my case. It happened right after our closing and on the very day of our move to our new home, like someone was very aware of my move plans and monitoring our activity. I have been the email owner of my email account for 20+ years, have owned the same phone number for 12+ years and also held these crypto accounts for 3 years without ever experiencing any problem with these accounts. The only thing different that I did recently that I had applied for a bank loan with Key Bank and was required to provide all my personal sensitive information including my full contact info, emails, phone number, DOB, SSN, Income tax returns, bank statements, proof of funds specifically including crypto holdings. Although I had been very skeptical about giving my particular Crypto details since the usernames of crypto accounts and associated XXXX XXXX are very sensitive piece of information. I was particularly asked by my loan officer Ms. XXXX XXXX for these details. Even though I initially gave her limited snapshots of my accounts, she specifically asked me to provide further details including my Userid illustration on all these accounts including my identifiable XXXX XXXX to the accounts. I had informed her that these are particularly very sensitive details which we as crypto users are advised not to share with anyone. She further insisted by saying, If I would wear the hat of an underwriter, I would not approve the loan without having the actual knowledge of these details as I would like to definitely ensure that you own these accounts and thus you should provide these details for the loan approval. Thus, she insisted that I provide my user id ( without asterisks ), crypto holding details with amounts of dollars and cryptos held, last coinbase and XXXX  crypto holding statement and XXXX XXXX XXXX report which included XXXX XXXX of my crypto accounts along with an explanation letter addressed to the Underwriter of the loan. I had specifically advised Ms. XXXX on our phone conversation that all this information must be dealt with ultra-care and she assured me that it will be kept confidential. I had no reason to doubt her as I thought I was dealing with a major reputable bank. The timing of the fraud is such that we are not only strongly compelled to think but feel almost certain that my sensitive information was not handled with care by the Key Bank loan officials and/or their processing department. It is very likely that the scammer obtained access to some or most of the information from Key Bank loan processing department, since I never shared any specific details of my crypto account holdings with anyone else before, even including my own wife and neither have I been previously ever hacked on my personal email or crypto holding accounts. Its also possible that my loan application candidacy was shared by the Key Bank loan department to their subsidiary or third party loan services/processors which led to the occurrence of this crime easily. This event has been absolute shock to me and my family. \n\nThe biggest thing here is that asking about the details of these crypto holding accounts and related sensitive information by Key Bank loan officer and her underwriter/s was quite redundant especially that I had provided proof of enough USD ( XXXX ) funds in my Bank checking accounts, the proof of which I had already provided to the loan officer. The person who applied for the SIM card very likely already had the knowledge of my crypto holdings, userid of the accounts, associated email and phone number and the XXXX keys which made the crime very easy to commit. All these details were only revealed by myself for the first time to another person besides me which was my loan officer. My loan officer had asked me about these specific details about the crypto holdings which she specifically told me were required by her underwriter. Ms. XXXX had always shown a kind demeanor towards me during this transaction and in fact spoke with with me on several occasions including XXXX XXXX congratulating me about the home purchase and casually enquiring about the move plans. She particularly had made one remark in a casual way stating, You are making good money in your crypto and one day, you should teach me how to make money. Although I am not sure whether these remarks were just coincidental, but I definitely believe that my personal information about my accounts and crypto holdings was not handled well and leaked somewhere in the chain of command at the Key Banks loan processing department. \nI and my family already feel very saddened by this financial loss of nearly XXXX $ but especially by the security threat that this incident posed to our personal information which can impact us in the future. Not only this has led to stressful mental impacts but also will lead to significant constant expenses in ensuring our personal security, credit monitoring services and credit theft insurance. I and my family would really appreciate your assistance to help us recover our financial damages that we have sustained in this case mainly due to the negligence of Key Bank loan department in handling our private information. I also demand that Key Bank senior officials should hold an internal investigation about this incident so that frauds like this can be prevented in the future. This incident has left such a bad taste that we will never recommend Key Bank to any of our family members or friends unless KeyBank fixes this for us.","date_sent_to_company":"2021-07-09T17:44:40.000Z","issue":"Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage","sub_product":"Conventional home mortgage","zip_code":"12533","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"4529315","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with explanation","submitted_via":"Web","company":"KEYCORP","date_received":"2021-07-09T17:35:15.000Z","state":"NY","company_public_response":null,"sub_issue":null},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["My loan officer had asked me about these specific details about the crypto holdings which she <em>specifically</em> told me were required by her underwriter. Ms. XXXX had always shown a kind demeanor towards me during this transaction and in fact spoke with with me on <em>several</em> <em>occasions</em> including XXXX XXXX congratulating me about the home purchase and casually enquiring about the move plans."]},"sort":[9.849209,"4529315"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"12651396","_score":7.066445,"_source":{"product":"Credit card","complaint_what_happened":"The company, Citibank has not helped me. They so clearly favor the merchant, XXXX, even though I have provided so much evidence against them clearly showing they have not provided me with any services!!! \n\nThis is regarding the letter that I received today XX/XX/XXXX from Citibank regarding my ongoing disputes with XXXX. \n\nNote that I have submitted XXXX disputes, XXXX for the {$2100.00} USD charge on XX/XX/XXXX ( which I appealed XXXX ) and another for the {$2100.00} USD charge on XX/XX/XXXX ( which I am also now appealing XXXX ). \n\nI have reviewed the documentation provided by XXXX and as expected their documents are indeed fabricated ; therefore, I am appealing. I want to further iterate that XXXX  DID NOT provide me with the services for the {$4200.00} USD that I paid to them ( please also note that this payment was split in XXXX and that they would not commence their services until they received the amount in full ). \n\nIn addition and another very important thing to note, if you notice, XXXX key document is missing here ( AN ITEMIZED LIST ), this was to include the following : an itemized report from XXXX on any work for our case to date ( task, hours spent, person involved, etc. ). XXXX stated that they had such a list ; however, they failed to provide this in their documentation to you. A written report and or statement regarding the status of XXXX 's efforts to date, and remaining steps to be completed. Names and contact information for XXXX  staff responsible for completing all components of the immigration process. All they provided to you was phone logs ( which I speak to ), documents that I sent to them and named myself ( which I also speak to ), and an evaluation that was completed and paid for in full ( {$1400.00} USD ) using my XXXX debit card and has XXXX to do with this investigation ( which I also speak to ). Again, I was not even requesting the {$1400.00} USD back but this should not matter as it has nothing to do with this and was already accounted for. \n\nBefore I begin, I also want to bring awareness to the fact that this company is not legally allowed to operate and is violating immigration laws. In addition, they are now a known scam and have unfortunately scammed many others. The documentation that they provided to you is invalid and the fact of matter is they are not legally permitted to provide me with services period. I have spoken with many others, all who have also filed similar complaints against XXXX and XXXX provides the same documentation each and every time. They are truly unscrupulous in their actions. \n\nPlease refer to the XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) news article and TV segment. This further explains what I have been describing since the beginning of my disputes. This brings awareness to XXXX in specific and the scam that they are running, as well as my story and another individual 's story. The proof of the illegitimacy of this company is right here. In my opinion, there should be no doubt that my disputes are valid, especially in light of these news stories and the evidence that I am sharing. I am unsure why my disputes would get denied when I am providing actual evidence and showing you the truth behind this unscrupulous and shady company, XXXX. \n\nXXXX XXXX Article : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Now to address what XXXX sent to Citibank... \n\nFirst, regarding the phone calls that XXXX displayed dating back from XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX. All calls that occurred prior to XX/XX/XXXX were regarding payment ( specifically XXXX requesting the second part of the {$4200.00} USD payment ). If you look closely, see that each phone call ( by them ) is as short as XXXX seconds long to as long as XXXX minutes and XXXX seconds long with the exception being XXXX minutes and XXXX seconds long, which is part of their payment processing phone call/time. Note that XXXX continually called me to receive the second part of their {$4200.00} USD payment ( hence why they have so many phone calls listed- they were pests about it ), they called and called and called until they received that final payment. I did not answer the calls that they listed. On XX/XX/XXXX I submitted the second payment ( {$2100.00} USD ) and on XX/XX/XXXX they had someone call me to confirm payment/send me the docusign for the payment ( referencing the XXXX minute and XXXX second phone call ). All calls from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX were calls questioning their services ( i.e. their validity as a company, lies, misrepresentations, and all of the falsities that we were told ), as well as XXXX requesting a refund. Note that the bulk of these calls were them transfering us from person to person and then hanging up or of us calling and waiting for them to put us through to someone only to have them hang up ( I have documentation of this in the numerous recap emails that I sent to XXXX ), which are attached to this email. These calls were NEVER productive and DID NOT PERTAIN TO ANY SERVICES PROVIDED, they simply were regarding the opposite ( the lack of services and the lies told by this company, as well as XXXX asking for the refund in full due to this ). It is truly comical to me that they provided these calls to you as they mean absolutely nothing and are solely being used as a tactic by them to make them look like they provided the service, which they did not. Note that I recorded several of these phone calls and have proof of what I am writing here. Please let me know how I can send these documents to you as they are recordings from my XXXX - I would like you to listen to these ( I told XXXX I was recording them, as well ). \n\nSecond, another EXTREMELY disturbing item that I see they provided to you is the evaluation results. This has NOTHING to do with Citibank. In fact, this evaluation occurred back in XX/XX/XXXX and has NOTHING to do with this investigation. This evaluation happened prior to any charges being made with my Citibank card. Before agreeing to move forward in utilizing the \" services '' of XXXX, XXXX asked that I make a payment of {$1400.00} USD for them to provide me with an evaluation. This evaluation was paid for by me using my XXXX debit card and has nothing to do with this, they are using it to trick you into believing that they provided me with services to justify both charges of {$2100.00} USD when in actuality this is entirely unrelated. In fact, this {$1400.00} USD charge was required in order to proceed with using XXXX and is listed as completed prior to any charges occurring with Citibank ( I was not even asking for this {$1400.00} USD amount back ). Back in XXXX of XXXX XXXX requested a total payment of {$1400.00} USD ( split into XXXX payments, {$300.00} USD, {$580.00} USD, and {$610.00} USD ), which they said would cover the creation of our profiles with the government XXXX XXXX XXXX, uncover which visa options we would be eligible for and a formal evaluation, document collection, and access to XXXX employees for information. The first payment of {$300.00} USD occured on XX/XX/XXXX, the second payment of {$580.00} USD occured on XX/XX/XXXX, and the third payment of {$610.00} USD occured on XX/XX/XXXX ( these payments were made using my XXXX  debit card ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I received my evaluation results, which provided more detail on the visa program that myself/my family were eligible for, this was the XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX After which, I had a telephone conversation with my assigned Account XXXX, XXXX XXXX. It was during this telephone conversation that XXXX XXXX informed me that an additional payment of {$4200.00} USD would need to be submitted to use XXXX services in obtaining our visas and submitting our application to the XXXX government, the services included with the next payment of {$4200.00} USD were to be guidance/assistance with the visa process in its entirety, document collection/verification, submission of our visa application by an XXXX  lawyer, career development, biometrics screenings, final visa costs, etc., I had concerns with the price, {$4200.00} USD, as well as the previous price of {$1400.00} USD, which I stated to XXXX XXXX during our telephone XXXX and in an email sent to him on XX/XX/XXXX. I even told XXXX XXXX that I felt the initial fee of {$1400.00} USD was too high as what XXXX had \" completed '' for me was something I could have easily completed on my own ( without the use of a company such as XXXX ) and was done under false pretenses ( using a fake XXXX score ). I also stated my concerns with using XXXX for this reason and asked XXXX XXXX why I was using their company over others or doing it on my own. \n\nXXXX, XXXX is stating that they \" spent over XXXX hours working on my case. '' This is entirely false. As indicated in several emails they did not verify any of my documentation ( we did not even get to this phase ). All they did was collect my documents ( which I verified on my own ). Every file that they sent to you are files that I sent to them with my document names. Documents that they are not even allowed to legally have as they are unauthorized to be providing services. In addition, they are what you refer to as ghost consultants- meaning that once they get your money, they ghost you and disappear. The XXXX hours they claim that they spent verifying my documents is a lie, sure they were sent my documents, but they did not do anything with them. The XXXX hours they claim they spent providing informational services on the phone are also false. As previously mentioned every single phone call was them asking for more and more money and when they finally got it every phone call thereafter was us requesting a refund and questioning the validity of their company ( again I have the recordings and recap emails as proof ). The XXXX hours that they claim they spent regarding my evaluation assessment has NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS PAYMENT OF {$4200.00} USD - IT IS UNRELATED AND WAS PAID FOR USING MY XXXX  DEBIT CARD! Also, it did not take the XXXX hours, they simply plugged my info into the Come to XXXX tool on the XXXX website and the tool created the results for them. They did this under false pretences, which I already stated ; however, it is a moot point as this is unrelated to the {$4200.00} USD charge!!! They would not even proceed to the {$4200.00} USD payment until the {$1400.00} USD was paid and as indicated in the document that they sent to me, the evaluation was accounted for in the {$1400.00} USD payment ( see attachment named XXXX Services - Agreement to Provide XXXX XXXX ), this literally shows in writing that this was already taken care of prior to the {$4200.00} USD charge ( again this is UNRELATED to Citibank and is being used as a tactic by them ). \n\nI am aware of what I signed with XXXX and have copies, as well. Yet, XXXX XXXX irony here is that they are not allowed to be operating!!! They are ghost consultants and will say/do whatever it takes to get their money and will fabricate numerous lies along the way. The evidence is clear and the fact that Citibank is not taking my side here is actually appalling. Their agreement is invalid because they are not a legitimate company. Nonetheless, yes, I signed their agreement but this still does not dispute the fact that literally NO SERVICES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED REGARDING THE {$4200.00} USD PAYMENT!!! They will not even begin to provide services regarding the {$4200.00} USD payment until after they receive the amount in full! They did not receive the full amount until XX/XX/XXXX and immediately after I sent the payment I discovered that this company, XXXX, was a fake. I literally called and emailed them the next day telling them this and I stated that they were not legally allowed to operate and requested the refund simultaneously. The entire week after the XX/XX/XXXX charge was spent trying to get ahold of them on numerous occasions, them ignoring calls, hanging up, transferring from person to person, talking in circles, telling lies, and fighting every step of the way - THEY DID NOTHING WITH MY DOCUMENTS, THEY DID NOT EVEN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION - AGAIN NO SERVICES WERE PROVIDED!!! All that occured was fighting and XXXX pleading to get our money back. I literally submitted my disputes with Citibank exactly XXXX week after submitting the last payment of {$2100.00} USD on XX/XX/XXXX ( this should further prove again that no services were rendered ). The evidence is so beyond clear. \n\nIt is truly a shame that consultant companies such as XXXX  are allowed to operate and continue to profit off the naivety of individuals interested in creating a better life for themselves. The issue here is that there is not sufficient consumer information available to protect individuals from falling victim to unscrupulous and shady companies looking to manipulate the system and take advantage of consumers. The bank should not be turning a XXXX eye to this issue. More regulations and enforcement are needed for those companies, such as XXXX, that violate the system. Unfortunately, being a new family looking into the best life possible for our son, we were too distracted to realize what we had taken on in engaging XXXX  ( as I know is the case for others ). However, what does not help is that there is limited information available and oftentimes what you read online is not the truth ( fake reviews ). I am truthfully worried that more individuals will fall prey to these types of scams. The banking sector and government authorities need to do much more to protect consumers. \n\nAgain, please let me know how I am able to send my phone recordings. I will send directly to this email or via XXXX XXXX if I must ( but it is important to me that you review these as it further proves my point ).","date_sent_to_company":"2025-03-25T18:04:02.000Z","issue":"Problem with a purchase shown on your statement","sub_product":"General-purpose credit card or charge card","zip_code":"105XX","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"12651396","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with monetary relief","submitted_via":"Web","company":"CITIBANK, N.A.","date_received":"2025-03-25T17:39:13.000Z","state":"NY","company_public_response":"Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response","sub_issue":"Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["As indicated in <em>several</em> emails they did not verify any of my documentation ( we did not even get to this phase ). All they did was collect my documents ( which I verified on my own ). Every file that they sent to you are files that I sent to them with my document names. Documents that they are not even allowed to legally have as they are <em>unauthorized</em> to be providing services."]},"sort":[7.066445,"12651396"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"8759762","_score":2.9345713,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Per the FCRA AS A Federally protected consumer, I am now opting out any and all authorization, I the consumer may have given you written, unwritten, verbal, and non-verbal per 15 USC 8602. 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt-out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services.\n\nIn accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the list of accounts below has violated my federally protected consumer rights to privacy and confidentiality under 15 USC 1681. Vystar Credit Union credit card account ending in # XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, have violated my rights. 15 U.S.C. 1681 I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. {$1000.00} per transaction. They have reported for months. Vystar {$1000.00} per violation x 14 months= {$14000.00} XXXX {$1000.00} per violation. My Consumer Transaction History is Not to Be Reported from This Day Forth as per The Privacy Act of 1974, which is a Federal Law that regulates how federal agencies collect store, use, and disclose personally identifiable information about individuals in systems of records. \n\nI have the right to make sure my private information isn't shared and is backed by 15 USC 6801 which states \" It is the policy of the Congress that each financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers nonpublic personal information. P.L 90-321 ( 82 Stat. 146 ) is the Consumer Credit Protection Act ( CCPA ), a United States law enacted on XX/XX/XXXX. It is composed of several titles relating to consumer credit, mainly title I, the Truth in Lending Act, title XXXX related to extortionate credit transactions, title XXXX related to restrictions on wage garnishment, and title IV related to the National Commission on Consumer Finance. 15 U.S. Code 1666 - Correction of billing errors ( a ) Written notice by obligor to creditor ; time for and contents of notice ; procedure upon receipt of notice by creditor. ( b ) Billing error. ( c ) Action by creditor to collect amount or any part thereof regarded by obligor to be a billing error. ( d ) Restricting or closing by creditor of account regarded by obligor to contain a billing error. ( e ) Effect of noncompliance with requirements by creditor. Any creditor who fails to comply with the requirements of this section or section 1666a of this title forfeits any right to collect from the obligor the amount indicated by the obligor under paragraph ( 2 ) of subsection ( a ) of this section, and any finance charges thereon, except that the amount required to be forfeited under this subsection may not exceed { {$50.00} }. The Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) is a federal statute which Congress enacted in 1969 and amended and expanded on numerous occasions after that date. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) is a financial institution by definition under that title. 15 USC 1681 section 604 a section 2 states that \" In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) the financial institution and the Consumer reporting agencies XXXX and XXXX do not have my consent to furnish this information and they surely do not have my written consent. Any and all consent to XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) whether it be verbal, non-verbal, written, implied or otherwise is revoked. 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states that \" A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) Never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. Not only that, 15 USC 1681C ( a ) ( 5 ) clearly states \" Except as authorized under subsection ( b ), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information. Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. '' This account is an adverse item they are reporting again without my permission which is against the law. 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 ( A ) ( 1 ) A states \" A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. 15 U.S. Code 1681e states '' Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. XXXX, XXXX and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Also 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services. Nonpublic information refers to information that is not and should not be available to the public. This includes Personal information of an individual, such as Social Security Numbers, bank information, other personal identifiable financial information, and certain transactions with financial institutions. Information that is deemed private, protected, controlled, or exempt from disclosure under the Government Records Access and Management Act ( GRAMA ) or as non-public under other applicable State and federal laws. Information that has not been adequately disclosed to the general public. Material Nonpublic Information, also known as insider information, which is important but is not supposed to be disclosed to the public as the disclosure of the same has to affect the price or decision of investors of the company, and this information is known only to authorized personnel of the company. Information about the Treasurys business, economic, and policy plans, financial and asset information, trade secrets, information subject to the Privacy Act, personally identifiable information ( PII ), and sensitive but unclassified ( SBU ) information. 16 CFR 313.1 - Purpose and scope. ( a ) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph ( b ) of this section. This part : ( 1 ) Requires a financial institution in specified circumstances to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices ; ( 2 ) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties ; and ( 3 ) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated third parties by opting out of that disclosure, subject to the exceptions in 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15. ( b ) Scope. This part applies only to nonpublic personal information about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from the institutions listed below. This part does not apply to information about companies or about individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. This part applies to those financial institutions over which the Federal Trade Commission ( Commission ) has rulemaking authority pursuant to section 504 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( C ) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. An entity is a financial institution if its business is engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to such financial activities as described in section 4 ( k ) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843 ( k ), which incorporates activities enumerated by the Federal Reserve Board in 12 CFR 225.28 and 225.86. The financial institutions subject to the Commission 's rulemaking authority are any persons described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 that are predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both. They are referred to in this part as You. Excluded from the coverage of this part are motor vehicle dealers described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 ( b ) that directly extend to consumers retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles in which the contract governing such extension of retail credit or retail leases is not routinely assigned to an unaffiliated third-party finance or leasing source. 16 CFR 433.3 - Exemption of sellers taking or receiving open end consumer credit contracts before XXXX XXXX from requirements of 433.2 ( a ). ( a ) Any seller who has taken or received an open-end consumer credit contract before, shall be exempt from the requirements of 16 CFR part 433 with respect to such contract provided the contract does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses. ( b ) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this exemption : ( 1 ) All pertinent definitions contained in 16 CFR 433.1. ( 2 ) Open end consumer credit contract : a consumer credit contract pursuant to which open end credit is extended. ( 3 ) Open end credit : consumer credit extended on an account pursuant to a plan under which a creditor may permit an applicant to make purchases or make loans, from time to time, directly from the creditor or indirectly by use of a credit card, check, or other device, as the plan may provide. The term does not include negotiated advances under an open-end real estate mortgage or a letter of credit. ( 4 ) Contract which does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses : A consumer credit contract which does not constitute or contain a negotiable instrument, or contain any waiver, limitation, term, or condition which has the effect of limiting a consumer 's right to assert against any holder of the contract all legally sufficient claims and defenses which the consumer could assert against the seller of goods or services purchased pursuant to the contract. 26 U.S. Code 7213 - Unauthorized disclosure of information ( a ) Returns and return information ( 1 ) Federal employees and other persons It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States or any person described in section 6103 ( n ) ( or an officer or employee of any such person ), or any former officer or employee, willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense. ( 2 ) State and other employees It shall be unlawful for any person ( not described in paragraph ( 1 ) ) willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) acquired by him or another person under subsection ( d ), ( i ) ( 1 ) ( C ), ( 3 ) ( B ) ( i ), or ( 7 ) ( A ) ( ii ), ( k ) ( 10 ), ( 13 ), ( 14 ), or ( 15 ), ( l ) ( 6 ), ( 7 ), ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 12 ), ( 15 ), ( 16 ), ( 19 ), ( 20 ), or ( 21 ) or ( m ) ( 2 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ), or ( 7 ) of section 6103 or under section 6104 ( c ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 3 ) Other persons It shall be unlawful for any person to whom any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed in a manner unauthorized by this title thereafter willfully to print or publish in any manner not provided by law any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 4 ) Solicitation It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to offer any item of material value in exchange for any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) and to receive as a result of such solicitation any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 5 ) Shareholders It shall be unlawful for any person to whom a return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed pursuant to the provisions of section 6103 ( e ) ( 1 ) ( D ) ( iii ) willfully to disclose such return or return information in any manner not provided by law. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not to exceed { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( b ) Disclosure of operations of manufacturer or producer Any officer or employee of the United States who divulges or makes known in any manner whatever not provided by law to any person the operations, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer visited by him in the discharge of his official duties shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$1000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, together with the costs of prosecution ; and the offender shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment. ( c ) Disclosures by certain delegates of Secretary All provisions of law relating to the disclosure of information, and all provisions of law relating to penalties for unauthorized disclosure of information, which are applicable in respect of any function under this title when performed by an officer or employee of the Treasury Department are likewise applicable in respect of such function when performed by any person who is a delegate within the meaning of section 7701 ( a ) ( 12 ) ( B ). ( d ) Disclosure of software Any person who willfully divulges or makes known software ( as defined in section 7612 ( d ) ( 1 ) ) to any person in violation of section 7612 shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( e ) Cross references ( 1 ) Penalties for disclosure of information by preparers of returns for penalty for disclosure or use of information by preparers of returns, see section 7216. ( 2 ) Penalties for disclosure of confidential information for penalties for disclosure of confidential information by any officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof, see 18 U.S.C. 1905. Privacy Act of 1974 Information the Privacy Act was passed in 1974 to establish controls over what personal information is collected, maintained, used and disseminated by agencies in the executive branch of the Federal government. The Privacy Act only applies to records that are located in a system of records. As defined in the Privacy Act, a system of records is a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. Federal Trade Commission Act Law 15 U.S.C. 41-58 The Federal Trade Commission Act is the primary statute of the Commission. Under this Act, as amended, the Commission is empowered, among other things, to ( a ) prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce ; ( b ) seek monetary redress and other relief for conduct injurious to consumers ; ( c ) prescribe rules defining with specificity acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive, and establishing requirements designed to prevent such acts or practices ; ( d ) gather and compile information and conduct investigations relating to the organization, business, practices, and management of entities engaged in commerce; and ( XXXX ) make reports and legislative recommendations to Congress and the public. A number of other statutes listed here are enforced under the FTC Act.15 U.S. Code 1611 ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) states Whoever willfully and knowingly gives false or inaccurate information or fails to provide information which he is required to disclose under the provisions of this subchapter or any regulation issued thereunder, and also uses any chart or table authorized by the Bureau under section 1606 of this title in such a manner as to consistently understate the annual percentage rate determined under section 1606 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) of this title, or otherwise fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} } or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 15 U.S. Code 1681a ( 4 ) ( b ) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting The Congress makes the following findings : There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. ( b ) Reasonable procedures : It is the purpose of this subchapter to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter. 15 U.S. Code 1681a - Definitions ; The term consumer reporting agency means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. The term consumer means an individual. The term consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumers credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, ( 2 ) exclusions ( A ) ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report ; Reporting Transaction history is illegal. 15 U.S. Code 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other, ( 2 ) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates ; They need your written consent to add anything to your consumer report if you did not give this authorization that is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 15 U.S. Code 1681c2 - Block of information resulting from identity theft, except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency, ( 1 ) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer ; ( 2 ) a copy of an identity theft report ; ( 3 ) the identification of such information by the consumer; and ( 4 ) a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1681e - Compliance procedures, ( a ) identity and purposes of credit users. Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the ( furnishing of consumer reports ), to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. These procedures shall require that prospective users of the information identify themselves, certify the purposes for which the information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report to any person if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used for a purpose listed in section 1681b of this title. ( b ) Accuracy of report ; Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. 15 U.S. Code 1681n - Civil liability for willful noncompliance ; ( a ) In general, any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( A ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than { {$100.00} } and not more than { {$1000.00} } ; or ( B ) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or { {$1000.00} }, whichever is greater ; XXXX5 U.S. Code 1681o - Civil liability for negligent noncompliance ; Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( 1 ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure. 15 U.S. Code 6805 Enforcement ; Subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 [ 12 U.S.C. 5511 et seq. ], this subchapter and the regulations prescribed thereunder shall be enforced by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Federal functional regulators, the State insurance authorities, and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to financial institutions and other persons subject to their jurisdiction under applicable law, 15 U.S. Code 1692e False or misleading representations ; A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 1 ) states, The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 2 ) states, The false representation of ( A ) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt ; or ( B ) any services rendered or compensation which may be lawfully received by any debt collector for the collection of a debt. Examples of common violations under this subsection include a collector falsely implying legal action has begun when it has not, where the collector claims an amount more than actually owed ( allegedly due to interest, late charges or other fees, that are not authorized ), and where the collector asserts a debt is owed and immediately due and payable, when it is not. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 3 ) states, The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney. A debt collector may not send a collection letter from a Pre-Legal Department, where no legal department exists, or send a letter deceptively using an attorneys name when the debt collector is not an attorney/law firm. And if a creditor falsely uses an attorneys name rather than its own when trying to collect, the creditor will lose its exemption from the FDCPAs definition of debt collector. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 4 ) states, The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 5 ) states, The threat to take any action that can not legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken. A debt collector may not state that he will take any action unless he intends to take the action when the statement is made, and ordinarily takes such action in similar circumstances. He or she may also not state that a third party ( e.g., the creditor ) will take an action unless there is reason to believe, at the time the statement is made, that such action will be taken. For example, a debt collector may not threaten to report a dishonored check or other fact to the police, unless he actually intends to do so, threaten to attach a consumers tax refund unless he has the legal authority to do so, report a debt to a credit bureau if it doesnt actually report debts, or threaten to illegally contact an employer, or other third party. A debt collector may also not misrepresent the imminence of an action, when such action is not actually planned. For example, a debt collectors implication or reference to an attorney or to legal proceedings may mislead the debtor as to the likelihood or immediate legal action. However, if the debt collector has reason to know legal action is unlikely in the particular case, that statement would be misleading. And lack of intent actually bring suit may be inferred when the amount of the debt is so small as to make the action totally unfeasible or when the debt collector is unable to take the action because the creditor has not authorized him to do so. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 6 ) states, The false representation or implication that a sale, referral, or other transfer of any interest in a debt shall cause the consumer to '' ( A ) lose any claim or defense to payment of the debt ; or ( B ) become subject to any practice prohibited by this subchapter. This often occurs where the debt collector falsely states that the consumers account will be referred back to the original creditor, or a different collector, who will be able to otherwise who take action the FDCPA prohibits the debt collector to take. A debt collector may also not mislead the consumer as to the legal consequences of the consumers action or inaction ( e.g., by falsely implying that a failure to dispute is an admission of liability ). 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 7 ) states, The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct in order to disgrace the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 8 ) states, Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known, or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. If a debt collector is reporting a debt to a credit bureau, and knows the consumer disputes the debt ( whenever the consumer disputes it, even if after thirty days ), he must update the account as disputed, and failure to do so violates the Act. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 9 ) states, The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 10 ) states, The use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer. This is in general, a catch-all provision, encompassing actions not expressly listed. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 11 ) states, The failure to disclose in the initial written communication with the consumer and, in addition, if the initial communication with the consumer is oral, in that initial oral communication, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal AS PER THE LAW, I WANT THE I WANT THESE UPDATES COMPLETED WITHIN 4 DAYS, AND I STILL WANT THIS ACCOUNT ON MY REPORT AS IT IS UNLAWFUL TO REPORT. The utilization should state paid as agreed.\n\nMy right to privacy is guaranteed by 15 U.S.C. 1681 section 602 ( A ) .15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( A ) ( 1 ) A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate.\n\nAidvantage ( Maximus Inc. is the parent company they operated under ) is also in violation of The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. They also included erroneous reporting. XXXX XXXX shut down in 2016 after being hit with a series of sanctions by the Obama administration. Loan forgiveness was offered to more former XXXX XXXX students. They should have included my loan but they fail to do so. They continue to report this on my credit report. I want compensation because they violated me for years. They have reported monthly for 7 years. {$1000.00} per violation ( transaction ). {$1000.00} x 12 months for 7 yrs total {$84000.00}. Their handling of my records and privacy is unacceptable. Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ), specifically outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan information are protected and should not be disclosed to unauthorized parties or reported on credit reports without proper authorization or when they pertain to defunct institutions. XXXX 's continued reporting of these loans has had severe financial consequences for me. Because of this inaccurate reporting, I have been declined for personal and business loans that I otherwise would have been approved for. This has caused significant financial hardship and unnecessary stress. \n\nI demand that XXXX rectify this issue immediately by removing these erroneous loan entries from my credit report in compliance with FERPA and other relevant regulations. Additionally, I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. \n\nI demand a response to this complaint within 10 days to confirm that corrective action has been taken and provide details on how you intend to compensate me for the damages incurred. Failure to address this matter satisfactorily will compel me to pursue further legal action","date_sent_to_company":"2024-04-12T06:44:46.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"32277","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"8759762","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with explanation","submitted_via":"Web","company":"VYSTAR CREDIT UNION","date_received":"2024-04-12T04:34:56.000Z","state":"FL","company_public_response":"Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response","sub_issue":"Reporting company used your report improperly"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ), <em>specifically</em> outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan information are protected and should not be disclosed to <em>unauthorized</em> parties or reported on credit reports without proper authorization or when they pertain to defunct institutions."]},"sort":[2.9345713,"8759762"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"8759365","_score":2.9345713,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Per the FCRA AS A Federally protected consumer, I am now opting out any and all authorization, I the consumer may have given you written, unwritten, verbal, and non-verbal per 15 USC 8602. 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt-out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services. \n\nIn accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the list of accounts below has violated my federally protected consumer rights to privacy and confidentiality under 15 USC 1681. XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card account ending in # XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, have violated my rights. 15 U.S.C. 1681 I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. {$1000.00} per transaction. They have reported for months. XXXX {$1000.00} per violation x 14 months= {$14000.00} XXXX {$1000.00} per violation. My Consumer Transaction History is Not to Be Reported from This Day Forth as per The Privacy Act of 1974, which is a Federal Law that regulates how federal agencies collect store, use, and disclose personally identifiable information about individuals in systems of records. \n\nI have the right to make sure my private information isn't shared and is backed by 15 USC 6801 which states \" It is the policy of the Congress that each financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers nonpublic personal information. P.L 90-321 ( 82 Stat. 146 ) is the Consumer Credit Protection Act ( CCPA ), a United States law enacted on XX/XX/XXXX. It is composed of several titles relating to consumer credit, mainly title I, the Truth in Lending Act, title II related to extortionate credit transactions, title III related to restrictions on wage garnishment, and title IV related to the National Commission on Consumer Finance. 15 U.S. Code 1666 - Correction of billing errors ( a ) Written notice by obligor to creditor ; time for and contents of notice ; procedure upon receipt of notice by creditor. ( b ) Billing error. ( c ) Action by creditor to collect amount or any part thereof regarded by obligor to be a billing error. ( d ) Restricting or closing by creditor of account regarded by obligor to contain a billing error. ( e ) Effect of noncompliance with requirements by creditor. Any creditor who fails to comply with the requirements of this section or section 1666a of this title forfeits any right to collect from the obligor the amount indicated by the obligor under paragraph ( 2 ) of subsection ( a ) of this section, and any finance charges thereon, except that the amount required to be forfeited under this subsection may not exceed { {$50.00} }. The Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) is a federal statute which Congress enacted in 1969 and amended and expanded on numerous occasions after that date. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) is a financial institution by definition under that title. 15 USC 1681 section 604 a section 2 states that \" In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) the financial institution and the Consumer reporting agencies XXXX and XXXX do not have my consent to furnish this information and they surely do not have my written consent. Any and all consent to XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) whether it be verbal, non-verbal, written, implied or otherwise is revoked. 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states that \" A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) Never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. Not only that, 15 USC 1681C ( a ) ( 5 ) clearly states \" Except as authorized under subsection ( b ), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information. Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. '' This account is an adverse item they are reporting again without my permission which is against the law. 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 ( A ) ( 1 ) A states \" A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. 15 U.S. Code 1681e states '' Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. XXXX, XXXX and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Also 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services. Nonpublic information refers to information that is not and should not be available to the public. This includes Personal information of an individual, such as Social Security Numbers, bank information, other personal identifiable financial information, and certain transactions with financial institutions. Information that is deemed private, protected, controlled, or exempt from disclosure under the Government Records Access and Management Act ( GRAMA ) or as non-public under other applicable State and federal laws. Information that has not been adequately disclosed to the general public. Material Nonpublic Information, also known as insider information, which is important but is not supposed to be disclosed to the public as the disclosure of the same has to affect the price or decision of investors of the company, and this information is known only to authorized personnel of the company. Information about the XXXX business, economic, and policy plans, financial and asset information, trade secrets, information subject to the Privacy Act, personally identifiable information ( PII ), and sensitive but unclassified ( SBU ) information. 16 CFR 313.1 - Purpose and scope. ( a ) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph ( b ) of this section. This part : ( 1 ) Requires a financial institution in specified circumstances to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices ; ( 2 ) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties ; and ( 3 ) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated third parties by opting out of that disclosure, subject to the exceptions in 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15. ( b ) Scope. This part applies only to nonpublic personal information about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from the institutions listed below. This part does not apply to information about companies or about individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. This part applies to those financial institutions over which the Federal Trade Commission ( Commission ) has rulemaking authority pursuant to section 504 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( C ) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. An entity is a financial institution if its business is engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to such financial activities as described in section 4 ( k ) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843 ( k ), which incorporates activities enumerated by the Federal Reserve Board in 12 CFR 225.28 and 225.86. The financial institutions subject to the Commission 's rulemaking authority are any persons described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 that are predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both. They are referred to in this part as You. Excluded from the coverage of this part are motor vehicle dealers described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 ( b ) that directly extend to consumers retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles in which the contract governing such extension of retail credit or retail leases is not routinely assigned to an unaffiliated third-party finance or leasing source. 16 CFR 433.3 - Exemption of sellers taking or receiving open end consumer credit contracts before XXXX XXXX from requirements of 433.2 ( a ). ( a ) Any seller who has taken or received an open-end consumer credit contract before, shall be exempt from the requirements of 16 CFR part 433 with respect to such contract provided the contract does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses. ( b ) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this exemption : ( 1 ) All pertinent definitions contained in 16 CFR 433.1. ( 2 ) Open end consumer credit contract : a consumer credit contract pursuant to which open end credit is extended. ( 3 ) Open end credit : consumer credit extended on an account pursuant to a plan under which a creditor may permit an applicant to make purchases or make loans, from time to time, directly from the creditor or indirectly by use of a credit card, check, or other device, as the plan may provide. The term does not include negotiated advances under an open-end real estate mortgage or a letter of credit. ( 4 ) Contract which does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses : A consumer credit contract which does not constitute or contain a negotiable instrument, or contain any waiver, limitation, term, or condition which has the effect of limiting a consumer 's right to assert against any holder of the contract all legally sufficient claims and defenses which the consumer could assert against the seller of goods or services purchased pursuant to the contract. 26 U.S. Code 7213 - Unauthorized disclosure of information ( a ) Returns and return information ( 1 ) Federal employees and other persons It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States or any person described in section 6103 ( n ) ( or an officer or employee of any such person ), or any former officer or employee, willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense. ( 2 ) State and other employees It shall be unlawful for any person ( not described in paragraph ( 1 ) ) willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) acquired by him or another person under subsection ( d ), ( i ) ( 1 ) ( C ), ( 3 ) ( B ) ( i ), or ( 7 ) ( A ) ( ii ), ( k ) ( 10 ), ( 13 ), ( 14 ), or ( 15 ), ( l ) ( 6 ), ( 7 ), ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 12 ), ( 15 ), ( 16 ), ( 19 ), ( 20 ), or ( 21 ) or ( m ) ( 2 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ), or ( 7 ) of section 6103 or under section 6104 ( c ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 3 ) Other persons It shall be unlawful for any person to whom any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed in a manner unauthorized by this title thereafter willfully to print or publish in any manner not provided by law any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 4 ) Solicitation It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to offer any item of material value in exchange for any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) and to receive as a result of such solicitation any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 5 ) Shareholders It shall be unlawful for any person to whom a return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed pursuant to the provisions of section 6103 ( e ) ( 1 ) ( D ) ( iii ) willfully to disclose such return or return information in any manner not provided by law. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not to exceed { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with XXXXe costs of prosecution. ( b ) Disclosure of operations of manufacturer or producer Any officer or employee of the United States who divulges or makes known in any manner whatever not provided by law to any person the operations, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer visited by him in the discharge of his official duties shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$1000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, together with the costs of prosecution ; and the offender shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment. ( c ) Disclosures by certain delegates of Secretary All provisions of law relating to the disclosure of information, and all provisions of law relating to penalties for unauthorized disclosure of information, which are applicable in respect of any function under this title when performed by an officer or employee of the Treasury Department are likewise applicable in respect of such function when performed by any person who is a delegate within the meaning of section 7701 ( a ) ( 12 ) ( B ). ( d ) Disclosure of software Any person who willfully divulges or makes known software ( as defined in section 7612 ( d ) ( 1 ) ) to any person in violation of section 7612 shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( e ) Cross references ( 1 ) Penalties for disclosure of information by preparers of returns for penalty for disclosure or use of information by preparers of returns, see section 7216. ( 2 ) Penalties for disclosure of confidential information for penalties for disclosure of confidential information by any officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof, see 18 U.S.C. 1905. Privacy Act of 1974 Information the Privacy Act was passed in 1974 to establish controls over what personal information is collected, maintained, used and disseminated by agencies in the executive branch of the Federal government. The Privacy Act only applies to records that are located in a system of records. As defined in the Privacy Act, a system of records is a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. Federal Trade Commission Act Law 15 U.S.C. 41-58 The Federal Trade Commission Act is the primary statute of the Commission. Under this Act, as amended, the Commission is empowered, among other things, to ( a ) prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce ; ( b ) seek monetary redress and other relief for conduct injurious to consumers ; ( c ) prescribe rules defining with specificity acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive, and establishing requirements designed to prevent such acts or practices ; ( d ) gather and compile information and conduct investigations relating to the organization, business, practices, and management of entities engaged in commerce; and ( e ) make reports and legislative recommendations to Congress and the public. A number of other statutes listed here are enforced under the FTC Act.15 U.S. Code 1611 ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) states Whoever willfully and knowingly gives false or inaccurate information or fails to provide information which he is required to disclose under the provisions of this subchapter or any regulation issued thereunder, and also uses any chart or table authorized by the Bureau under section 1606 of this title in such a manner as to consistently understate the annual percentage rate determined under section 1606 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) of this title, or otherwise fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} } or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 15 U.S. Code 1681a ( 4 ) ( b ) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting The Congress makes the following findings : There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. ( b ) Reasonable procedures : It is the purpose of this subchapter to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter. 15 U.S. Code 1681a - Definitions ; The term consumer reporting agency means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. The term consumer means an individual. The term consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumers credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, ( XXXX ) exclusions ( A ) ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report ; Reporting Transaction history is illegal. 15 U.S. Code 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other, ( 2 ) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates ; They need your written consent to add anything to your consumer report if you did not give this authorization that is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 15 U.S. Code 1681c2 - Block of information resulting from identity theft, except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency, ( 1 ) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer ; ( 2 ) a copy of an identity theft report ; ( 3 ) the identification of such information by the consumer; and ( 4 ) a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1681e - Compliance procedures, ( a ) identity and purposes of credit users. Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the ( furnishing of consumer reports ), to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. These procedures shall require that prospective users of the information identify themselves, certify the purposes for which the information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report to any person if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used for a purpose listed in section 1681b of this title. ( b ) Accuracy of report ; Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. 15 U.S. Code 1681n - Civil liability for willful noncompliance ; ( a ) In general, any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( A ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than { {$100.00} } and not more than { {$1000.00} } ; or ( B ) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or { {$1000.00} }, whichever is greater ; 15 U.S. Code 1681o - Civil liability for negligent noncompliance ; Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( 1 ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure. 15 U.S. Code 6805 Enforcement ; Subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 [ 12 U.S.C. 5511 et seq. ], this subchapter and the regulations prescribed thereunder shall be enforced by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, the Federal functional regulators, the State insurance authorities, and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to financial institutions and other persons subject to their jurisdiction under applicable law, 15 U.S. Code 1692e False or misleading representations ; A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 1 ) states, The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 2 ) states, The false representation of ( A ) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt ; or ( B ) any services rendered or compensation which may be lawfully received by any debt collector for the collection of a debt. Examples of common violations under this subsection include a collector falsely implying legal action has begun when it has not, where the collector claims an amount more than actually owed ( allegedly due to interest, late charges or other fees, that are not authorized ), and where the collector asserts a debt is owed and immediately due and payable, when it is not. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 3 ) states, The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney. A debt collector may not send a collection letter from a Pre-Legal Department, where no legal department exists, or send a letter deceptively using an attorneys name when the debt collector is not an attorney/law firm. And if a creditor falsely uses an attorneys name rather than its own when trying to collect, the creditor will lose its exemption from the FDCPAs definition of debt collector. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 4 ) states, The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 5 ) states, The threat to take any action that can not legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken. A debt collector may not state that he will take any action unless he intends to take the action when the statement is made, and ordinarily takes such action in similar circumstances. He or she may also not state that a third party ( e.g., the creditor ) will take an action unless there is reason to believe, at the time the statement is made, that such action will be taken. For example, a debt collector may not threaten to report a dishonored check or other fact to the police, unless he actually intends to do so, threaten to attach a consumers tax refund unless he has the legal authority to do so, report a debt to a credit bureau if it doesnt actually report debts, or threaten to illegally contact an employer, or other third party. A debt collector may also not misrepresent the imminence of an action, when such action is not actually planned. For example, a debt collectors implication or reference to an attorney or to legal proceedings XXXX mislead the debtor as to the likelihood or immediate legal action. However, if the debt collector has reason to know legal action is unlikely in the particular case, that statement would be misleading. And lack of intent actually bring suit XXXX be inferred when the amount of the debt is so small as to make the action totally unfeasible or when the debt collector is unable to take the action because the creditor has not authorized him to do so. XXXX XXXX Code XXXX ( XXXX ) states, The false representation or implication that a sale, referral, or other transfer of any interest in a debt shall cause the consumer to '' ( A ) lose any claim or defense to payment of the debt ; or ( B ) become subject to any practice prohibited by this subchapter. This often occurs where the debt collector falsely states that the consumers account will be referred back to the original creditor, or a different collector, who will be able to otherwise who take action the FDCPA prohibits the debt collector to take. A debt collector may also not mislead the consumer as to the legal consequences of the consumers action or inaction ( e.g., by falsely implying that a failure to dispute is an admission of liability ). 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 7 ) states, The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct in order to disgrace the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 8 ) states, Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known, or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. If a debt collector is reporting a debt to a credit bureau, and knows the consumer disputes the debt ( whenever the consumer disputes it, even if after thirty days ), he must update the account as disputed, and failure to do so violates the Act. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 9 ) states, The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 10 ) states, The use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer. This is in general, a catch-all provision, encompassing actions not expressly listed. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 11 ) states, The failure to disclose in the initial written communication with the consumer and, in addition, if the initial communication with the consumer is oral, in that initial oral communication, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal AS PER THE LAW, I WANT THE I WANT THESE UPDATES COMPLETED WITHIN 4 DAYS, AND I STILL WANT THIS ACCOUNT ON MY REPORT AS IT IS UNLAWFUL TO REPORT. The utilization should state paid as agreed.\n\nMy right to privacy is guaranteed by 15 U.S.C. 1681 section 602 ( A ) .15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( A ) ( XXXX ) A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. \n\nAidvantage XXXX XXXX XXXX is the parent company they operated under ) is also in violation of The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ) ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the XXXX Department of Education. They also included erroneous reporting. XXXX XXXX shut down in XXXX after being hit with a series of sanctions by the Obama administration. Loan forgiveness was offered to more former XXXX XXXX students. They should have included my loan but they fail to do so. They continue to report this on my credit report. I want compensation because they violated me for years. They have reported monthly for 7 years. {$1000.00} per violation ( transaction ). {$1000.00} x 12 months for XXXX yrs total {$84000.00}. Their handling of my records and privacy is unacceptable. Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ), specifically outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan information are protected and should not be disclosed to unauthorized parties or reported on credit reports without proper authorization or when they pertain to defunct institutions. Aidvantage 's continued reporting of these loans has had severe financial consequences for me. Because of this inaccurate reporting, I have been declined for personal and business loans that I otherwise would have been approved for. This has caused significant financial hardship and unnecessary stress. \n\nI demand that Aidvantage rectify this issue immediately by removing these erroneous loan entries from my credit report in compliance with XXXX and other relevant regulations. Additionally, I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. \n\nI demand a response to this complaint within 10 days to confirm that corrective action has been taken and provide details on how you intend to compensate me for the damages incurred. Failure to address this matter satisfactorily will compel me to pursue further legal action","date_sent_to_company":"2024-04-12T06:44:55.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"32277","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"8759365","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with explanation","submitted_via":"Web","company":"Maximus Federal Services, Inc.","date_received":"2024-04-12T06:44:52.000Z","state":"FL","company_public_response":null,"sub_issue":"Reporting company used your report improperly"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ), <em>specifically</em> outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan information are protected and should not be disclosed to <em>unauthorized</em> parties or reported on credit reports without proper authorization or when they pertain to defunct institutions."]},"sort":[2.9345713,"8759365"]},{"_index":"complaint-public-v1","_id":"8759313","_score":2.9316406,"_source":{"product":"Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports","complaint_what_happened":"XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Per the FCRA AS A Federally protected consumer, I am now opting out any and all authorization, I the consumer may have given you written, unwritten, verbal, and non-verbal per 15 USC 8602. 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt-out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services. \n\nIn accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the list of accounts below has violated my federally protected consumer rights to privacy and confidentiality under 15 USC 1681. Vystar Credit Union credit card account ending in # XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, have violated my rights. 15 U.S.C. 1681 I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. {$1000.00} per transaction. They have reported for months. XXXX {$1000.00} per violation x 14 months= {$14000.00} XXXX {$1000.00} per violation. My Consumer Transaction History is Not to Be Reported from This Day Forth as per The Privacy Act of XXXX, which is a Federal Law that regulates how federal agencies collect store, use, and disclose personally identifiable information about individuals in systems of records. \n\nI have the right to make sure my private information isn't shared and is backed by 15 USC 6801 which states \" It is the policy of the Congress that each financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and confidentiality of those customers nonpublic personal information. P.L 90-321 ( 82 Stat. 146 ) is the Consumer Credit Protection Act ( CCPA ), a United States law enacted on XX/XX/XXXX. It is composed of several titles relating to consumer credit, mainly title I, the Truth in Lending Act, title XXXX related to extortionate credit transactions, title XXXX related to restrictions on wage garnishment, and title IV related to the National Commission on Consumer Finance. 15 U.S. Code 1666 - Correction of billing errors ( a ) Written notice by obligor to creditor ; time for and contents of notice ; procedure upon receipt of notice by creditor. ( b ) Billing error. ( c ) Action by creditor to collect amount or any part thereof regarded by obligor to be a billing error. ( d ) Restricting or closing by creditor of account regarded by obligor to contain a billing error. ( e ) Effect of noncompliance with requirements by creditor. Any creditor who fails to comply with the requirements of this section or section 1666a of this title forfeits any right to collect from the obligor the amount indicated by the obligor under paragraph ( 2 ) of subsection ( a ) of this section, and any finance charges thereon, except that the amount required to be forfeited under this subsection may not exceed { {$50.00} }. The Truth in Lending Act ( TILA ) is a federal statute which Congress enacted in 1969 and amended and expanded on numerous occasions after that date. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) is a financial institution by definition under that title. 15 USC 1681 section 604 a section 2 states that \" In general Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other : in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) the financial institution and the Consumer reporting agencies XXXX and XXXX do not have my consent to furnish this information and they surely do not have my written consent. Any and all consent to XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) whether it be verbal, non-verbal, written, implied or otherwise is revoked. 15 USC 6802 ( b ) ( c ) states that \" A financial institution may not disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party unless the consumer is given an explanation of how the consumer can exercise that nondisclosure option. '' ( Furnisher of information to credit agencies ) Never informed me of my right to exercise my nondisclosure option. Not only that, 15 USC 1681C ( a ) ( 5 ) clearly states \" Except as authorized under subsection ( b ), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information. Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years. '' This account is an adverse item they are reporting again without my permission which is against the law. 15 U.S. Code 1681s2 ( A ) ( 1 ) A states \" A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. 15 U.S. Code 1681e states '' Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under section XXXX of this title. XXXX, XXXX and XXXX are not maintaining reasonable procedures. Also 12 CFR 1016.7 states that \" A consumer may exercise the right to opt out at any time. '' I am opting out of your reporting services. Nonpublic information refers to information that is not and should not be available to the public. This includes Personal information of an individual, such as Social Security Numbers, bank information, other personal identifiable financial information, and certain transactions with financial institutions. Information that is deemed private, protected, controlled, or exempt from disclosure under the Government Records Access and Management Act ( GRAMA ) or as non-public under other applicable State and federal laws. Information that has not been adequately disclosed to the general public. Material Nonpublic Information, also known as insider information, which is important but is not supposed to be disclosed to the public as the disclosure of the same has to affect the price or decision of investors of the company, and this information is known only to authorized personnel of the company. Information about the Treasurys business, economic, and policy plans, financial and asset information, trade secrets, information subject to the Privacy Act, personally identifiable information ( PII ), and sensitive but unclassified ( SBU ) information. 16 CFR 313.1 - Purpose and scope. ( a ) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in paragraph ( b ) of this section. This part : ( 1 ) Requires a financial institution in specified circumstances to provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices ; ( 2 ) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties ; and ( 3 ) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated third parties by opting out of that disclosure, subject to the exceptions in 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15. ( b ) Scope. This part applies only to nonpublic personal information about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes from the institutions listed below. This part does not apply to information about companies or about individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes. This part applies to those financial institutions over which the Federal Trade Commission ( Commission ) has rulemaking authority pursuant to section 504 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( C ) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. An entity is a financial institution if its business is engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to such financial activities as described in section 4 ( k ) of the Bank XXXX XXXX Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843 ( k ), which incorporates activities enumerated by the Federal Reserve Board in 12 CFR 225.28 and 225.86. The financial institutions subject to the Commission 's rulemaking authority are any persons described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 that are predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both. They are referred to in this part as You. Excluded from the coverage of this part are motor vehicle dealers described in 12 U.S.C. 5519 ( b ) that directly extend to consumers retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles in which the contract governing such extension of retail credit or retail leases is not routinely assigned to an unaffiliated third-party finance or leasing source. 16 CFR 433.3 - Exemption of sellers taking or receiving open end consumer credit contracts before XXXX XXXX from requirements of 433.2 ( a ). ( a ) Any seller who has taken or received an open-end consumer credit contract before, shall be exempt from the requirements of XXXX XXXX part XXXX with respect to such contract provided the contract does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses. ( b ) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this exemption : ( 1 ) All pertinent definitions contained in 16 CFR 433.1. ( 2 ) Open end consumer credit contract : a consumer credit contract pursuant to which open end credit is extended. ( 3 ) Open end credit : consumer credit extended on an account pursuant to a plan under which a creditor may permit an applicant to make purchases or make loans, from time to time, directly from the creditor or indirectly by use of a credit card, check, or other device, as the plan may provide. The term does not include negotiated advances under an open-end real estate mortgage or a letter of credit. ( 4 ) Contract which does not cut off consumers ' claims and defenses : A consumer credit contract which does not constitute or contain a negotiable instrument, or contain any waiver, limitation, term, or condition which has the effect of limiting a consumer 's right to assert against any holder of the contract all legally sufficient claims and defenses which the consumer could assert against the seller of goods or services purchased pursuant to the contract. 26 U.S. Code 7213 - Unauthorized disclosure of information ( a ) Returns and return information ( 1 ) Federal employees and other persons It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States or any person described in section 6103 ( n ) ( or an officer or employee of any such person ), or any former officer or employee, willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution, and if such offense is committed by any officer or employee of the United States, he shall, in addition to any other punishment, be dismissed from office or discharged from employment upon conviction for such offense. ( 2 ) State and other employees It shall be unlawful for any person ( not described in paragraph ( 1 ) ) willfully to disclose to any person, except as authorized in this title, any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) acquired by him or another person under subsection ( d ), ( i ) ( 1 ) ( C ), ( 3 ) ( B ) ( i ), or ( 7 ) ( A ) ( ii ), ( k ) ( 10 ), ( 13 ), ( 14 ), or ( 15 ), ( l ) ( 6 ), ( 7 ), ( 8 ), ( 9 ), ( 10 ), ( 12 ), ( 15 ), ( 16 ), ( 19 ), ( 20 ), or ( 21 ) or ( m ) ( 2 ), ( 4 ), ( 5 ), ( 6 ), or ( 7 ) of section 6103 or under section 6104 ( c ). Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 3 ) Other persons It shall be unlawful for any person to whom any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed in a manner unauthorized by this title thereafter willfully to print or publish in any manner not provided by law any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 4 ) Solicitation It shall be unlawful for any person willfully to offer any item of material value in exchange for any return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) and to receive as a result of such solicitation any such return or return information. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not exceeding { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( 5 ) Shareholders It shall be unlawful for any person to whom a return or return information ( as defined in section 6103 ( b ) ) is disclosed pursuant to the provisions of section 6103 ( e ) ( 1 ) ( D ) ( iii ) willfully to disclose such return or return information in any manner not provided by law. Any violation of this paragraph shall be a felony punishable by a fine in any amount not to exceed { {$5000.00} }, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( b ) Disclosure of operations of manufacturer or producer Any officer or employee of the United States who divulges or makes known in any manner whatever not provided by law to any person the operations, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer visited by him in the discharge of his official duties shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$1000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, together with the costs of prosecution ; and the offender shall be dismissed from office or discharged from employment. ( c ) Disclosures by certain delegates of Secretary All provisions of law relating to the disclosure of information, and all provisions of law relating to penalties for unauthorized disclosure of information, which are applicable in respect of any function under this title when performed by an officer or employee of the Treasury Department are likewise applicable in respect of such function when performed by any person who is a delegate within the meaning of section 7701 ( a ) ( 12 ) ( B ). ( d ) Disclosure of software Any person who willfully divulges or makes known software ( as defined in section 7612 ( d ) ( 1 ) ) to any person in violation of section 7612 shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} }, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution. ( e ) Cross references ( 1 ) Penalties for disclosure of information by preparers of returns for penalty for disclosure or use of information by preparers of returns, see section 7216. ( 2 ) Penalties for disclosure of confidential information for penalties for disclosure of confidential information by any officer or employee of the United States or any department or agency thereof, see 18 U.S.C. 1905. Privacy Act of 1974 Information the Privacy Act was passed in 1974 to establish controls over what personal information is collected, maintained, used and disseminated by agencies in the executive branch of the Federal government. The Privacy Act only applies to records that are located in a system of records. As defined in the Privacy Act, a system of records is a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual. Federal Trade Commission Act Law 15 U.S.C. 41-58 The Federal Trade Commission Act is the primary statute of the Commission. Under this Act, as amended, the Commission is empowered, among other things, to ( a ) prevent unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce ; ( b ) seek monetary redress and other relief for conduct injurious to consumers ; ( c ) prescribe rules defining with specificity acts or practices that are unfair or deceptive, and establishing requirements designed to prevent such acts or practices ; ( d ) gather and compile information and conduct investigations relating to the organization, business, practices, and management of entities engaged in commerce; and ( e ) make reports and legislative recommendations to Congress and the public. A number of other statutes listed here are enforced under the FTC Act.15 U.S. Code 1611 ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) states Whoever willfully and knowingly gives false or inaccurate information or fails to provide information which he is required to disclose under the provisions of this subchapter or any regulation issued thereunder, and also uses any chart or table authorized by the Bureau under section 1606 of this title in such a manner as to consistently understate the annual percentage rate determined under section 1606 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) of this title, or otherwise fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter, shall be fined not more than { {$5000.00} } or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 15 U.S. Code 1681a ( 4 ) ( b ) Accuracy and fairness of credit reporting The Congress makes the following findings : There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumers right to privacy. ( b ) Reasonable procedures : It is the purpose of this subchapter to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter. 15 U.S. Code 1681a - Definitions ; The term consumer reporting agency means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. The term consumer means an individual. The term consumer report means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumers credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, ( 2 ) exclusions ( A ) ( i ) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report ; Reporting Transaction history is illegal. 15 U.S. Code 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports Subject to subsection ( c ), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report under the following circumstances and no other, ( 2 ) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates ; They need your written consent to add anything to your consumer report if you did not give this authorization that is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 15 U.S. Code 1681c2 - Block of information resulting from identity theft, except as otherwise provided in this section, a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt by such agency, ( 1 ) appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer ; ( 2 ) a copy of an identity theft report ; ( 3 ) the identification of such information by the consumer; and ( 4 ) a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1681e - Compliance procedures, ( a ) identity and purposes of credit users. Every consumer reporting agency shall maintain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the ( furnishing of consumer reports ), to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. These procedures shall require that prospective users of the information identify themselves, certify the purposes for which the information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. Every consumer reporting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report to any person if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used for a purpose listed in section 1681b of this title. ( b ) Accuracy of report ; Whenever a consumer reporting agency prepares a consumer report it shall follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates. 15 U.S. Code 1681n - Civil liability for willful noncompliance ; ( a ) In general, any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( A ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than { {$100.00} } and not more than { {$1000.00} } ; or ( B ) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or { {$1000.00} }, whichever is greater ; 15 U.S. Code 1681o - Civil liability for negligent noncompliance ; Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of ( 1 ) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure. 15 U.S. Code 6805 Enforcement ; Subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 [ 12 U.S.C. 5511 et seq. ], this subchapter and the regulations prescribed thereunder shall be enforced by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, the Federal functional regulators, the State insurance authorities, and the Federal Trade Commission with respect to financial institutions and other persons subject to their jurisdiction under applicable law, 15 U.S. Code 1692e False or misleading representations ; A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 1 ) states, The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 2 ) states, The false representation of ( A ) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt ; or ( B ) any services rendered or compensation which may be lawfully received by any debt collector for the collection of a debt. Examples of common violations under this subsection include a collector falsely implying legal action has begun when it has not, where the collector claims an amount more than actually owed ( allegedly due to interest, late charges or other fees, that are not authorized ), and where the collector asserts a debt is owed and immediately due and payable, when it is not. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 3 ) states, The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney. A debt collector may not send a collection letter from a Pre-Legal Department, where no legal department exists, or send a letter deceptively using an attorneys name when the debt collector is not an attorney/law firm. And if a creditor falsely uses an attorneys name rather than its own when trying to collect, the creditor will lose its exemption from the FDCPAs definition of debt collector. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 4 ) states, The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 5 ) states, The threat to take any action that can not legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken. A debt collector may not state that he will take any action unless he intends to take the action when the statement is made, and ordinarily takes such action in similar circumstances. He or she may also not state that a third party ( e.g., the creditor ) will take an action unless there is reason to believe, at the time the statement is made, that such action will be taken. For example, a debt collector may not threaten to report a dishonored check or other fact to the police, unless he actually intends to do so, threaten to attach a consumers tax refund unless he has the legal authority to do so, report a debt to a credit bureau if it doesnt actually report debts, or threaten to illegally contact an employer, or other third party. A debt collector may also not misrepresent the imminence of an action, when such action is not actually planned. For example, a debt collectors implication or reference to an attorney or to legal proceedings may mislead the debtor as to the likelihood or immediate legal action. However, if the debt collector has reason to know legal action is unlikely in the particular case, that statement would be misleading. And lack of intent actually bring suit may be inferred when the amount of the debt is so small as to make the action totally unfeasible or when the debt collector is unable to take the action because the creditor has not authorized him to do so. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 6 ) states, The false representation or implication that a sale, referral, or other transfer of any interest in a debt shall cause the consumer to '' ( A ) lose any claim or defense to payment of the debt ; or ( B ) become subject to any practice prohibited by this subchapter. This often occurs where the debt collector falsely states that the consumers account will be referred back to the original creditor, or a different collector, who will be able to otherwise who take action the FDCPA prohibits the debt collector to take. A debt collector may also not mislead the consumer as to the legal consequences of the consumers action or inaction ( e.g., by falsely implying that a failure to dispute is an admission of liability ). 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 7 ) states, The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct in order to disgrace the consumer. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 8 ) states, Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known, or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. If a debt collector is reporting a debt to a credit bureau, and knows the consumer disputes the debt ( whenever the consumer disputes it, even if after thirty days ), he must update the account as disputed, and failure to do so violates the Act. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 9 ) states, The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 10 ) states, The use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer. This is in general, a catch-all provision, encompassing actions not expressly listed. 15 U.S. Code 1692e ( 11 ) states, The failure to disclose in the initial written communication with the consumer and, in addition, if the initial communication with the consumer is oral, in that initial oral communication, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal AS PER THE LAW, I WANT THE I WANT THESE UPDATES COMPLETED WITHIN 4 DAYS, AND I STILL WANT THIS ACCOUNT ON MY REPORT AS IT IS UNLAWFUL TO REPORT. The utilization should state paid as agreed.\n\nMy right to privacy is guaranteed by 15 U.S.C. 1681 section 602 ( A ) .15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( A ) ( XXXX ) A person shall not furnish any information relating to a consumer to any consumer reporting agency if the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the information is inaccurate. \n\nXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is the parent company they operated under ) is also in violation of The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( FERPA ) ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ; 34 CFR Part 99 ) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the XXXX Department of Education. They also included erroneous reporting. XXXX XXXX shut down in XXXX after being hit with a series of sanctions by the Obama administration. Loan forgiveness was offered to more former XXXX XXXX students. They should have included my loan but they fail to do so. They continue to report this on my credit report. I want compensation because they violated me for years. They have reported monthly for 7 years. {$1000.00} per violation ( transaction ). {$1000.00} x 12 months for XXXX yrs total {$84000.00}. Their handling of my records and privacy is unacceptable. Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ), specifically outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan information are protected and should not be disclosed to unauthorized parties or reported on credit reports without proper authorization or when they pertain to defunct institutions. XXXX 's continued reporting of these loans has had severe financial consequences for me. Because of this inaccurate reporting, I have been declined for personal and business loans that I otherwise would have been approved for. This has caused significant financial hardship and unnecessary stress. \n\nI demand that XXXX rectify this issue immediately by removing these erroneous loan entries from my credit report in compliance with XXXX and other relevant regulations. Additionally, I am seeking compensation for the damages caused by this violation, which has impacted my ability to access credit and financial opportunities. \n\nI demand a response to this complaint within 10 days to confirm that corrective action has been taken and provide details on how you intend to compensate me for the damages incurred. Failure to address this matter satisfactorily will compel me to pursue further legal action","date_sent_to_company":"2024-04-12T06:44:55.000Z","issue":"Improper use of your report","sub_product":"Credit reporting","zip_code":"32277","tags":null,"has_narrative":true,"complaint_id":"8759313","timely":"Yes","company_response":"Closed with explanation","submitted_via":"Web","company":"SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL","date_received":"2024-04-12T06:44:52.000Z","state":"FL","company_public_response":"Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response","sub_issue":"Reporting company used your report improperly"},"highlight":{"complaint_what_happened":["Under the regulations set forth by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( XXXX ), <em>specifically</em> outlined in the United States Code ( USC ) Title 20, Section 1232g, and the corresponding Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ), Title 34, Section 99, educational records including student loan 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