My younger sister requested a copy of her credit report. EQ needed further identifying information so she forwarded a copy of her DL, SS Card and a utility bill with her current address. A few days later, the EQ report was received with her name on the first page of their report package: Thank you for requesting your credit file, yadd yadda yadda. However, the next pages of the report are for someone one else...who only has her first and last initial and address (person must have lived in the apartment priot) in common. The SS Numbers are different and the birth dates have a 6 year difference. We contacted EQ and they could not give an explanation of how this happened.....and want us to return the report (which we will do). I know human errors happen, but aren't they suppose to protect the information of others??? And what about identity theft?? They gave her all the necessary information to "steal" this person's id......Good thing, we are god-fearing people. I am going to draft a letter for her and give EQ a piece of my mind.
This happened to me when TU merged my account. I would NOT return the CR they sent you. It is proof of their violations.
I would return the original, and send a copy of it to the Federal Trade Commission... Can you imagine the letter that they'll need to send to the person who they gave the report to? "We accidentially provided your consumer credit report to someone else, so we have placed a fraud alert onto your file, and suggest that you do the same with the other consumer reporting agencies at once." Oh, wait, they probably will never put it in writing... Wonder if the FTC would bother to let them know. Just make sure that you keep a copy of the cover letter showing her name on the envelope so that EQ doesn't try to claim that you committed mail fraud by opening an envelope addressed to someone else.
Thanks for the responses. I drafted a letter for my sister and she is going to include the report. I will make a copy of their cover letter (it has the confirmation number if it needs to be researched) and be sure to keep the envelope. I am not sure they (EQ) will contact the other person. I called and filed a complaint with the FTC (pretending to be my sis). I think I will have her send the FTC a copy of the letter as well.
Think it would be funny if you were to send equisux a copy of the report, and have the personal information updated to your own, then go ahead and see how many TL's they could verify as yours.
