'God' Can't Get A Credit Report: God Gazarov Suing Equifax Because It Can't Process His Name [DOCS]
God is having a hard time getting a copy of his credit report.
A Brooklyn man named God Gazarov, 26, filed a federal lawsuit on Friday against credit reporting agency Equifax, alleging the firm refused to provide him a copy of his credit report because “its computer systems will not permit it to issue a report with the plaintiff’s first name, ‘God,’” according to the lawsuit.
“Equifax has processes in place to help ensure that businesses and individuals requesting access to credit are who they say they are," Equifax wrote in an email to International Business Times. "These processes flag standalone names that generally may not be associated with the valid openings of credit accounts. We are working with the consumer to make the necessary changes to his account.”
According to Gazarov's lawsuit, the companies that requested Gazarov’s credit history from Equifax received “an empty credit report containing none of the plaintiff’s legitimate credit history.” Gazarov claimed the error prevented him from getting access to credit because the blank report that creditors saw led them to believe he had no credit history.
Gazarov said he receives bills from Capitol One Bank, Discover Financial Services, American Express and Honda’s finance arm, which he pays off every month “to keep his credit score at the highest possible level.”
The lawsuit states that he has a credit score of 728 from Experian and 737 from Trans Union, the two other major credit reporting agencies, while his Equifax score is 9002, “which is the equivalent of no credit score at all.”
Gazarov said he tried to obtain his Equifax report on four occasions, most recently in February, but the company refused to give him one. That’s when he spoke to an Equifax supervisor, who suggested he change his name because Equifax “could not process his name as ‘God.’”
The lawsuit doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount in damages, but it claims Equifax caused Gazarov to suffer “financial loss, expenditure of time and resources, mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment and emotion distress.”
Gazarov, a native of Russia who owns a jewelry store in Brooklyn, spoke to the Post about the lawsuit, calling his dealings with Equifax “extremely frustrating.” He said he tried to purchase an Infiniti but was turned down because of the problem with Equifax.
“I worked hard to get good credit to look good to lenders, and this happens,” he said.
Read Gazarov’s lawsuit below:
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.