Brooklyn Man Named 'God' Sues Credit Rating Agency For Refusing To Recognize His Name

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - A Brooklyn man claims that a credit-reporting agency falsely reported he had no financial history because his first name is God.

God Gazarov has filed a lawsuit, saying that Equifax has refused to correct its system to recognize his name as legitimate.

Gazarov said an Equifax customer-service representative even suggested that he change his name to resolve the issue.

"It's on my passport, it's on my birth certificate. There's no need for me to change it. I never had a problem with it anywhere else," Gazarov told WCBS 880. "I'm a citizen here, I went to school here...I'm established, I'm building my credit up, I pay all my bills on time."

Gazarov is a Russian native who is named after his grandfather.

"It was my grandfather's name in Russia and my grandfather was a very known lieutenant in the Army many years ago when he was younger and it was an honor carrying his name," he told WCBS 880.

He said his name had to be translated from Russian and from Hebrew to its American spelling.

The 26-year-old owns a Brighton Beach jewelry store and is a graduate of Brooklyn College.

He added he has high scores with two other major credit agencies but said he worries that Equifax's glitch will affect his ability to get a loan in the future.

The company released a statement saying, "Equifax has processes in place to help ensure that businesses and individuals requesting access to credit are who they say they are. 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."

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