Consumer complaint received 2020-11-13
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CO
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Problem with personal statement of dispute

Complaint:
Dear Sir or Madam : I am writing to dispute the following information in my credit report. XXXX, a mortgage company, has declared that I made a late payment for the month of XX/XX/2019. I have worked with my mortgage company to dispute this claim and have ignored my claims and ruled to keep the late payment. I am trying to Refinance my home and the late payment report on my credit detrimentally affects my eligibility for this opportunity. I request that the CFPB assist my in this dispute for late payment and request XXXX  follows ethical procedures in their reporting. I have written a statement below formatting the grounds of my dispute. 

Right before closing on our home in XX/XX/2019, we switched home owner 's insurance that would decrease our monthly escrow payments for our FHA loan. However, to prevent having to go back and have the underwriters reconfigure the loan and jeopardize the closing, we decided to close with reporting the obsolete insurance and decided that after closing the mortgage company could then adjust the monthly escrow payment at the beginning of the life of the loan. 

Upon receiving our first mortgage statements, I discussed with XXXX that the monthly mortgage payment would need to be adjusted to reflect the homeowners insurance. XXXX asked that I follow the necessary steps to submit an escrow adjustment request and that it may take up to 2-3 months of investigation to receive a determination from XXXX to adjust the escrow payment. However, XXXX anticipated my first mortgage payment to be made in the XXXX of XXXX and consecutively for the following months. 

I spoke to XXXX representatives multiple times to understand how to best proceed with making payments while the escrow adjustment was still under investigation. I told the representatives that I did not feel comfortable making mortgage payments that were over what the loan amount actually was. I feared that I would not receive credit for the overpayment or that XXXX would not have any incentive to resolve the escrow adjustment since they would be profiting in my overpayment. 

The XXXX  representatives I spoke to all agreed that I should wait until the escrow was adjusted and that they would put " notes '' of my attempts to call to communicate with my lender when I could make a payment and to see if the escrow adjustment had been finalized. Finally, when the process seemed to be extending into XXXX, I spoke to a representative to express my frustration for the tedious process. He stated that the adjustment investigation was almost complete and that I would be safe to make a payment in XXXX. The XXXX  representative and I made a verbal agreement to pay all three months of the delayed payments in XXXX which was written in the " notes '' at which all XXXX representatives had access to and could refer to in regards to my account. 

Even though I do not have physical documentation of these " notes '' for my XXXX account, I know that they exist. All of my continued conversations with XXXX  representatives in regards to the late payment dispute, everyone has been able to refer back to this agreement to pay all three months in XXXX. Apparently my dispute against the late payment had been denied because XXXX claimed that they had resolved the adjustment on XX/XX/XXXX and attempted to contact me once to notify of the adjustment. In XXXX 's perspective, one attempted call was sufficient for notification and 5 days was enough time for me to turn around and prepare to pay. During this time I was completely unaware that XXXX had changed their stance in regards to payment, since ( per our agreement ) I was anticipating to pay in XXXX. 

I have honored and fulfilled every agreement I have had with XXXX. I payed all three months in XXXX as promised and have not made a late payment since XXXX. I find this highly unethical credit reporting. I have made every attempt to work with XXXX  and have only behaved in good faith with my mortgage lender to pay what I owe but only what I owe. 

I would like to emphasize to the CFPB that ( 1 ) XXXX  did not make any meaningful attempts to contact me in regards of my approved escrow adjustment. ( 2 ) XXXX  and i verbally agreed that I would make payment for all three months in lieu of the adjusted escrow in XXXX once it had been approved. ( 3 ) in the disputed month of XXXX ( which XXXX  reports I made a late payment ), XXXX states that they attempted to contact me on XX/XX/XXXX unsuccessfully and made no further attempts to notify me that the escrow had been adjusted and therefore expected for me to make a payment by XX/XX/XXXX. 

Ultimately, the notification for escrow adjustment or to make a payment was not conducted in good faith. XXXX 's claim that I had sufficient time to make payment in XXXX once the escrow had been adjusted is ludicrous and nefarious. I respectfully request that the CFPB assist in my attempts to seek relief from XXXX. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation