Consumer complaint received 2021-09-09
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Unable to get your credit report or credit score
Sub-issue: Problem getting your free annual credit report

Complaint:
I request my annual credit report from XXXX every four months. I request this report from just one of the three credit reporting agencies at a time. Therefore, at least one year has elapsed before I will request a report from the same agency. 

Prior to XXXX, I never had a problem obtaining my annual credit report online from all three credit reporting agencies. However, beginning in XXXX, one credit reporting agency would not show me my annual credit report online. Instead, I received an error message from this one agency saying a condition prevented them from showing my my annual credit report online. 

So for 4 years in a row, I had to use the phone number for XXXX XXXX XXXX, and called XXXX XXXX XXXX, and requested by phone my annual credit report from this one credit reporting agency only.

After experiencing this same error message from this same credit reporting agency for 4 years in a row, and after requesting my annual credit report by phone for four years in a row from this one agency only, I decided to write this agency a letter. The credit reporting agency I am referring to is Experian. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent Experian a letter, that I have attached. To summarize the letter, I told Experian they have prevented me from accessing my annual credit report online for four years in a row.

I told Experian that the two other credit reporting agencies, XXXX and XXXX, both let me view and print my annual credit report online every year from the XXXX website, and that Experian was the only credit reporting agency that does not allow me to view my credit report online. 
I asked Experian how can such a condition that prevents me from viewing my annual credit report online exist for four years in a row, without them fixing this condition, and without them notifying me about it. 
I asked Experian what is the legal rationale for preventing me from viewing my annual credit report online through the XXXX website. 
I told Experian that I wanted a written response to the letter I sent them. 
I attached to my XX/XX/XXXX letter to Experian a screenshot of the error message that I have received from Experian for the past four years in a row. 

Despite these efforts on my part, Experian never answered or acknowledged my letter. 

Instead, they sent me a duplicate credit report. In other words, they sent me the credit report I requested by phone from XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( requested by phone because Experian prevented me from accessing this same report online ), and then they sent me this exact same credit report approximately two weeks later, in response to the letter I have attached to this complaint. 

Needless to say, a duplicate credit report does not answer the questions in the letter I sent to Experian on XX/XX/XXXX Its bad enough that when I called Experian on XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving the same error message four years in a row, it was absolutely impossible to talk to a live person. Which is why I sent them the attached letter. But Experian apparently does not stop at not allowing you to talk to them by phone, and they have extend this policy by ignoring, and not responding, to written communication sent to them.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief