Consumer complaint received 2023-11-06
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX called us on our landline, ( XXXX ) XXXX, and my husband, XXXX XXXX, answered. My husband recalls that a XXXX employee XXXX told him that we had not made our XX/XX/XXXX payment. My husband explained to XXXX that we had set up AutoPay when we first refinanced with them in XXXX, XXXX and it has been in place since XXXX, XXXX and was to continue until the loan was paid in full. XXXX did some research and said he didnt know why this happened but an AutoPay agreement was not on file. He said we would have to make two payments immediately which we did ( confirmation # XXXX ) .He also said we would have to set up a new AutoPay agreement. XXXX could not explain why this happened but he told us to check with XXXX XXXX. We called XXXX XXXX and they said that the reason the payment wasnt made was because a debit wasnt requested by XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX said he would send out a new ACH set up form. We asked if we would be billed a late fee and my husband was told no. We assumed we were not charged a late fee because the failure to debit our account was not our fault. We also asked if this would affect our credit rating and were told no. The new XXXX form was emailed to us. We completed it and submitted it to XXXX specifying that the mortgage payment of {$1400.00} plus an additional principal amount of {$43.00} would be debited from our checking account on the XXXX of each month starting XX/XX/XXXX. We assumed the issue was resolved. 

On XX/XX/XXXX we received a certified letter from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that our loan was delinquent and in danger of being foreclosed. We immediately called XXXX and were connected with a person XXXX. We explained that we received this certified letter and we were confused because we thought the issue was resolved. She did research and told us it was resolved and we got the certified letter because the letters are sent out as soon as the payment is late. We asked her if a report was made to the credit rating bureau and she said no. We asked her to check this out to confirm what she just told me and she put us on hold and checked. When she returned, she said that there was no negative report made in XXXX records. I asked her to confirm that in writing and she said she would and we would get a letter confirming that assurance. 

We subsequently received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX stating that XXXX had received our inquiry and they had determined that Our records indicate that the XXXX, XXXX payment was paid on XX/XX/XXXX : therefore we have determined that a credit correction was not necessary at this time. We thought that the credit correction was a report to Experian and assumed that this letter confirmed what XXXX told us during our phone call on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I was looking at our XXXX XXXX bank statement and checked the Experian credit rating. It said that it had dropped XXXX points from XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I looked into the detail and XXXX had reported one 30+ day late payment. I was understandably upset as I thought we had been assured that there would not be a negative credit report submitted by XXXX. 

I then called XXXX and spoke with Customer Service, they transferred me to the Escalation department. I was connected with XXXX. I explained to XXXX that XXXX had sent a negative report to Experian after I had been told they wouldnt. He put me on hold and then came back on the line and said that the XXXX payment wasnt made until XX/XX/XXXX and therefore it was reported. I explained what I had been told on XX/XX/XXXX by XXXX and he said he didnt care what XXXX had told me : she was in error and we were in the wrong so the late payment was reported. He said the XXXX is required by law to report all late payments. He then went on to say that XXXX would be coached in her error and it was a learning opportunity for her. I said that doesnt help us. When I asked why the payment was not requested by XXXX in XXXX, XXXX stated he didnt know but we must have stated on our original AutoPay set up in XXXX, XXXX that we wanted it to only be in place for 36 months. He said that I started the call saying thats what happened. I said I did not-that was crazy and why would we set up AutoPay for only 36 months on a 30 year loan. He stated he didnt know why but we must have done that. I said we did NOT do that and he said we had to have done that because XXXX did not. I said that I wanted a copy of that original AutoPay request made online and he said that XXXX doesnt keep records of anything entered online ; they wipe those records. I said then its your word against mine and he said thats right. 

When I asked him why XXXX didnt call us to discuss this ; he said they did call and no one answered the phone. He did not tell me that those calls are made by an autodialer, not a human being. I asked what number they called and he said ( XXXX ) XXXX. I said that was our landline number and he said that was the only number they had. He also said that no one answered the phone on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. I asked why no message was left and he said that our answering machine must have been turned off. I said that our phone line has an answering service provided by our phone provider and it wasnt turned off- we always get messages left on our landline. I then gave him our cell phone numbers to put in our record so in the future they will contact us on our mobile phones. I asked him to delete the ( XXXX ) XXXX landline number because if we are not home we always carry our cell phones and I get missed call notifications. I also said we always check our landline messages because the phone has screen that tells us if we have a message. I didnt understand why XXXX wouldnt have left a message. 

He then said that XXXX received two calls from my husband : one on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX where my husband requested assistance accessing the XXXX online portal. XXXX said my husband was so confused that he cancelled the ACH agreement. I said that that doesnt make any sense and I want a record of the activity made online in XXXX and a record of what was changed ( if anything ) on the online portal. XXXX said that XXXX has no access to what a customer does on the online portal ; they dont keep records. I said that I would have expected a confirmation of any changes to the AutoPay agreement and XXXX said they dont do that because XXXX has no record of what is done online. I asked XXXX how I could make a complaint and he said go on XXXX and write a review. He then said he would love to help us if XXXX was at fault, but they werent at fault ; we did not make the XX/XX/XXXX payment on time. I asked who else I could talk to and he said that I could talk to a manager but, unfortunately, no one is available. I asked who is the next person in the chain of command that I could talk to and he said he didnt know but maybe a vice-president. I said that I would start with a manager. He said someone would call me back by close of business on XXXX. 

During the call he kept going back to check the transcript of the calls made to XXXX. I asked him for a copy of the transcript of those calls and he said I couldnt have a one. I asked why not and he said the transcripts are XXXX property. I asked how I could get a transcript and he said get a summons. I asked him what my options were. He said :1 ) Prove XXXX is wrong 2 ) Contact Experian, etc and ask them to change my rating or 3 ) Hire a credit repair company. He then told me that I could hire a credit repair company if I wanted our credit rating cleared and said his father-in-law or father just had that done and it wasnt cheap. That seemed very strange for him to suggest that to me. 

I found his tone during this call to be condescending, ageist and insulting ; especially the comments about my husband being confused and cancelling the AutoPay. I said I didnt believe that XXXX doesnt have a record of what is done in their online portal. 

On Weds. XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX again to discuss the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX which we thought meant that XXXX would not file a negative report with the credit rating agency. I was once again transferred to the Escalation department. An employee XXXX came on the line and I asked to speak to XXXX. She said XXXX could not talk to me and how could she help me? I said I was waiting for a call back from the manager and I wanted to clarify what the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX meant. I asked her to look at the XX/XX/XXXX letter. She didnt seem to know what I was talking about. I dont know if she found the letter in my file but she asked what it said and who signed it. I said that XXXX XXXX signed it and read her the section that stated Our records indicate that the XX/XX/XXXX payment was paid on XX/XX/XXXX ; therefore we have determined that a credit correction is not necessary at this time. I said that we understood that it meant that we would not be reported to Experian. She said we were mistaken ; the wording actually meant that XXXX was correct and they would NOT reverse the negative report. I told her that the wording was very confusing. I asked again to talk to a manager and she said that the manager was in a meeting and couldnt speak to me. 

I then asked her for the dates and times that XXXX called us regarding the XXXX, XXXX payment. She gave me this information : XX/XX/XXXX at XXXXXXXX XXXX ; XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX ; XX/XX/XXXX XXXX at XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX. She confirmed that we did answer the phone on XX/XX/XXXX. I said that we werent at home for the first 4 calls or we would have picked up the phone. I asked again why XXXX didnt leave a message on the answering machine and she said the calls are made by an autodialer and if no one picks up, the machine just goes on to the next number to be called and DOES NOT leave messages. I told her that makes no sense. She said when someone answers the phone, then and only then is the call transferred to a live person. I asked why XXXX didnt send us an email and she said that sending an email in the case of late payments is NOT XXXX policy. I told her what XXXX had told me regarding the fact that there is no record made of what is done on the online portal. I said if there is no record how can she say that we cancelled the XXXX. She said XXXX didnt cancel it so we must have cancelled it. I said tech errors are made by companies all the time and she said she was not aware of XXXX ever making an error with late payments. I then said it sounds like a XXXX is going to tell me the same thing that XXXX and she told me. She then said Thank you for calling XXXX and have a great day I replied that she shouldnt say that as XXXX not going to have a great day. 

After I got off the phone, I went through my husbands inbox and there was a confirmation of the XXXX set up in XX/XX/XXXX ( sent by email ) and it stated that The start date was XX/XX/XXXX and the XXXX was to continue until the loan was paid in full. This is contrary to what XXXX told me ; that we set the original autopay arrangement to end after 3 years. 

I find it ludicrous that XXXX XXXX1 ) Uses an autodialer that will not leave a message on an answering machine when the phone wasnt answered ; 2 ) Keeps no records of changes made on their website portal, 3 ) Does not stand behind what was told us by two of their employees ; 4 ) Does not try to email a customer when the phone isnt answered ; 4 ) Contradicts itself by stating that there will be a possibility of negative reporting in the XX/XX/XXXX letter to me yet XXXX stated they HAD to report the late payment inferring that they had NO choice. 

We are very upset that our almost perfect credit rating was so negatively impacted by this event.

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 explanation