Consumer complaint received 2019-10-09
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: OH
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: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
I wrote this to XXXX and it explains what happened with my student loans and credit score. They have ignored this and all of my phone calls to fix my credit score. There are pictures of my accounts attached to this but I am not sure if they will work or not. If you would like the original letter, I can provide that. 

The password to the document is XXXX Hello, my name is XXXX XXXX. I was previously a student at the XXXX XXXX XXXX in Ohio. I started in XXXX with the hopes of getting a college degree so that I could join the professional workforce. I chose to get federal student loans from your company, XXXX, because it was the most financially responsible decision to make for myself. 
Fast forward a few years and after being told over and over and over that you have 6 months after you graduate to start paying on your loans because sometimes it takes time to find a job after you graduate. This brings me to my current issue ; since I was being told this over and over and over, I thought I would not have to pay on my loans until 6 months after I graduated. I was still enrolled in the University because I had to complete my degree in XXXX. Due to the nature of my degree and the universitys scheduling, sometimes I was not able to attend full time. I was not going to spend more money for nonsense classes that did not pertain to my degree just to be full time. During this time, I was also working at XXXX XXXX full time and living on my own. I then got recruited by XXXX XXXX XXXX   and moved to working for them full time, all while still attending school. During my last semester at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX fall XXXX XXXX, I was getting contacted by XXXX that my student loans were due. I was confused because I still had not even graduated yet. 
After being harassed for money even though I was still taking loans out to continue my education, I unfortunately was laid off from my job at XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. I was again contacted by someone from XXXX requesting that I pay towards my loans. I told them that I was still in school and was not able to pay at all currently because I had been unemployed. The employee then explained to me I could do some sort of income driven program and that it would be good for 6 months until after I graduated. I talked to a student advisor from the XXXX XXXX XXXX and they said that it is true, I have 6 months after I graduate from the XXXX XXXX XXXX to pay off my student loans. Again, this was weird because XXXX had on record that I was no longer attending the XXXX  XXXX XXXX according to an employee of XXXX. Nonetheless, I submitted the forms necessary for the XXXX plan at XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. 
I had not heard back from XXXX for a while, so I assumed all was fine with my standing on my loan repayment. I then graduated in XXXX of XXXX from the University XXXX XXXX with a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in Information Systems Management. All was well for me because I started a new job in XXXX and was looking to start my professional career out in the world and be able to enjoy my life. Then XXXX day in XXXX I got an email saying, your loans are 120 days overdue which was weird because I had 6 months after I graduated to pay them. This meant I had to start paying in XXXX and I even logged into my account and created an auto-pay function so that I would not have to worry about signing in every month and doing it manually. After deciphering the email saying I was behind, I gladly paid the overdue loans off for all the subsequent months that I had missed. 
This is when it takes a massive turn for me personally. I had no problem paying that massive amount off and I figured that there may have been some miscommunication somewhere throughout the 6 years I attended college. But then I get a statement about my personal credit info ; I had been hit with a XXXX days late on all my loans. Since they are all separate for some reason, it showed that I was that late on all accounts. This destroyed my credit. I went from in the mid XXXX down to below XXXX. That is extremely detrimental to someone who just started making a good living and is looking to buy a car, purchase a home, and contribute to the United States economy. 
Now that the story has been told from my end I can get to the issue. I am writing this because that is what your website told me to do : As you can see, I believe this is some sort of error on my credit account. I called XXXX as soon as I found out about the destructive credit hit and the young man on the phone told me there is nothing I can do to help, just pay on your loans and your credit will go up. I believed him and it has been a few months of me paying on my loans on early every single month. Turns out that my credit has not moved and went down some. I have never had a single issue with paying any sort of loans, credit cards, or other payment options off and my profile shows that. 
I am asking someone to do the right thing in this case. Regardless of the issues that happened in the beginning of my loan repayment process, please take a look at my account and you will see that I paid off that massive balance that said I was late and that I pay on my loans every single month. I called into XXXX and spoke to someone about this and was given no positive reassurance that something may be done. They told me they can not get rid of this mark for some reason, but XXXX is the one that told the credit report companies that I did not pay off in time. Due to this report on my credit, I am unable to apply for a mortgage on a home with a reasonable interest rate, apply for a loan on a car now that I have a steady and livable income, and I also can not just enjoy my life with this disgusting derogatory mark on my name. 
I will provide documentation of most of what I am referring to previously. Also, I went through a name change during my first year of college and XXXX still has my old last name on file and will not let me change it. Old name : XXXX XXXX. New name : XXXX XXXX. Navient account number : XXXX. Home address : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Ohio XXXX. Cell number : XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX XXXX. 




















































































































If any more information is needed in regard to this manner, please reach out to me via email or phone call. My emails are XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, or XXXX I can be reached at any of those. I understand that XXXX can not change my credit score, but you can provide a courtesy retraction to consumer reporting agencies :

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation