Consumer complaint received 2021-06-09
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
While suffering from XXXX, a family member made a payment on from my account to pay my XXXX XXXX Account ending XXXX in XXXX of XXXX which did not clear my account because the family member was unaware I had recently changed banks. As a result of this returned payment, XXXX XXXX XXXX closed my account and removed all online access including the ability to make payments to the account. Unable to either talk on the phone and temporarily unable to get mail as I recovered, I was unaware the account had been closed and online access removed. My other credit one account and all other accounts I maintain were paid, only the XXXX XXXX account to which I no longer had any online access was affected. 

Unaware of the account closure and still recovering from XXXX, I paid all my bills online in both XXXX and XXXX. In XX/XX/XXXX, I realized the XXXXt XXXX Account ending XXXX had not been paid and I contacted XXXX XXXX to find out why I no longer had online access and to make arrangements to pay the bill. Unwilling to work with me in any way, even though I shared with multiple representatives my issues with XXXX, the cold hearted people of XXXX XXXX XXXX told me there was nothing they were willing to do to help resolve the two missed payments resulting in a 30 and 60 day lates being reported to the credit bureaus in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX XXXX XXXX and asked to pay the account in full and asked for the payoff balance of XXXX} which I paid with the phone representative at the time. I was not advised there would be additional charges to the account and since I had asked to pay the balance in full and requested the payoff amount, I had assumed the XXXX} had accomplished this payoff. 

Like many Americans, I pay all of my bills online and review my bills monthly online and make payments accordingly. Despite requesting the payoff balance and thinking I had already received and paid the full balance on the account, XXXX XXXX XXXX  added additional charges of XXXX to my account. Whether a letter was sent or not, unaccustomed to looking at mail since I access all of my accounts online, I did not think to go through the extra effort to look at any correspondence from XXXX XXXX XXXX who had already slighted me by closing my account while I was recovering from XXXX. 

In XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX  reported my account as 30 days delinquent to the credit bureaus because I had not paid the additional {$9.00} in charges by the due date. I still had no online access to the account. Upon contacting XXXX XXXX XXXX, I learned that not only one but 2 late fees in excess of {$15.00} had been applied to the account and would be reported to the credit bureaus as late, due to this remaining {$9.00} in interest charges. 

Although XXXX XXXX XXXX did remove the late fees, I was told there was nothing they would do to remove this additional negative reporting to the Credit Bureaus. I paid the Full Balance again as I thought I had previously in the amount of XXXX. I asked XXXX XXXX XXXX to again remove the negative reporting they are so eager to report on this closed account again. Each call to XXXX XXXX XXXX has been 1 hour or more as I have to explain and reexplain the issues on the account to 5-6 people as I am passed around agents from XXXX, then transferred on shore, passed around and usually having to speak to 2 supervisors and often 1-2 managers, none of which are empowered to resolve the myriad of issues on the account. 

After speaking with a manager yesterday XX/XX/XXXX my call was dropped. I have no assurance the recent late payments reported to the credit bureaus as late resulting from the {$9.00} in charges that were applied after what I believed was the Payoff Amount or Full Balance on the Account as I had requested when I paid the account in Full in XXXX of XXXX after XXXX XXXX had closed the account and removed all online access to the account. 

Not once during the period was any other credit card I maintain late including my other XXXX XXXX Account. XXXX XXXX XXXX most recent reporting of 30 day and 60 day late payments to all three credit bureaus, has caused my credit score to again drop 35-50 points. This on an account I had paid in full at the time I became aware the account was in any way delinquent. 

The otherwise good people of XXXX XXXX XXXX  are not empowered to help customers like me affected by XXXX and are unwilling to take into account how the pandemic directly affected me and my ability to resolve the payoff of my XXXX XXXX XXXX account, which I previously believed I had paid in full, since that is what I had requested. Despite the CARES ACT, its vague language, allowed XXXX XXXX to close my account and report my account as late although I was directly affected by XXXX and the issues on the account stemmed directly from XXXX 

I have spent what seems like days on the phone to try to resolve these issues, written numerous complaints, yet XXXX XXXX XXXX, is unwilling to entertain reinstating the account, removing any of the late reporting that resulted from their removal of online access reported in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. Now adding 30 and 60 day late reporting for XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX over a XXXX} balance they did not tell me about when I asked for the balance in full and payoff amount. 

The initial 25-50 point credit score drop from the reporting of lates in XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX saw an additional 25-50 point drop in XX/XX/XXXX due to the additional late being reported to the bureaus. XXXX XXXX XXXX does not have an internal process that I can find or anyone empowered to help customers like me who were directly affected by XXXX. They appear to be more interested in maintaining negative credit reporting and creating additional negative reporting which has already affected me by being denied a lease for a house and excessive security deposit on an apartment due to the most recent gaff created by their failure to provide the full balance or payoff amount as requested in XXXX of XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation