Consumer complaint received 2018-11-07
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NY
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: Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone

Complaint:
I recently consolidated my student loans through XXXX  XXXX, paid off my credit cards and I have been closely monitoring how this information was/is reported on my credit reports. 

Some of the former student loan companies, wrote to and confirmed that they were no longer servicing my student loans, confirmed the amount paid to them by XXXX XXXX   and also verified that I had a zero balance on my accounts. 

While checking my credit reports, I noticed that the credit reporting agencies were erroneously reporting the account - either as partially paid, accounts still in forbearance or reflecting a balance owed on the account. 

Based on that, I began to dispute the erroneous reporting on my credit reports for student loan accounts - including a delinquency status on an account through XXXX XXXX XXXX - reported ( according to Equifax ) in XX/XX/XXXX however, the bank confirmed that that account was paid and closed in XX/XX/XXXX - two years prior. 

There was a statement on my Equifax report that said that they were not going to investigate the reporting with XXXX XXXX XXXX as they had previously done this. 

I was surprise to read this statement given that a company that I had previously retained to handle and dispute issues with credit agencies - I ended that partnership with them in XX/XX/XXXX. 

And, even if the matter was disputed in XX/XX/XXXX - I advised the credit bureau that it was impossible for XXXX XXXX XXXX to report this as delinquent in XX/XX/XXXX - since the account was effectively paid off in XX/XX/XXXX ( two years prior ). 

The reporting dispute with XXXX XXXX XXXX, plus my concerns regarding accurate balance on each of my student loan accounts, plus a collection notice that was placed on my file by XXXX XXXX - led me to file a complaint with the CFPB. 

I was even more surprised to get the attached letters from Equifax in which they appear to state that they are investigating my concern however they failed - in their letter, to describe the specific item that I am disputing. 

Even more troublesome was the fact that I got an alert advising me that Equifax dropped my credit score by 37 points. 

I called Equifax in an effort to find out why - and their representative advised me that NO ONE AT EQUIFAX WOULD DISCUSS WITH ME THE SPECIFICS REGARDING CREDIT SCORES. 

Instead, she said that they sell a product that provides general information about credit score ( for XXXX ) and it would help me understand how to recover those 37 points over a period of time. 

That explanation was/is unacceptable. 

They are a credit reporting agency and if they are affixing a score to a consumer 's report, they should be able to adequately respond to any inquiries that a consumer may have regarding their score and what led to this sudden drop. 

Equally, they should be able to respond in a timely manner regarding adjusted balances when a consumer disputes an error on their credit report. 

By not doing this and leaving the consumer to try and figure out for themselves the root-cause of why their score may have dropped - in a setting in which the consumer is disputing irregularities on their credit report, appears to be punitive on the part of Equifax. 

To date, I have no idea why my scores dropped - knowing that my student loans were consolidated, knowing that I paid off my credit cards. 

Further, Equifax and none of the other Bureaus provide any disclaimer notices advising consumers that if an item is disputed ( or found to be accurate after they follow-through on a consumer dispute ) that a consumer credit rating / score could potentially drop. Nothing at all. 

As such, I am turning to you for help as I firmly believe that the actions taken by Equifax are irresponsible and they should he held accountable for their action - what's done to me and perhaps to many other consumers. 

Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation