Consumer complaint received 2022-02-17
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: FL
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:
Last year Experian was paid to promote a back called XXXX XXXX XXXX. Im extremely upset now that I notice a disclaimer and did not when I applied for this credit card Experian recommended on their credit card referral page suggesting the credit card would help me build credit as I was trying to buy a home. It may have been there in hard to see fine print but I did not notice the disclaimer at all when Experian recommended them and I trusted Experian strictly because they are a credit Bureau. So anyway I applied for this bank and got approved and after doing some research when I ran into some trouble with them I realize they have been in multiple litigations for fraud and that they were in fact frauding me. For example since XXXX they added fees and charges at the last minute to max out my card for transactions I did not process as well as when I reported three fraudulent transactions to XXXX XXXX XXXX they said they started the open claims on all three and they refunded one of the transactions and canceled my card then they refunded a partial of one of the other two leftover transactions but not the full amount so when I called them they told me that they didnt even see that claim and that there was only one fraudulent transaction reported when I had called multiple times to report three and they confirmed there were three reported. After going back-and-forth with them for weeks they refunded the transactions that were fraudulent sent me a new card and then re-added the fraudulent charges back on my new card at the end of the billing cycle and then charged me a over credit limit fee and late fee. This is one of the most fraudulent banks I have ever noticed when it comes to credit cards and the fact that Experian even recommends them is beyond me and Im surprised the government hasnt done something about it yet regardless of any disclaimer why would a credit bureau recommend a shady bank just because they are paid When the goal is supposed to be help the customer repair and build credit. Anyway during all these fraudulent disputes and charges cXXXX XXXXXXXX said they would not report the balance with the fraudulent charges included but they did just that and maxed out my card above the responsible use I have had for over a year with them and since they maxed out my card during the dispute that has still taken over three months to this day and is in litigation with the lawyer I hired they are still reporting the fraudulent charges illegal late fees and max balance on my credit card which has greatly impacted my credit and cost me the ability to buy a home that I had worked for several years to build up as well as cost me the ability to get emergency loans to save my business due to the loss of Covid and the effect it had on us. I have had to lose my comfortable lending partner for my auto loans and trade down on a vehicle just to try to get a home and the vehicle was the last thing I had to keep my business going and as XXXX XXXX and Experian continues to report an incorrect fraudulent banks credit card balance after I specifically kept them updated for the last couple of months this impact has affected me financially in a way that could cause me to be homeless and I am a 100 % XXXX veteran that has worked over several years to repair my credit. Im not just upset with XXXX XXXXXXXX the fact again that Experian credit bureau referred such a shady bank when they have knowledge of the legal issues they are under is really upsetting that a credit bureau would recommend to a customer trying to build credit and paying them for monitoring such a shady bank that would destroy their credit and put them in a homeless situation. Weather they have a disclaimer or not XXXX cant stress enough that they are a credit bureau and people trust them simply based on that fact and Im more than confident they understand that people might not look for their fine print disclaimer stating that those companies are not trusted banks and that they were paid by those banks to refer them because what the customer sees is a credit bureau recommending them a credit card that could help them when in fact it ruins them. I have had several hard inquiries each month over the last couple of months more inquiries than I would have needed to get approved if credit XXXX had not done what they have done to me so now I have a bunch of hard inquiries on my credit costing me the ability to get even emergency relief financial assistance and loans due to the situation XXXX XXXXXXXX Bank put me in in the reporting shown by Experian. Experian needs to remove all of the hard inquiries from my report once they investigate what XXXX XXXX dead and resort back to the positive credit score I had before they took me down over 50 points since XXXX while I am in litigation with XXXX XXXX bank constantly reporting a debt in over paid card usage that I am not responsible for legally and that I have proven is incorrect. I will not be paying XXXX XXXXXXXX for any balance even though I still owed less than 50 % of my car usage as I maintained for over a year to obviously build my credit. After the fraudulent Charges late fees and illegal practices taken by XXXX  XXXX Bank it has caused me to look like I am over spending on my credit limit when I was in good standing and preapproved for a home and personal loan that I am now denied for as well as several other lenders showing hard inquiries again more than would have been required if the incorrect data was not reported so all of those inquiries were made based off of incorrect data and were denied and it not only put me in extreme financial hardship but cost me a home at a critical time for a XXXX veteran like myself with the housing market constantly rising in the interest rates rising in Florida when I couldve already been in a home by the end of the month.

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