Consumer complaint received 2019-07-10
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: CO
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:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I admitted to a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX facility. While in treatment, with no access to phone, mail, internet or other means of communication, a number of my accounts fell into delinquency. When nearing the completion of the program, I was granted access to email and collected mail that had been delivered between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. It was at this time that I was made aware of the accounts that I needed to rectify with each respective lender, financial institution or collection agency. When I completed and discharged from the program in XX/XX/XXXX, I began contacting each agency and corporation in an effort to pay off or settle all accounts that were in delinquency. I paid off the outstanding balances and settled all accounts within the first year of leaving treatment. 

One account, held by US Bank Corporation, was sold to a collection agency in early XXXX. A Notification was mailed to me ( Attachment 1 ), dated XX/XX/XXXX with a settlement proposal for an account with a balance of {$530.00}. Once able, I mailed the agreed upon amount in accordance with the Settlement Agreement with XXXX XXXX XXXX, the agent of US Bank Corporation, by mailed check, dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( Attachment 2 ). In a bank statement from Compass Bank, there was a successful deposit of that check on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( Attachment 3 ), effectively closing the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX AND US Bank Corporation as I had successfully met the terms of the Agreement. 

Then, on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, a DIFFERENT agency, XXXX, sent a Settlement Offer ( Attachment 4 ) for the SAME account I had settled with XXXX XXXX XXXX for a higher balance of {$670.00}. I alerted XXXX of the duplicate collection attempt in a letter dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. In the letter, I explained this account had been settled with XXXX  and US Bank set forth in the terms of the original settlement agreement. I also asked the harassing and intimidating calls to my parents ' telephone numbers cease immediately ( Attachment 5 ). XXXX replied by mail in a letter dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX confirming the account was closed and the information and my correspondence was sent back to US Bank ( Attachment 6 ). 

Throughout the next four and a half years, I have worked diligently to rebuild my credit. I have corrected the balances outstanding and the slow credit score improvement led me to assume I had cleared all bad debts and time alone would rectify my creditworthiness. During this time, I was denied lines of credit on multiple occasions as well as extensions of existing lines of credit. Again, I assumed this was the result of the not too distant history of my bad debt. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, my fiance and I decided we had worked on our credit where we might have the opportunity to buy a house. On XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, my potential mortgage lender had pulled a hard credit inquiry to assess my full credit report, and therefore my creditworthiness. It was at this time I learned that US Bank had marked this account as closed on XXXX XX/XX/XXXX yet had CONTINUED to report the closed account as a Charge-Off each and every month. At no point during this period was I notified of this balance by US Bank Corporation, as I had already settled the account with XXXX XXXX XXXX. My lender informed me that I would only qualify for housing loans that put purchasing a home out of reach. It was at this point that I reached out to XXXX XXXX XXXX to, once again, confirm this account had been closed after successful execution of the Settlement Agreement ( Attachment 7 ). 

When I called US Bank Customer Service to inquire about the duplicate account, I spoke with an agent on the phone who, also, could not determine why the charge was reporting. She initiated an internal dispute and gave me a different department to contact. When I called the next number, a different agent verified my information and pulled up my account information. When I asked HOW the account still showed an outstanding balance, she said she thought US Bank reported the charge off after the account was sold to XXXX XXXX. When I questioned the change in the amount, from {$530.00} to {$670.00}, she explained the common practice of selling debt for less than the full amount and that XXXX purchased the account for {$530.00}, while XXXX had purchased the account for the full original balance. She pointed me to the Recoveries Department. 

When I finally reached someone in Recoveries, an agent, XXXX, told me that ALL the information I have received is incorrect, that the account still had an outstanding balance. When I pointed to the documentation from XXXX XXXX XXXX, she told me that, no I had not paid. The account was sent back to US Bank from XXXX. I asked again about the monies I paid to XXXX XXXX XXXX to settle this account and was told there was never any report of THIS account being paid. I was asked if I wanted to settle, and I said I would be interested to learn more about how to correct the information on my credit report. 

I called back the next morning and spoke with XXXX again. After I had looked through the account documents, I told her that I was no longer looking to settle, as I had ALREADY settled the account. The reply I received was that she was marking my account with a refusal to pay. At this point I thanked her for her time but asked if I might speak to a manager or supervisor. She transferred me to her manager XXXX, who did not answer the call. I left a message with a summary of the situation. I never received any further communication from either XXXX or XXXX. I emphasized in a follow-up email that I was not refusing to pay but I had ALREADY paid to close the account. 

Not only was there a duplicate amount that I am being held responsible for, but the Charge-Off is reporting every month as a derogatory mark to all three of the major Credit Bureaus. From both a credit analyst at what would have been my mortgage lender, to the credit bureau information sites, a Charge Off removes the account from financial books so there is no longer any account to settle, duplicate or not. XXXX told me that they had purchased the debt BACK from XXXX but in this case, it is my right as a consumer to be notified of this new account number they would have to open, and the balance they were claiming I owe. 

As the direct result of US Bank Corporation actions, I have experienced substantial financial hardship in accessing financing and now am unable to find affordable access to housing loans. 

There are multiple issues on my credit report, all of which were disregarded entirely by the representative of US Bank. The Charge-Off closed the account and removed the balance from US Bank. 

1. The closed account CONTINUED reporting negatively to my credit from US Bank.

2. This account was SETTLED with XXXX XXXX then sold AGAIN to XXXX. 
3. These derogatory marks were made for FIVE YEARS with no efforts to notify me. 
4. The MULTIPLE points of error on my credit report were not acknowledged.

5. The documentation evidencing the account had been paid was entirely disregarded.

6. The efforts to resolve the errors has been met with ZERO contact from US Bank. 
7. The US Bank reaction to documentation of the account settlement is " refusal to pay ''. 
8. The erroneous reports cause financial hardship for an account I SETTLED in XXXX. 
9. The US Bank representatives each gave different interpretations of the information.

10. I am being held responsible for this account TWICE, it was sold to TWO agencies.

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