Consumer complaint received 2017-07-31
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA
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:
My Experian FICO score was XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX FICO score on XX/XX/XXXX. Let me start by saying I have never had a missed payment or late payment in my entire credit history. All my categories on credit reporting are Excellent with the exception of credit listed as good in spite of the fact I have XXXX debt and an excellent history over time of 100 % payment on time. I had about {$11000.00} in credit card debt which I was able to pay off ( XX/XX/XXXX ) on all 5 credit cards so that I had a XXXX balance. I had a {$26000.00} car loan from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX which I paid in full on XX/XX/XXXX and showed paid in full from the credit union on XX/XX/XXXX. My credit score from XXXX was XXXX. I called Experian to find out why my XXXX FICO score was XXXX points lower than XXXX. I have one derogatory medical on my credit report which I have disputed twice the last time in XX/XX/XXXX and it still remains on my report. It is due to fall off in XX/XX/XXXX. I refuse to pay something I dont owe just to try and get a better XXXX XXXX. I have contacted the debt collector and they do not want anything but the full amount with interest. In XX/XX/XXXX, Experian said my car loan from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX did not show being paid off. Experian stated it was a negative on my credit report because my debt to credit ratio was too high. Experian said once I paid off the car loan my score would go up. As I said above I paid off the entire car loan on XX/XX/XXXX. I purchased a new car with cash at the same time. For some reason the car dealership ran a credit check even though I paid cash. Since Experian told me the car loan had not been reported as paid off even though it had been more than 30 days I filed a dispute to get Experian to report the loan paid off. It took two weeks for Experian to finally show the loan had been paid off. Imagine my shock when Experian took XXXX points off my FICO score for paying off the car loan! I called Experian again to complain and was told it was a credit account that I closed so a deduction. Every other credit reporting agency increased my score when I paid off my car loan and credit card debt. I have 5 credit cards the newest I have had for at least 10 years. They have always been identified as credit cards by Experian until XX/XX/XXXX. Experian has reclassified 2 cards as retail cards for some inexplicable reason. This is a problem on my credit report because Experian claims I have too few credit cards which is a negative on my FICO score and credit report. The Experian website advertizes all sorts of credit cards to apply for as a way to increase my credit score. They advertize 34 different credit cards for me to apply for on their website! I feel my credit score is being held hostage to apply and purchase credit cards, memberships, or other financial products from Experian that may or may not cause my credit score to change. This is so wrong on so many levels. It seems like bribery and profit making for Experian without concern for their primary function of Fair credit  reporting for consumers. Another issue with Experian is they only update credit information every 30 days. They apparently choose the high balances for the month and report that in the monthly report. This is a problem because it does not reflect credit cards that are paid off each month without interest leaving a XXXX balance which is my common practice and that of many other consumers. On XX/XX/XXXX Experian attempted to charge my credit card {$19.00} for a membership. I was so disturbed by the differences in my Experian report and FICO score that I signed up in XX/XX/XXXX for a membership to be able to closely monitor my credit report and FICO score. The plan I signed up for was for {$4.00}. I called XX/XX/XXXX to complain and Experian told me that was an introductory offer with a reduced rate that went up to XXXX per month telling me it is clear in the agreement. Well its not clear at all. Their practice to lure consumers in is deliberately deceptive. I cancelled my agreement today. All through the month with all my calls to Experian to try to get my FICO score corrected, my credit cards restored to credit card status, the payoff of my car loan identified correctly to benefit my FICO score, every department I spoke to at Experian tells me they have nothing to do with the FICO score that its automatic and they can not address complaints, or make corrections. Experian also states they are unable to correct the way Experian identifies or changes the identification of credit cards at whim. They can do nothing the way paying off a car loan impacts the FICO score. Experian claims the only complaints or disputes they take are items listed on the credit report. Since credit agencies use Experian more than most they should have a process that is better than the other agencies not worse. My credit score was XXXX with XXXX last month. I applied for a new credit card on the advice of my personal banker and based on my credit score with XXXX. I was denied a credit card because of the Experians report and my FICO score. Because I appealed the decision I now have 2 requests for credit and 1 for the credit check by XXXX ( even though I paid cash for the new car ). Now 3 credit checks is listed as a derogatory on my Experian report. None of the other credit reporting agencies have these problems. The other agencys still report my XXXX credit cards as credit cards. Today my FICO score is XXXX with XXXX and still XXXX with Experian. Its a XXXX point difference. There is nothing on my credit report or my credit history that justified a XXXX point difference in my FICO score. Being listed as XXXX in 5 out of 6 reporting categories and showing below the national average with no debt is outrageous. As the primary credit reporting agency Experian should stop worrying about their sales of products and fulfill the job of a credit reporting agency fairly. From what I understood from Experian they have no control over their credit reporting agency, the policies and procedures of their agency, the credit reports they produce, or the FICO scores their agency produces that affect millions of consumers ability to get credit at fair rates based on their credit score and history.

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 non-monetary relief