Consumer complaint received 2018-12-05
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
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:
I demand the immediate removal of the following accounts from my credit report on the legal grounds that the original creditor has closed. The accounts are : XXXX ( XXXX  ), XXXX ( XXXX ), XXXX ( XXXX ), XXXX ( XXXX ). I demand the removal of all XXXX and XXXX accounts. XXXX and XXXX are the same company. On XX/XX/2018 I received a letter stating that these are all accounts associated with XXXXXXXX showing they are in fact the same company. This letter was in response to my demand for proof of liability. XXXX XXXX " proof '' was to send me the promissory notes that were signed with The XXXX XXXX of Colorado. In XX/XX/2018 the local news began reporting that The XXXX XXXX of Colorado would soon be closing. In XX/XX/2018 the local news reported The XXXX XXXX of Colorado officially closed. As such, I am no longer legally liable for any debts incurred, as the original creditor, The XXXX XXXX of Colorado, with which the contracts were signed, has closed. In fact, the building is being demolished. In XX/XX/2011 The US Department of Justice sued The XXXX XXXX XXXX parent company The XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX for {$11.00} billion in fraud. XXXX XXXX XXXX The government 's case alleged XXXX was paying its admissions representatives a commission based on the number of students they enrolled. It also claimed that XXXX was deliberately targeting low income and minority students. This was exactly my experience. The admissions representative XXXX XXXX, would do anything to get me to enroll. Including, lying to both my parents and I about my employment and salary prospects upon graduation. XXXX XXXX falsely claimed that students with only an Associates Degree could easily make " on average '' anywhere from {$75.00} thousand to {$100.00} thousand dollars a year. He stated a BA was not necessary and even that a Graduate degree was not necessary to earn this type of salary. In addition, the school had an open enrollment policy. No consideration was taken of previous academic performance and even though it was an Art school we were not required to submit any type of portfolio or demonstrate any type of creative ability in any way whatever. We were definitely targeted because I am a XXXX XXXX XXXX and because my family was poor. Neither of my parents graduated high school. In fact, I had to tutor them for their GED test when I was only XXXX years old. None of us understood the difference between a private for-profit college, a private nonprofit college, or a public college or university. We, like all of the students at XXXX schools, were swindled. In addition, XXXXThe XXXX XXXX financial aid representatives lied to students falsely claiming that we had to take out private student loans with XXXX ( now XXXX ) because we did not qualify for federal student aid. This was of course a bald-faced lie. In my own case, I was told by the financial aid officer XXXX XXXX to borrow the whole amount and " live off the student loan refund '' I had no idea what this meant, nor its financial implications and I had no one who could advise me otherwise. In my final year I was told by the financial aid office and XXXX XXXX that I was " out of money '' and that if I wanted to complete my degree I would have to pay out of pocket. I ended up maxing out a credit card with a {$2000.00} thousand dollar limit that resulted in a judgment against me which stayed on my credit report for the next seven years. Even after maxing out the credit card I still had to borrow money from my parents. Finally, XXXX XXXX and The XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX financial aid office told me I " must '' take out a loan with XXXX ( now XXXX ) in order to pay the rest of the cost of my education. At the time I was struggling with legally diagnosed disabilities and was not mentally competent to enter into any type of legal contract. Furthermore, I entered the contract under false pretenses and signed it under duress. It is therefore a legal nullity. Because of the extraordinarily unequal bargaining power, the contract is also legally unconscionable and therefore legally unenforceable. Regardless, as of XX/XX/2018, the original creditor, The XXXX XXXX of Colorado, with which the contracts were signed, has closed. This fact alone releases me from any and all legal liability for these falsely alleged debts. Now, one would think that an {$11.00} billion dollar lawsuit might motivate XXXX to change its evil ways. Instead, XXXX got away with a slap on the wrist. In XX/XX/2015 the government settled for a paltry sum of {$95.00} million. No student borrowers were compensated, XXXX refused to admit any wrongdoing, and refused to discharge the debts of any students who attended prior to XX/XX/2006. XXXX XXXX XXXXand Therefore, XXXXThe XXXX XXXX XXXX fraudulent conduct continued unabated until this very year. The paltry XX/XX/2015 settled resulted in The XXXX XXXX XXXX filing suit against the US DOJ in XX/XX/2017. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX The XXXX has demanded the release of the case files from the XX/XX/2015 settlement. They were awarded the files under a FOIA request, but unsurprisingly XXXX XXXX   ( aka XXXX XXXX ) US DOJ has refused to comply in direct violation of a federal court order. So, finally, in XX/XX/2017 XXXX decided to ditch its for-profit college scam in a shady {$60.00} million dollar deal with a faux religious " charity '' called The XXXX XXXX. A new company was formed called " The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX '' XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX This is infuriating considering that all the students who were harmed are barred from claiming bankruptcy on our student loans. Soon after, all of The XXXX XXXX Campuses start falling like dominoes. They close one after another. In XX/XX/2018, the XXXX XXXX of Colorado closed releasing me from any liability. I can not begin to describe the substandard " education '' at this so-called school. All the teachers were jaded, they hated their jobs, had bad attitudes, and took it out on the students. Students constantly complained that the instructors did not know how to use the software they were supposed to be teaching us how to use. We also learned that the school did not have the correct accreditation. Therefore, any credits we had earned were not transferable to other schools should we decide to leave. We were stuck. We had to complete our degrees there rather than start completely over with our undergraduate education somewhere else. Then, once completed, we weren't certain we could go on to Graduate school because our degrees were essentially worthless. XXXX XXXX XXXX I did not get the promised return on my investment and therefore will not pay another dime. Frequently, teachers told me things like, " I feel sorry for people who go to The XXXX XXXX. They also told me, " You are way too smart for this school. '' Meanwhile, XXXX has harassed my parents and I for the last 15 years over these falsely alleged debts. XXXX has repeatedly falsely reported my accounts as delinquent, when in fact I have been relieved of all liability due to the school 's closure. In addition, XXXX has repeatedly threatened legal action and repeatedly falsely stated my accounts would soon default. When, in fact, a student loan account is not in default by law until after 270 days of nonpayment. I have attached a long record of XXXX XXXX fraudulent conduct. It has gotten so bad that at least four state attorney generals have joined a nationwide lawsuit against XXXX for defrauding borrowers in their state. I demand the immediate removal of all XXXX and XXXX accounts from all of my credit reports on the legal grounds that the original creditor has closed thus releasing me from any and all liability.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation