Consumer complaint received 2021-06-05
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Old information reappears or never goes away

Complaint:
There are two separate issues with Experian. It's great at being inconsistent. The first issue is it being, the only credit bureau that plays fast and loose with a consumer 's credit for no good reason. For example, the inconsistencies are what is troubling ( Documents provided ). One day your credit score increases by 1 point and on the same very day, it decreases by 19 within minutes for no good reason and no explanation. That does not make sense. Experian is the only credit bureau with this unchecked pendulum swinging inconsistency. 

The second issue but most important issue is the Boost feature. The Boost feature does more harm than good, this feature is not explained to the consumer properly, of the full extent of what happens when you add utilities to Experian. In short, if I could do it all over again I would have never and will never use Boost again. It is a deceptive feature that lures consumers to think they're boosting and improving their credit, which is only partly true. 

The downside and the major con that is not disclosed to the consumer is this : I used boost well over a year ago needing to boost my credit thinking it would help me buy a house by paying my bills. At first, when I used to boost it did boost my credit score by a lot I was excited and thrilled but that would be brief. Not only was this a one-trick pony so to speak, but there were also other issues I was unaware of at the time that was brought to my attention much later. After the one time, boost it was a disaster. I was not able to connect my accounts and the feature itself is horrible and archaic. You try to contact customer service and you get bots that reply, and if you get a reply sometimes it had nothing to do with the issue at hand, and the matter was " settled. '' It is a never-ending loop to get assistance, Experian is not exactly user-friendly. 

After I receive numerous emails from Experian stating that I needed to update my boost account or else we're going to close it, I tried to remedy the situation because I was under the impression that this will help my score. When you get to the boost feature and when you try to enter and send the information to update it there was an ENTER button or SEND button that you pressed when you were done well it just keeps on reloading and reloading and there is no other alternative but to give up. But the crux of the matter is not how shotty and difficult it is to use boost it is what happens when you decide to add that utility bill. I had a Housing Bank Lender look into my credit report and she called me back to let me know that Experian had opened my current and past history of ALL my activity with my utilities. Which in turn hurt my overall credit report. For instance. I had a utility bill that I added through boost and I was getting marked down for past bills from years ago and some bills were nonexistent. I was/am currently current on all my utilities but if you were late back in XXXX it would show up on your credit report and decrease your score on Experian. It opens up your entire credit history and it can be used against you when trying to buy a home or a car. 

My Bank lender was alarmed and she flat out asked " Did you use XXXX? '' I said : Yes, but I haven't used it in over a year because I was frustrated with it. She said : " Ok, good. I tell all my clients do not to use Boost because it is harmful to your credit report as for what is on your file we can check all these off and deal with it later as long as your bills are current. But do not use Boost to boost your credit just do it the old school way. '' During this conversation, I told my bank lender that I no longer used Experian 's Boost I spoke to her in Spring of XXXX of this year. and when I used Boost or activated it, It was around Spring or fall in XXXX. Now, Experian continues to " close '' my boost accounts of this year, and nearly every time a utility closed incidentally my score decreases shortly after, sometimes that same day. And I no longer even use it but I continue to be harmed by it because of it. Experian also has old information and they ding you for old discrepancies. For example, I was out of a job back in XXXX and I was late on my car payments for a few months. But I was never late again. On occasion, Experian will still ding me even though I was never late again. Experian has a propensity to recycle old information and use it against you. It doesn't matter if you make your payments on time or that your credit card utilization is low, you missed those two car payments and that's why your score is low. You do everything right and your score can still be penalized for no good reason. I understand if I consistently miss payments and consistently went over my credit card utilization but that doesn't explain how and or why my credit score without explanation or reason can jump from 2 point increase to a 20 point decrease in a matter of moments. This does not make sense and it is affecting people 's lives. It is affecting my life and I do not want this to happen to anyone else. This needs to be looked into.

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