Consumer complaint received 2019-07-03
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: NY
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

Complaint:
Someone attempted ( unsuccessfully ) to open a credit card using my information. I was given the advice that I should contact the three credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on my account to prevent future attempts. I placed the fraud alert, and I was told by the credit bureau I placed the alert with, Experian, that this would not have any negative implications on my credit. 

I am in the process of moving, and my credit needs to be checked as part of rental applications. The fraud alert has caused issues with this process that I did not know could happen when I placed the alert. I called the three credit bureaus to remove the alert, and I was able to remove the alert from XXXX and XXXX  easily over the phone. Removing the alert from Experian has been a true nightmare. I am shocked and appalled at the way they treat their customers, over whom they have so much influence and control. 

Every aspect of their website and and phone menus encourage you, to the point of being misleading, to sign up for free or paid credit reporting products. Given Experian 's history with handling my data, I'm not interested in sharing any more of it than I have to, and fortunately I know that I do not have to sign up with Experian to remove a fraud alert or check my credit. Experian seems to punish users who opt out of their services with endless, confusing websites and phone menus. 

In my many phone calls and web searches, I have learned that there are two ways to remove a fraud alert with Experian : mail documents to a PO Box and hope that they are received and processed in a timely manner, or upload those same documents to a mysterious and barely functional website. There is no clear way to talk to a person to guide you through these confusing options, and there is no one to help when the upload website doesn't function ( which, in my experience, seems to be about 99 times out of 100 ). 

I have spent hours and hours of my time in the last day and a half trying to get in touch with Experian to fix this issue so that I can apply for my apartment with a successful credit check. I still have not been able to remove the fraud alert and, in fact, I seem to have inadvertently placed another fraud alert in an ill-advised bout with the automated phone system as part of a desperate attempt to speak to a person. For what it's worth, I did finally speak to an Experian employee on the phone about this very time-sensitive issue. I was able to do this by sending a message to Experian 's XXXX account, at which point I was directed to a secret phone number that was not listed on any of Experian 's many confusing webpages. 

The way Experian does business is cruel, unethical and wrong. I am very fortunate to have had the time and ability to attempt to navigate this convoluted system ; many people who would have problems with their credit report would not have this luxury or the technical skills to do this. I live in hope that this issue will eventually be resolved and will not prevent me from finding a place to live, but honestly, based on my experiences with Experian so far, I expect far less than nothing from them. I do not trust my credit report in their hands based on the way they do business. It seems unlawful that they would have this much control over consumers in an environment with loose enough regulations that allow them to operate like this. I have truly never been so frustrated by my experience with a company. I feel so sorry for the employees that work there since they are forced to stand behind such abysmal policies and technology.

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