Consumer complaint received 2023-09-12
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: GA
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2023, I received a notification from XXXX XXXX that there was a new hard inquiry on my Equifax credit report. I viewed a copy of that report on Equifaxs website the same day and used their online resources to submit a dispute, indicating that I had not requested or approved any inquiry on my credit. Within a few hours, I received an email from Equifax noting that the inquiry was authentic and would not be removed. I immediately filed an additional dispute indicating that I believed the inquiry was fraudulent, again, indicating that I had not requested or approved an inquiry. Again, within a few hours I received an email from Equifax noting that the inquiry was authentic and would not be removed. As a result, I began the process of submitting a formal dispute with a XXXX XXXX, the creditor who had, according to the Equifax report, initiated the hard inquiry. On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted all of the information XXXX XXXX requests for a dispute on their website via certified mail with return receipt along with a copy of the credit report with the inquiry in question highlighted and a signed letter requesting that the inquiry be investigated and reported to the credit bureaus as error or fraud. I also followed up with XXXX XXXX via phone and indicated that I was concerned the inquiry might represent fraud. I asked them to see if they could identify any new applications for credit associates with my identifying information. Multiple people I spoke with said that there were no applications in my name and that Id need to submit the dispute and wait on an investigation. As I had already submitted the dispute, I waited. One week late I called and was told the same information. Approximately 10 days after submitting the dispute, I received a letter from XXXX XXXX as a resolution to my case. The letter simply explained the three different kinds of inquiries that exist and did not identify the source of the inquiry on my report or mention any effort to report it as error or fraud. I immediately called again to follow up with them. The agent I spoke with said that she, again, checked multiple times for any new applications associated with my identifying information and could find nothing. She even went as far as to say that she would only be able to see new credit card application, not new applications for other lines of credit such as as a mortgage or auto loan. I asked her if there was a department I could speak with who could view any and all applications with XXXX XXXXXXXX for any form of credit. She told me there wasnt and that Id have to call each department individually to follow up. However, she offered to start a new case for me, indicating that the previous case I had opened by submitting a dispute through the mail was essentially closed when they sent me the letter of resolution. She updated the new case with her search for any new applications and said she was submitting it for review. Again. I waited. About 12 days later I received two letters from XXXX XXXX. One of those letters was the exact same letter I received a couple of weeks earlier regarding the different types of inquiries. The second letter indicated that no abnormalities could be identified on my account and that Id have to work with the credit bureau. Having started my investigation into the inquiry by contacting the credit bureau and filing a dispute when I first received an alert that a new inquiry was present I, again, reached out to XXXX XXXXXXXX. I explained the situation to several people, yet again, spent hours on the phone, and was eventually transferred to a woman who, within two minutes of collecting my identifying information, identified a fraudulent application for a credit card in my name in another state. She initiated the process of reporting that application and resulting inquiry as frudulent to the credit bureaus so that it could be removed from my report. The reason Im submitting this complaint is that Ive spent hours upon hours on the phone, stressing and agonizing over this inquiry. It has adversely affected my credit. And I have done everything that was requested of me by both the credit bureau and by XXXX XXXX. I followed the processes they have established for reporting and resolving these issue to their exact specifications. However, they have not held up their end of the bargain. They cant possibly say that two separate cases resulting into investigations into my accounts with XXXX XXXX were completed and didnt identify anything, when one woman in two minutes identified and corrected the issue that dozens of other people had been unable to find for the more than thirty days prior to that. I feel it was by sheer luck that I ended up speaking with the right agent today, and its appalling that if I had given up and just accepted what both XXXX XXXXXXXX and Equifax were telling me, I would have had to have lived with the fraud and the resulting effects on my credit. Both XXXX XXXX and Equifax failed to protect my financial health appropriately. Its only because I wasnt willing to give up, and kept pushing that things may end up being resolved. This can not happen to other consumers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief