Consumer complaint received 2020-10-12
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2020, I got an alert that a hard inquiry was made against my credit. I was able to retrieve information about the loan company that made the hard inquiry. The loan company was XXXX. I did not apply for any loan, so I was confused about why they would need to check my credit score. I called XXXX that same day, XX/XX/2020, at XXXX XXXX. I spoke with a customer representative and I try to explain to her that I found that a hard inquiry was done on my report and I am calling to find out why. She asked for my social security and told me that their offices were closed and that I should call back on a different number on Monday during their business hours. I later found out that a person put me down as a cosigner for a student loan with XXXX. The hard inquiry was not authorized by me. The customer representatives refused to cooperate with me in finding an appropriate solution for my issue. I then proceeded to dispute the hard inquiry with the credit bureau, XXXX, Equifax, and XXXX. Equifax asked me to send in documents that are difficult to obtain due to the global pandemic. The customer representatives that I spoke with at both XXXX and Equifax were difficult to work with and unsympathetic to my situation. 

A detailed account of my experience with XXXX : I called XXXX back on Monday, XX/XX/2020, at XXXX XXXX and spoke with a customer representative from Utah. She asked for my social security number and she said there was no account found. I then tried to explain to her my situation and she told me she then transferred me to a different department that handles mortgages. I tried to explain to the customer representative from their mortgage department my situation and she said that there was no account found and I thanked her and ended the call. I called XXXX again at XXXX XXXX  that same day and I spoke with a customer representative from Utah. She asked me for my social security and I gave it to her and she said no account was found. I then told her that I am calling because I found that XXXX made a hard inquiry against my credit and I had no knowledge about why it was done. I then explained to her that I called the credit bureau to notify them but I need to learn more information about what happened so that my issue can be properly resolved. The customer representative then said that she could connect me to the banking department to get more information. She transferred me and my call went straight to voicemail. I did not leave a voicemail and called XXXX back at XXXX XXXX. Once again I spoke with a customer representative from Utah. I asked her if she could listen to what I have to say because I felt like they were not interested in helping me investigate a possible fraudulent activity. She then said to me in a sarcastic tone that she knows it must be frustrating to be transferred to different departments and not feel like I am not being heard. I responded and said okay but I just need help finding an appropriate solution to my issue so that I can go on with my day. She then told put me on hold and I waited about a minute. Then she said she will transfer me to the fraud department. I thank her and waited until I got transferred. Once transferred, I spoke with a customer representative from the fraud department. She asked for my social security and my date of birth. I gave her both information and I asked if I could explain my situation to her. I then tried to explain that I am not sure why a hard inquiry was done against my credit when I did not apply for anything with XXXX. She then suspiciously asked me did you apply for a student loan and I responded no. I explained to her that I did not apply for any loans with XXXX and I only had a Federal student loan. So, then I asked is that why my credit report was checked? She did not respond, and she said that she will have to end the call because of how I am speaking to her. She then hung up on me and I was shocked. 

I called XXXX back and related it to a customer representative from Utah. I had a short conversation with her about my situation. She like the rest did not seem concerned about helping me resolve the issue. I asked if I can speak with someone from their student loan division and she transferred me to them. Once transferred, the customer representative from the student loan department asked for my social security as well and I asked if I can explain to her my situation because I keep getting transferred back and forth. She reluctantly said yes and while I was explaining my situation, she interrupted me several times and said that she does not understand what I am saying. I then repeated to her that I am not sure why a hard inquiry was done against my credit because I did not authorize for any student loan with XXXX. She then said to me that she thought the way I spoke was condescending. I sighed and said I speak like this to people and that I am just trying to figure out what is going on. She then complained about how I was talking to her and I said to not take it personally because I am calling you for help with a possible fraudulent activity. She then calmed down and said that I was listed as a cosigner for a student loan for a person I at the time was not familiar with. She then commented on how my last name was unusual and that the person had the same name. I responded and said why are you questioning me about a student loan I did not authorize. I then explained how I was shocked that XXXX will process a student loan application and check my credit report without me authorizing it. I was never contacted to authorize being a cosigner for a student loan. She then said that she canceled the application. I was relieved but still concerned about my credit score since it dropped by several points because they did not authorize a credit check with me. I thanked the customer representative and said I will call back to resolve the hard inquiry issue. 

I called XXXX on XX/XX/2020, and I spoke with a Customer representative from Utah. I explained to her my situation and that I need some type of documentation of the incident so that I can have the hard inquiry done against my credit removed from my credit report. She said that she will email the fraud department and have them call me back. The customer representative sounded rehearsed and mentioned things that I never told her before. She also sounded unconcerned about my situation and did not check if my contact information was correct. It has been two weeks and I have yet to receive a phone call. I am tired of calling and annoyed with the lack of care from the customer representatives from XXXX. My experience with them has been very time consuming and exhausting.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation