Consumer complaint received 2018-09-21
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NJ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
Hello, Let me start by saying I have been severely wronged by XXXX   as well as the 3 main credit score reporting companies. I can not provide dates or paperwork because the delinquent charges that has been subscribed to me by XXXX are fabrications. I paid XXXX each month on time except during my first payment because my sister went into a XXXX and died and I was devastated. After that each payment was on time. XXXX  continuously refunded my payments back to my bank account, sometimes, two to three months after I had already made the payment or new purchases. I have no statements for evidence because I never received a late payment statement because my payments were never late until several months later would recieve large late payment fees that did not coincide with my payments. However, XXXX would continue to refund my payments with sufficient money in my bank account, with the correct account number, and without informing me. I would call to make the payment I would have a late fee. I didn't understand what was going on so I kept paying it realizing that my bill was becoming greater than original purchase price made. Finally, three consecutive payments were refunded to my account. Repeated phone records will show that I contacted XXXX over and over again about this problem. They could not explain why they were refunding my money and removed the late fees for XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX my payment went through sucessfully. I made a payment XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and then I received a letter, in XX/XX/XXXX, stating that I had been deferred to a collection agency. I was livid. Recorded call will once again show that XXXX   admitted that they received payments and sent them back to my account for no known reason. I explained that I was sick of this problem, that they only had payment by phone and not in store so it was imperative that they correct this problem that I had since I opened the account and that in XX/XX/XXXX XXXX assured me that that was the last time it would happen the problem had been resolved. They refunded most of my late payments and apologized. I paid off the account in full because I was tired of this problem that had been going on for 6 months. I asked that they correct all damage to my credit score. They informed me that a separate department did that and gave me a phone number. I called the phone number several times, left messages, and received no response. I called XXXX three more times after that. While they empathized with my problem they provided no solution ( other than their credit service line who was not returning my calls ). After paying them in one lump sum ( which I do not recommend ) they added insult to injury and closed my account due to deliquency ( this is why I do not recommend it ). Delinquency. Deliquency that they they were the source of through poorly managing my account and many other meaner phrases I can think of. They messed up my credit score and when I reported it to the credit bureaus they did not rectify it. It is bad enough to make your own credit mistakes but when a company does it and refuses to fix it it is abuse of the customer. XXXX does awful business. They do not offer communication with the customer or return calls in the credit dept. They have departments set up in different places that do not communicate with each other therefore rendering customer service powerless. They made huge mistakes in my account and are still unable to explain why. If it is TRUE and I had been late several times why was I able to shop in the store with several months deliquency? Why did I contact customer service so many times about the same problem? Why did it take so long to send a late statement? ( It is because TJMaxx allowed me to pay them for two or three months at a time and then suddenly refunded those two to three payments in one lump sum ). Why would you correct delinquency in XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX but not XX/XX/XXXX-XX/XX/XXXX? Why did you company refund me several hundred dollars in late fees? I will tell you why! Because I was cheated by your company, the mistake was on your end and your end alone. And you messed up my credit score with your irresponsibility, lack of respect for the customer, and lack of accountability for your awful mistakes. If I had foresight I would have never opened an account with you. You ruined my credit for a few throw pillows. This is terrible.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation