Consumer complaint received 2018-08-04
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: MD
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Reporting company used your report improperly

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I attempted to purchase a used vehicle from XXXX XXXX XXXX based on a XXXX/XXXX recommendation from XXXX 's car buying service. The expectation was is that there is a no-haggle price and that the car is inspected to be road ready upon purchase. I agreed to purchase the car and then decided to use their in-house  financing because they claimed they could give a better rate than XXXX which I was already approved for and which I am still approved for at the time of this report. 

The agreement was for part of the value of the car to be paid at the time of sale and the rest to be financed in-house ; about {$6400.00} down and {$7500.00} financed at 3.75 % which was slightly better than XXXX. I didn't have a checkbook and put {$1000.00} on my credit card with the remaining amount to be paid before XX/XX/XXXX through a promissory note for {$5900.00}. Now that I am actually looking at it, it looks like they were actually trying to scam me for an extra {$500.00} because XXXX is not equal to XXXX. Good thing I still have the documents to PROVE they are scum. 

However, after leaving the dealership, the tire pressure gauge turned on despite it being 95+ degrees out and the ride got noticeably rougher at highway speeds. I immediately turned around and returned the car about 20 minutes after purchase because I did not trust that what I was being sold was a decent vehicle. They tried to offer to fix it but I lost trust in the entire process and could only assume they didn't inspect the car as should be expected. Even though I had a dealer warranty that should cover 100 % of the cost, I refused any resolution and they refunded me the {$1000.00} down payment right there and I left the establishment immediately afterwards. 

The XXXX XXXX purchase was only the 2nd place that I had attempted to get financing, XXXX being the first. I have since purchased another vehicle from another dealership using their financing ( still maintaining the XXXX pre-approval which I validated later ). I actually ended up financing more with the new dealership. 

Since then, I have received an " Adverse Action Notice '' from XXXX XXXX XXXX. The entire letter was transcribed into a word document and can be found attached. 

I am making this complaint because they made the claim that I am not credit worthy and put an adverse action on my credit report. Although my credit is still strong, they are attempting to use the reporting system to hurt my credit out of malice. More importantly, credit is a large part of background checks which could potentially hurt future employment/promotions. They are using this reporting system unethically for petty revenge. I am not making any attempt to contact them and I am only making this report because they have fraudulent and unethical business practices but I guess now I have to defend my name because they can ruin my reputation without any repercussions. 

Here are the " key points '' they make plus the reality next to it. 

" Key factors that adversely affect your credit score : '' -- '' Too many accounts with balances '' ( i have 3 credit cards ; # 1 no balance, open for 5+ years ; # 2 open for 10+ months, rarely more than $ 1000/ {$6000.00} balance ; # 3 open for over a year, company credit card, no balance ) -- '' Too many inquiries last 12 months '' ( XXXX and maybe XXXX credit card from a year ago ) -- '' Time since most recent account opening is too short '' ( last credit line opened in Summer of XXXX ) -- '' Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high '' ( just sold a property which was why I was buying a new used car ; paid off a mattress line of credit 6 months early ; I never spend more than 20 % of credit card limit and always pay on time ; its documented as my credit keeps going up and from their own report I got XXXX/XXXX from Equifax ; my own current reports XXXX/XXXX  on XXXX  ; XXXX XXXX XXXX  although it was XXXX the month before dealing with XXXX XXXX XXXX )

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation