Consumer complaint received 2023-05-23
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: DE
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: Was not notified of investigation status or results

Complaint:
FINAL MOVE-OUT INSPECTION ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) XXXX XXXX and two other inspectors met with me for the final inspection. XXXX noticed the issue with the carpet, and I explained to her that it was there prior to me moving in. She informed me that I would be responsible for the damage even after I expressed that it was not something that I caused. Remembering I took pictures during my initial walkthrough, I showed her proof with the date and time stamp. She told me that she would partially charge me for it since XXXX did not notate the damages. Seeing tension rise, one of the inspectors stated to her that she would not bill me for the carpet as I did my due diligence in documenting the holes and stains and dropped off the sheet with the damages at the housing office. She agreed to not bill me for that matter. We then went to the backyard where she noticed the siding by the utility closet had melted. I let her know that a technician told me it melted before I moved in and showed her the text message conversation with the tech proving my claim. Once more she agreed not to bill me. We went back into the house, and she mentioned that she had another inspection to go to, and that if I had paint, to paint the baseboards. I told her that I would comply with the request but informed her that I would not be able to wait for her to get back since I was on a time crunch to drop off my rented moving truck. After adding up the damages, the total came up to {$510.00}. She mentioned that she would come back later to inspect the baseboard and that she would email me the final itemized move-out sheet, and instructions on how to make the payment. 

A couple of days went by when I finally received the move-out breakdown sheet from XXXX, the bookkeeper. I was floored when I saw that the amount charged was not what was discussed. It appeared that she added charges not talked about, and it seemed to me that she doctored the sheet as the pen colors were different from the original sheet I saw during the final walkthrough. At that point, I was cantankerous, to say the least, and emailed the bookkeeper to express that the charges were not correct. I requested a follow-up approximately a month later via email, which XXXX blatantly ignored. I called faithfully multiple times a week to speak to XXXX, and she was conveniently always occupied or unavailable. 

After receiving a call from a collection agency called XXXX, I demanded that XXXX or someone else of the same level reach out to me to correct this misunderstanding without me having to bring it to corporates attention. Much time had gone by the time my call was returned about this matter. I reiterated that I only owed {$510.00} and that the correct amount was to be updated. By then I had already paid the {$510.00} to XXXX and was told that a letter would be sent out to the collection agency with the updated amount, and to also inform them that I no longer owed the alternate balance. 


After paying {$510.00} to XXXX, they went silent for 2 years up until Friday XX/XX/XXXX. They said it was showing up as collections because they concluded their investigation. I was never notified of any investigations. I never received any emails or paper letters. I was under the impression that I was good to go after having paid the agreed amount. They now have another investigation ongoing after me requesting more information and wont tell me much. They wont give me a timeline or an estimation of the process. XXXX REFUSED to delete collection on my reports even after I sent them proof of the error.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief