Consumer complaint received 2017-06-27
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: VA
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:
My complaint is with all three credit bureaus. I will make this short and concise : I have not missed a payment in greater than 10 years. I have {$100000.00} worth of available credit. I have had 55 auto loans, mortgages, student loans and credit cards in the past 15+ years. I currently sit at a XXXX ( XXXX ) and a XXXX ( XXXX ) credit score and I can not improve this score by more than 15 or so points. <P/>Now I understand all about credit utilization. I have had as little as 28 % utilization and I have had as much as 67 % utilization ( I am carrying about 61 % right now ) over the  past 2-3 years. With perfect payment history and zero derogatory issues, even with a credit utilization of 61 % my score should not drop from XXXX to XXXX ( 193 points ). <P/>Here is part of the problem : every time I pay an account down or off, one of my accounts that is at XXXX  gets closed by the creditor. Think about that ... say I owe XXXX out of XXXX and I pay {$10000.00} off to bring it down to 40 % and then one of my old cards at {$0.00} balance is suddenly closed by a creditor for " lack of use ''. My 40 % ratio suddenly returns to 50 %. In order to increase my available credit to {$100000.00} I am forced to open a new account which drops my score and I have to build it back up. Its a vicious cycle. This is just one of the tactics I have been forced to endure. This forces me to have to carry balances on every account now in order to avoid them being closed. So now the new tactic is to reduce my available balance ( for no reason ) in order to show a higher debt utilization per account. Its ridiculous. <P/>I have used simulators at sites like XXXX XXXX, etc and it even supports what I am claiming. I pay all my debt to XXXX today and next month my score will only rise 10-13 points. I seek suggestions as to how to improve my score and I am offered 6 new credit cards to open, all with " excellent '' chances of being approved! <P/>I have paid my balance down to less than 10 percent and my score only increases a max of 13 points ( XXXX ). Think about that : > 10 % balance on {$100000.00} of available credit. No defaults, no missed payments in over 10 years ... nothing and I can only bring my score up to XXXX ( my highest in over 3 years ). <P/>I have scoured my credit reports ... I do n't even have as much as a negative comment. <P/>This is what 's interesting : I get APPROVED for every and any credit application I apply for. Every one! But because my score is XXXX 's they always come with the highest rates. <P/>So my complaint is this : I am being kept at a low rate in order to have to accept the highest interest rates i 'm offered. I 'm willing to bet I am not the only one this happens to. I make excellent income so I believe the creditors know that I make excellent money, I ALWAYS pay my bills so it is in their interest to keep my score low and force me to pay more than other people. I am XXXX and a XXXX. There can not be any other explanation. I am sure you will investigate. One look at my credit report and you will see exactly what I am explaining and if you can honestly state that this is entire normal and acceptable then I will rescind my complaint and move on.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation