Consumer complaint received 2018-06-06
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: AZ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
NOTE : This is the most recent letter I sent to XXXX ; it outlines the situation and the timeline. It was mailed on XX/XX/XXXX via regular U.S. postal service. XXXX will likely receive it by Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX or Friday, XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, PA XXXX RE : Loan # To Whom It May Concern : This communication is being sent to request that XXXX reverse the late payment and balance increase associated with the missed payment in XX/XX/XXXX for the above referenced loan. 

After repeated attempts to resolve this issue with incorrect and delayed responses from XXXX, I am also using this information to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

I am the co-signer on the loan, and not in communication with the student borrower. Unfortunately, this lack of communication means that I can only receive updates on this loan from XXXX ; the XXXX updates are sometimes not timely or current until the next month cycles through. Because I am in the process of applying for a mortgage, and not in communication with the student borrower, I diligently check the XXXX   website at least daily to be sure I am keeping current with these payments. Im sure that login records would corroborate my regular logins. 

Please review the timeline of events below : XX/XX/XXXX : I paid {$250.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. The student borrower attempted to pay the XX/XX/XXXX payment, but her payment was returned from her bank account. Mine was not returned. 

XX/XX/XXXX : My bank documents payment on XX/XX/XXXX ; it was credited by XXXX as a XX/XX/XXXX payment. Again, this is not correctly identified on the XXXX website. Perhaps my payment was combined with XXXX   payment, and her payment was subsequently returned. Mine was not. 

The student borrower requested a forbearance due to financial hardship ( see correspondence from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX ). This document references forbearance payments, which I now believe means that small amounts were due throughout the forbearance period - although the correspondence is not clear on this requirement. 

The forbearance was granted for XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX. Please note that this forbearance includes XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX, months for which I had already made payments. I am unsure as to how these payments were applied, if the account was in forbearance. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The forbearance originally included this month. When the forbearance payments were not made as required ( though not specified in the XX/XX/XXXX correspondence ), this month was later marked as a missing payment when the forbearance was withdrawn. The XXXX website showed {$0.00} due at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, no payment required, so I made no payment. 

I had no knowledge of the forbearance request, the returned checks from the principle signer, nor any other terms of repayment agreed to between XXXX and XXXX. NONE OF THIS INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, NOR DISCLOSED DURING REPEATED PHONE CALLS TO XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : The student borrower attempted to pay the XX/XX/XXXX payment on XX/XX/XXXX. Her payment was returned from her bank account ; I paid the amount due ( {$300.00} ) on XX/XX/XXXX. 

XX/XX/XXXX : I received a notice of forbearance denied dated on XX/XX/XXXX ( received XX/XX/XXXX ). 

Note that I was NOT notified of the forbearance withdrawal that included XX/XX/XXXX until the correspondence from XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. I was NOT notified that the forbearance was conditional upon receiving required program payments, and I was NOT notified that the required program payments had not been received, until XX/XX/XXXX. This means that I had no chance to rectify the late payment from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. 

In reviewing your customer service phone call records, youll note that I called XXXX on the morning of XX/XX/XXXX, to inquire about the amount due balance that I suddenly saw due when I logged into the XXXX website. There was no balance due showing on the website until XX/XX/XXXX. The representative that I talked to researched and eventually informed me ( incorrectly ) that a payment had been missed in XX/XX/XXXX and was immediately due, but had no idea why it would not have shown up on the website until XX/XX/XXXX. Failure to document this on the website, compounded by XXXX inaccurate reporting, is clearly an error and a violation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email that my XXXX credit score had dropped due to an increased balance with XXXX. I immediately called XXXX ( again, please check telephone recordings for the morning of XX/XX/XXXX ) and the person with whom I spoke conducted further research and concluded that the missing payment was from XX/XX/XXXX ( not XX/XX/XXXX as previously advised above ). She was quite helpful, and also told me that XXXX had not and would not report this payment as delinquent until it was 90 days late, which would be XX/XX/XXXX. She also said that sometimes communications dont come through until the loans cycle each month. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification through my credit monitoring service that my credit score has dropped another 40 points due to an increased balance in the student loan. This can only be due to a missing payment or withdrawn forbearance. 

I have attached copies of my credit report showing that XXXX has reported the XX/XX/XXXX payment as late. 

I sent two letters to XXXX ( one with a check, another to an alternate XXXX address per their online help correspondence to protest the occurrences ), also on XX/XX/XXXX. 
I believe that what has happened is that the forbearance was withdrawn in XX/XX/XXXX, and the communication did not cycle through until after XX/XX/XXXX. As of XX/XX/XXXX, the XX/XX/XXXX payment was now late, although I had no chance to rectify the late payment until I was notified by XXXX with the XX/XX/XXXX forbearance denial ( which I did not receive via mail until XX/XX/XXXX ). 

Between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX I paid over {$900.00} to XXXX in an attempt to bring the account current. I am amazed and perplexed as to how the loan can go from : XX/XX/XXXX : Current, no money due XX/XX/XXXX : 30 days late XXXX XXXX:60 days late, ALL IN THE SPACE OF 1 WEEK, WITH PAYMENT MADE IN THAT TIME THIS IS FISCALLY and CHRONOLOGICALLY IMPOSSIBLE Please immediately notify credit reporting agencies that I do not have a late payment. I have also filed a dispute request with Experian, so when they ask XXXX for more information, please verify with Experian that I have no late payments on the above-referenced account. 

I have filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and will use this letter as the summary of events and explanation of complaint. 

It should be noted that I, the co-signer, am the only one currently paying these loans - and I have taken my responsibilities as a cosigner very seriously. I have continued to pay these loans in the student borrowers absence. A continued positive relationship with me - the only one who is paying on these loans - would be, I would think, of utmost importance to XXXX. 

Sincerely, Attachments : 1. Print out of Experian credit report, showing the transition from 0 days late to 60 days late in 2 weeks 2. Screenshot of XXXX payment record, showing payments I have made, beginning in XX/XX/XXXX 3. Print out of my mortgage lenders Credit Score Simulator, showing the detrimental effect of XXXX reporting errors 4.  My XXXX XXXX bank statements documenting my payments from XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX of this year 5. Screenshots of prior letters sent to XXXX to attempt resolution of the issues

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation