Consumer complaint received 2018-10-08
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: WI
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 car was totaled after it was completely submerged under water during a thunderstorm. I had insurance and I was told to leave a signed power of attorney in the front seat of the car and that the car would be picked up. I did as I was told and someone came and towed the car away. 

Months later I received a bill for {$5900.00} from XXXX XXXX. I immediately reminded them that the car was covered with my insurance. I was told that the payment was never made and that there was no record that the car was picked up. I repeatedly filed disputes with no success. I finally passed the information over to my mother for help. 

My mother filed several disputes with credit reporting agencies and contacted XXXX XXXX to inform them that the car was covered by insurance. My mother was told that her dispute was being worked on and that the account would be updated. We both took this to mean that the XXXX XXXX error and false reporting would finally be corrected ; we were wrong. 

XXXX XXXX removed the negative reporting from my Fathers credit report but they updated my report with negative information. They are currently listing my account as a Closed Collection account with a balance of {$81.00} and a schedule payment amount of {$210.00}. 

My mother called XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/2018 and informed them that I never received a bill for {$81.00} but that I was willing to pay the {$81.00} but the negative information needed to be removed. XXXX XXXX informed her that the account had been closed and that my account status would not be removed from my credit report. They also informed her that she was notified on XX/XX/2018 that I would have a balance of {$81.00}. My mother told me that when she called and spoke with the representative about the account her focus was on the fact that the account was being falsely reported and that it was negatively affecting my dad 's credit report ( my dad cos-signed for my car loan ) and my credit report when it should have been covered by insurance. She told me that the representative explained to her that there was nothing she could do because the account was already being looked at due to the dispute my mom filed with the credit agencies. They told her that they would get the insurance information updated into the system. She does not recall them telling her that I would have a balance due after the insurance was paid. She definitely knows that no one told her that the account would accelerate into a legal collections account and close out with a balance due and be reported on my credit report fo the next seven years.

Even if they verbally told my mother that I would have a balance, my mother is not ME. And, that does not negate the fact that they never put anything in writing to me about a balance. If I was aware that I owed {$81.00} I would have paid it immediately. 

During her telephone conversation on XX/XX/2018 with XXXX, A supervisor from XXXX XXXX, my mother was told that XXXX XXXX was not a collection agency. If they are not a collection agency then how are they legally able to list my account status as collection and are able to say that my account was accelerated into collection? If XXXX XXXX is able to legally list my account status as collection then they must abide by FCRA, Fair Debt Collections Practices Act ( FDCPA ) as well as the Fair Credit Billing ACT ( FCBA ) laws. XXXX XXXX has violated the above laws in numerous ways including but not limited to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act which states that creditors can not report false and misleading information such as : Incorrect balance Missing information Incorrect credit limit High balance is lower than owed Late pays after an account was closed Please TAKE NOTICE that my credit report has been listing XXXX XXXX as a late payment since my car was totaled. Also, even after I notified XXXX XXXX, several times, that my account was covered by insurance they repeatedly and knowingly reported me with an inaccurate balance of {$5900.00} for over a year. They also reported my account status as opened and listed it as a charge off when neither of those things were true. In addition to these blaten violations XXXX XXXX violated FCRA law by not notifying me that they were going to report my account with them as Closed with a balance of {$87.00} and list the account status as Collection. 

In conclusion, I had insurance and I did everything that was asked of me. I should not be penalized for the next seven years because a company made a billing error and has been blatantly violating FCRA and FDCPA laws. 

All I want is for XXXX XXXX to do the right thing and remove the negative information from my report. If they choose to continue to report false negative account information after receiving my complaint through your company then, my next step will be to go to the Attorney Generals Office, XXXX XXXX XXXX and Small Claims Court.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation