Consumer complaint received 2022-03-29
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: VA
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:
I am reaching out in hopes that maybe something written below is worthy of some assistance with this very frustrating and emotionally draining situation. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I received a grant from the North Carolina XXXX XXXX. Due to my inability to relocate my daughter outside of the XXXX and my ongoing medical treatment, I maintained a residence in VA and my primary residence in NC. When I received the grant my mailing address was a VA XXXX XXXX because I was constantly transitioning between living quarters in VA. The stipulations surrounding the grant were that it would become a loan if the home was no longer my primary residence, if I sold it, or rented it. 

On or about XX/XX/XXXX I received a credit alert from XXXX stating that my score had decreased 35 points. I was shocked because I had been working very hard to prepare my credit for a home purchase. I had been pre-approved and was about to make an offer on a home that very next day ( XX/XX/XXXX ). When I looked I saw that XXXX had added 30-day delinquency to my report, this came as a huge surprise as I was not aware of any outstanding payments at all. As it was a Sunday I was unable to do anything, however, as soon as Monday rolled around I began calling and emailing ( as you will see in the attached document ). 

When I finally got a hold of someone I was first told that an occupancy verification was sent to the house and my mailing address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX, and XXXX. As I kept asking questions about the payment amount and how to correct the situation the information I was provided consistently evolved and things changed. I was told that a third party provided information that my mailing address was changed. I informed them that during the pandemic I was not able to check my XXXX XXXX XXXX that it closed without my knowledge. I had to supply the post office with a forwarding address while they tried to reopen my mailbox ( I was not able to get that mailbox back ). While explaining my situation and all of the variables that lead to me never receiving the notification they kept reporting this account as delinquent. Once I signed a paper to verify my occupancy status they stopped reporting but refused to remove the items that were already on my credit. In addition to that, I was told that they sent a letter on XX/XX/XXXX yet their first reporting was on XX/XX/XXXX ( not 30 days ), then they reported again on XX/XX/XXXX and made it 60 days delinquent. I have emailed, and called since our last correspondence and have received no response. The individual I spoke to informed me that she worked this up the chain to her management who informed her that nothing could be done because they followed their policy. I question these policies and how this nonprofit organization with a goal to help homeowners in distress is actually making it difficult to own a home with this type of reporting. It is also concerning that within 27 days ( XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX ) they reported two times on my credit. Yet here we are, the account was paid in full on XX/XX/XXXX we are almost in XXXX and they have yet to report that the account is paid in full or remove the reporting. This leads me to believe that this credit reporting tactic is malicious and only focuses on putting negative information on consumers ' files with no follow-up. How do you drop a 60-day late payment and nothing else? Am I current? Is the account open with no payment? Since XXXX absolutely nothing has been reported, corrected, or changed? Is this how credit reporting works? 

When I was preapproved I was approved with a 2.85 % interest rate. When I went to submit an offer I was denied due to the reporting by XXXX. I am still fighting to get this addressed and as a result, I am watching as interest rates skyrocket. I am now looking at a 5 % rate and I still can not get approved until XX/XX/XXXX when it has been 12 months since my last negative mortgage reporting even though I was never late paying this. 

They stated that they had an updated address for me through the post office yet they were still sending mail to the XXXX XXXX XXXX I have been fighting to get this taken care of since XXXX. The loan was paid off on XX/XX/XXXX when I sold the home but I have not received a response since XX/XX/XXXX from them. This was not a case of negligence and irresponsibility, this was a case of COVID 19 and unforeseen circumstances. What's worse is that within one day of getting that alert I was working tirelessly to get the situation resolved. I have been diligent with my payment and my credit. I have worked really hard to get this and my finances in great shape.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation