Consumer complaint received 2018-03-06
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL
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 had a credit card payment due on XX/XX/XXXX. Due to the approach of XXXX XXXX and subsequent scramble to prepare, I missed the credit card payment that was due onXX/XX/XXXX. In the more than 2 years I had this credit card, this has happened once or twice and I always go  back in within a day or two and pay the balance in full. This would have been no different, had we not be impacted by a Federally Declared Emergency in XXXX XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX,  FEMA declared Florida as a Federal Disaster for dates of XX/XX/XXXX- XX/XX/XXXX.  Because of the impending XXXX, I had to quickly and unexpectedly make plans to leave the state for multiple weeks for both personal safety and business continuity at work. Upon my return, I was made aware that I had mistakenly missed the XX/XX/XXXX credit card payment when my next month bill was already due. I quickly called XXXX, who corrected the issue and I immediately paid both balances in full, as I always have done. I thought the issue was resolved. When I received my XX/XX/XXXX credit report, all was correct and I was specifically being reported by XXXX as having no balance with a comment that I was " Affected by natural/declared disaster ''. This information was up through XX/XX/XXXX in 2 of the 3 credit agencies while the 3rd was through XX/XX/XXXX. No balances were reported. Upon receiving my XX/XX/XXXX credit report, I learned that XXXX had gone back in XX/XX/XXXX to change my status in XX/XX/XXXX as maintaining a 30 day balance. This is despite previously recognizing that I was impacted by a Federal disaster and reporting that my account was not 30 days past due. I have no idea why they would do this and have made numerous calls to XXXX to try and understand why they would go back and change a reporting on someone whose account was in good standing and was personally and financially impacted by a federal disaster. This is especially frustrating since their web-site still reflects assistance for anyone impacted. My only speculation is that because I closed my account in XX/XX/XXXX, I was somehow selected for a change in reporting, either as a glitch in their system ( the comments no longer reflect the hurricane but now reflect that my account was closed at my request ) or as some sort of retribution for closing my account. I have repeatedly called XXXX and tried to rectify this issue and they express little care ( and at points some express an amount of glee ) that they are negatively impacting customers who they are opening stating they want to help. Out of the 35 total days my account was overdue, all but 2 of them were covered by the Federal Disaster that XXXX claims to support. Much of that time I spent out of the state, without power and trying to resolve the huge amount of damage home sustained. To have a company retroactively institute a negative reporting, knowing exactly why this single event occurred ( on an account that was always paid in full ) is extremely demoralizing and seems like a very spiteful thing to do. I am not asking for any financial compensation or special scenario they wouldn't give to any of their other customers ( or contrary to what they openly state on their web-site ). I am only asking for the incorrect reporting to be changed to its original reporting, which was correct XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX then changed for XX/XX/XXXX report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation