Consumer complaint received 2018-08-29
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: PA
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: Problem with personal statement of dispute

Complaint:
I am providing a lengthy letter that I wrote, and will mail to XXXX XXXX, Vice President of XXXX XXXX XXXX. I will remove my name anywhere in the letter. 

XXXX XXXX, Vice President of Customer Service XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX, CA XXXX XX/XX/XXXX Dear Ms. XXXX, It is with incredible angst and extreme frustration that I find myself writing this letter. I sincerely hope that you are a reasonable person with integrity who will choose to fix what I have presented here ; and that you will listen to this story, and act upon it expeditiously, in a manner that is positive and satisfactory. 

My name is, and I am on XXXX XXXX, I just lost my job, and I was hacked. I tell you this because due to these extenuating circumstances, I really needed and need to rely on the help and support of XXXX XXXX XXXX customer service team with its website and other support to help ensure payments were and are being received during this very difficult time. I have a hard time monitoring day-to-day tasks, and I hoped I could rely on XXXX to provide suitable assistance. My only request that the marker on my credit report be removed. 

Not only was I not helped, I was dismissed, lectured, and bullied. Now I find out, after all this, that the recurring payment system, which unknowingly shut down on me before -- causing inadvertent missed payments, took out unsanctioned money that is more than twice my monthly payments! That is beyond unacceptable, that is money I do not have, and I now find myself in a tenable situation. 

If I may, I will expose to you the first big issues that arose ; then afterwards, I will explain about the most recent issue regarding the unsanctioned payment. If you will kindly bear with me, this is quite lengthy quite a few pages. Im sorry, because due to my circumstances, it is hard to concentrate, and it is actually easier if I present the events conversationally from the notes I have taken. I regret that I am not able to condense this in an eloquently, concise manner. I thank you in advance for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give this the attention it deserves. 

Everything started because my very first recurring payment did not go through ( beginning in XXXX, then in XXXX ), and a credit marker was very swiftly placed on my record. The story escalates after I reasonably requested that this credit marker to be removed, and thats all I was asking for. I have worked extremely hard to achieve my excellent credit score, and especially now being in the extenuating situation I am in, it is more important than ever to have great credit. I have appealed to multiple customer service representatives and supervisors even at the corporate level, and I am literally being slammed into a wall. 

For your review, I am including screen shots, the initial letter sent to your credit dispute department, and copies of the emails I have sent. I hope they prove helpful. There are also a multitude of phone calls I have had with your team, that have also been indicated, but to which I have no recordings. I have also enclosed my XXXX notes and even a letter from my former employer to show I am speaking truthfully and sincerely about my predicament. I will work to acquire a letter from my doctor that outlines what my issues are, because no one seems to understand or to be listening to what I am telling them! 

Additionally, I am copying my lawyer on this correspondence because aside from the egregious and unfair treatment and inflexibility XXXX XXXX XXXX has been showing me, he needs to be made aware that your company has literally exacerbated my medical condition adding to my pain and suffering. Not that I want to sound like an episode from Law and Order, but your team was/is aware of my medical situation, as I explained over and over, and I even expressed to them that how they were acting towards me was affecting me physically. My lawyer knows the sensitivity and pain levels involved with my condition which was from a car accident, and the extent to which it does not enable me to perform daily duties to the best of my ability -- like paying bills and monitoring accounts. I reached out to XXXX in good faith, and they failed me on every level. In fact, you should know that my debilitating condition stems from this serious car accident that was in my previous XXXX. It was totaled, and I ended up, among other things, without XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and with XXXX XXXX. And, an XXXX resulted from the anti-inflammatories I was taking and from the overall stress. Oh, but XXXX doesnt care about that. They only care about their policies. But, well get to that. 

1 ) As stated, because of my extenuating circumstances, I needed and sought out the guidance and the help of your team to set up recurring payments knowing I would not be able to adequately monitor everything, as stated. To emphasize, I NEVER asked to have payments suspended. In fact, it was my main concern that you DID get your payments and in a timely manner. This is from someone suffering physically, financially, and emotionally. So, you can see how important my credit and integrity is to me. 

2 ) Just after I set up my recurring payments with your customer service team on XX/XX/XXXX ( to start in XXXX ), I was personally hacked, and once again required their assistance. This time I needed their help changing my checking account information on line and to still make sure everything would go through with the recurring payments. Unfortunately, no one ever told me or advised me at any time that by doing so would automatically cancel these payments. Nor, anywhere, did I ( and still dont ) see any statement on the website that explains this. I went on good faith that the customer service representatives gave me solid, reliable information. 

3 ) The payments did not unfortunately go through, and I did not learn about this until 60 days after the first payment was to be received by XXXX. To add fuel to the fire, so you can fully understand what I am personally dealing with, I had also just lost my job because I can not return to work. I have virtually XXXX  income. So, you can imagine my stress levels. But, to continue, I have not, and still havent received ANY correspondence through the mail regarding this non-payment. I check my mail every day. What I did receive was a phone message from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX ( XXXX ). I immediately called back, learned of the missed payment, and not only did I pay ( on the spot ) the ONE month that was missed, I paid XXXX and even covered XXXX so there was no chance of a gap. To make my point again, thats how important having financial integrity is to me, even given everything I just told you. 

- So, why didnt I hear anything until then? The rep literally said they were calling the wrong number and they do not leave messages. Then why all of a sudden did I get the call on the correct number with a voice message? Thats suspicious. I have to wonder if they dont also have the wrong address that goes along with this mysterious phone number. Or, because I am trying to pay electronically, did they stop all forms of mail? Secondly, I find your companys policy of reporting one missed payment immediately to the credit bureau after only 30 days to be harsh. I wasnt even given a chance to rectify things. I have known, as have others, that 60 days is standard for reputable companies, and that is AFTER talking to their clients first giving them a chance to clear things up which I did IMMEDIATELY UPON LEARNING ABOUT IT. 

- And, to most reasonable people, one would have thought that this credit marker for ONE ( inadvertently ) missed payment as harsh and unfair as it is, would have been quickly and graciously removed at this point based on all the circumstances I outlined to your representatives and supervisors : my good faith efforts to make payments ; misinformation given to me by your team ( inadvertent or not ) ; my immediate payment and forward payment ; my previous XXXX account that was in excellent standing ; my excellent credit ; MY HEALTH ; MY EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES, etc. But, NO. Why would XXXX who prides themselves in customer service do that? I was dismissed and told to write a letter to somewhere in Iowa. 

4 ) After trying ( and being put on hold for an incessant amount of time twice ) to get to a supervisor who could hopefully listen to me, aid me, and help me through this process ; I actually got a supervisor ( her name is pronounced, XXXX, did not get her ID # ) who LECTURED ME : I should really monitor and check my accounts and the post office, she says. This is even knowing my situation! REPREHENSIBLE! She retorted with what came across as a disingenuous apology, and then a very blunt statement that XXXX is a business. We did nothing wrong. We have a policy. You may write a letter if you do not agree. I literally felt bullied and challenged to prove XXXX was wrong and that everything that I have been telling her and the others did not matter at all. Nor did I feel believed. 

Did I also mention that I submitted two complaints with XXXX and never heard anything back?! Very telling. Here are the reference numbers : ( Spoke with XXXX from client services ) and filed online. 

5 ) I can not begin to say how many people at XXXX XXXX XXXX I have tried to communicate with on this. The dispute team ( in Iowa ), whom I NEVER heard from, actually denied my written request/dispute to have the marker removed ( given everything I told them ) -- which I was shocked to find out! The only reason I found out is because I had to call and talk with another XXXX XXXX rep who paraphrased the decision to me over the phone -- three weeks after the fact. She told me the determination was that there is a statement on the website that references recurring payments, and that they have a policy XXXX must report missed payments to the credit bureaus after 30 days. NOTHING I PRESENTED TO THEM SEEMED TO BE CONSIDERED! I still cant find this statement, and I cant/dont want to spend my days between rehabilitation sessions looking for it. By the way, there is a very clear statement on the website that says XXXX MAY report missed payments and MAY disclose information to the credit bureaus. NEVER does it say MUST. XXXX XXXX XXXX has the ability to help its customers, but it chooses not to. 

6 ) One of the last straws came when I found an email address on line for XXXX executives ( XXXX XXXX, who is no longer there (? ), XXXX XXXX, and guessed at XXXX XXXX ). I also called a corporate number ( XXXX ) that was given to me by another customer service supervisor ( XXXX XXXX, in Maryland, XXXX ). She initially said something about a fax number to which I could file an appeal. But, she said she would look into everything first and do everything she could to get this resolved. I held off on this fax option because I was under the impression this would be where I finally got help. However, she said the next day, they would not remove the marker, and that she actually didnt have the power to change anything. What good is a powerless supervisor to anyone? That made me feel less confident and worse. This was actually the first I heard of any appeals process ( with the fax, ) and I have never heard it mentioned since (?? ). 

7 ) I called the number the supervisor gave me ; and emailed the aforementioned. I got a call back from XXXX XXXX, who in fact, I would like to file a formal complaint against. Not only did he not listen to what I was saying with his canned responses, he came across arrogantly, like he did not believe or care about anything I was saying ; he gave me conflicting advice, and even disconnected/hung up on me and never called back. I wish this werent true, and his cold demeanor and comments pushed me to the brink. This was on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. Please provide a reference number for this complaint. I would like to ensure it is given due attention, and I am followed up with. 

8 ) In an embarrassing moment, I literally broke down in tears while first talking to him because I have been so wracked trying to get to a reasonable, professional person with an ounce of sensitivity and humanity, who would work with me on this escalated situation. An advocate would be nice, rather than a bully. Once again, all he ( and others ) seemed to talk about and care about is this sacred XXXX policy and some statement on the website. Is this etched in stone and carried down from Mt. Sinai? That was the only benchmark to which this credit marker was based. NOTHING ELSE. He even mentioned something about audits, which is inappropriate and not my concern. And I believe it was him ( or another supervisor ) who said that XXXX does not base any of their credit decisions on customer loyalty. Well, Im sure you can imagine how dismissive, unbelievable, and rude THAT sounded. What a customer hears is a canned, robotic answer that translates to : XXXX does not care about your loyalty or who you are or what your circumstances are. We only care about our policy. # XXXX # XXXX 9 ) He did offer to investigate my situation, however, and in so doing, I asked if I needed to send in any medical documentation or paperwork that would support me and my other grievances. He emphatically said NO. But, after I was pushing, he added they would consider my medical situation and extenuating circumstances, along with everything else like the policy, of course, he had to add. Again, this mysterious policy. I was left feeling even more befuddled, confused, angry, and despondent. 

10 ) I was called back the next day and he said the result of the investigation was that he had a screen shot of a statement on the website that discussed policy. What?! Then he actually said I never filed a form or documentation about my medical condition. What?!! THIS IS PROOF NO ONE IS LISTENING TO WHAT I AM SAYING! I have no words. 

- The team at XXXX XXXX XXXX wears blinders. In order to try to make sense of everything, I had to ask him if XXXX XXXX was being investigated for something because I could not fathom why they are so laser focused on this apparent policy and statement -- not listening to or considering anything else that is said and presented by a client. I finally asked if I could take this whole unresolved situation somewhere else or do something else, and all XXXX retorted was : No, this is corporate, it stops here. That certainly could not be true. I could literally feel my frayed nerves burning the ulcerative juices churning. And now I feel it more while I write this letter. 

11 ) Making matters worse, I was hung up on ( disconnected? ) during my conversation with XXXX, and I had to call back and leave messages to ask further questions regarding the supposed investigation, his supposed screen shot, and any medical forms I am now supposed to fill out. I was more confused than ever. This was Friday. Ive called again asking about these forms. NO RESPONSE. 

- Being subjected to these unhelpful, robotic and insensitive team members is like being hit over the head with a brick time and time again. I truly do not believe your team understands how and what is coming out of their mouths and how it affects your ( human ) clients. I do not know if they really know how to treat customers. To a factual point, regardless of your policy, do they know they CAN remove markers because of every situation I mentioned, and they should. 

Its not just him, though. Although there have been some empathetic and professional people, no one even seemed capable of asking me appropriate questions that may have truly been helpful. For instance, no one even asked : do you want to file papers for your medical situation ; or this is what they look for, and this is the best way to communicate everything. 

I sincerely hope that you see that I have done everything to the best of my ability to make sure you get your payments, and I believe I have clearly illustrated the incorrigible mess this has become. WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED?! PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME YOU ARE GOING TO INVESTIGATE AND SEE IF YOUR POLICY WAS MET. Check my records, check your phone calls, read my dissertation and my documents. Be Human. Have TRUE customer service. But, please, do not cause me any more pain and angst over something that everyone I have told this too can not understand why its happening. This is XXXX. They are as shocked as I am. 

Now, for the most recent payment issue : As I was trying to draft this letter, I was checking my account on line. I actually re-set my recurring payments with ( a misguided ) sense of confidence. I discovered that what should have been monthly payments of XXXX is actually coming up as {$640.00}. That is wrong! Furthermore, your website is horribly confusing and apparently extremely inaccurate, to say the least, which is causing me all these incredible problems. According to my account page, it said it is set up with recurring payments on the XXXX of each month, like I requested, but in checking it recently, it says it is taking out {$640.00}. WHERE DID THAT NUMBER COME FROM?! I NEVER AUTHORIZED THAT! My monthly payment is {$300.00}. 

I paid {$930.00} on XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. I was paid up. I was actually ahead of my payments. Furthermore, what is incredibly confusing is that there is another page saying that I have to pay ASAP on XX/XX/XXXX and there is a red mark on the Make One-Time Payment, when I have a recurring payment set up already. At least it is saying I owe the CORRECT amount of {$300.00}. 

To get to the bottom of this incredible shock, I called first thing on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with XXXX ( ID : XXXX ) who explained that because that is what I supposedly owed at the time I set this up, the computer automatically put that as my monthly payment. I OWED NOTHING IN FACT I WAS AHEAD! Unfortunately, he said the {$640.00} already went through and was taken from my checking account, and they couldnt stop it. If I wanted, I could contact my bank to stop payment or they could send me a check that will take up to two weeks to get. Thanks, XXXX! Because that causes me more difficulties and I didnt want to be slapped with another late payment if things got crossed, I felt I had no other choice but to suffer an even more difficult month financially because I wasnt expecting to pay MORE THAN DOUBLE my monthly payment. He assured me that XXXX and XXXX would be covered, and he walked me through setting up the payments to start on XX/XX/XXXX for the correct amount of {$300.00}. He said he would send me a confirmation email, but I have NOT GOTTEN ONE, and I hope a letter that gets to me. The case number for this is This is the THIRD time I am attempting the recurring payment system. Some would call me a complete idiot for doing so, and I am really questioning this ; but I am very serious when I say I need to have help getting payments through because it is much easier for me at this point to have them automatically taken out, ( and now make more effort to monitor ) than to worry about mailing checks, etc. Unfortunately, your website is the only way I can do it. I seriously hope I do not have to chastise myself again for even trying this, and really regret it. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment. Furthermore, I wish I had enough knowledge or insight to get a case number and ID number from the representatives who initially helped me set up my recurring payments online and then when I changed my account number. I guess, at the time, I saw no reason to even think about it because I truly felt I could rely on your team. Boy, I really do feel duped and dumb. I think in retrospect, aside from hand-delivering payments each month to whomever actually takes them, Ill really have to figure out the least painless way to get them to you ; and bypass the recurring payment system. 

Just so you know, NO ONE ever acknowledged, owned up to, or apologized for giving me misdirection in the first place. Funny that they offered to take my late payments off without me even asking ; yet they would not consider removing the credit marker. This is really smelling. Whatever happened to the customer is always right, the customer is our bread and butter, and we will do whatever we can to ensure the customer is happy and taken care of? XXXX really does not get it and they really do not care. I am living proof of this multiple times over. 

It seems very odd saying this, but I have had wonderful dealings with XXXX in the past, and that is why I got a second one. I was even able to work successfully with the recurring payment system on my last account ( albeit trouble in the beginning that was remedied by a competent customer service rep ). I am at the point, however, where I am looking into getting out of my lease after only having the vehicle for four months because your company has literally made me sick to my stomach and fried my nerves -- even further. I am waiting to hear back from the general sales manager. 

I do not know who else to turn to. As I said, I do know, however, that the media, social media, friends and family, my congressman, and other agencies have and will continue to be supportive of my plight. I will use all my contacts and in-roads to finally be heard. People need to know how XXXX XXXX XXXX behaves and what they do to people. Hopefully no one else will have to go through what I am going through. As Ive said, I have tried to work through your channels and your processes to try to come to a solution that is mutually beneficial to everyone to beyond disgraceful results. # XXXX # XXXX  # XXXX. 

I JUST want my credit marker removed and my credit and integrity restored. That is all I ever asked. And, I would like that you do not XXXX up my finances and money situation anymore. Am I furious, yes, but I certainly do not want to see anyone fired over this. Everyone is human, which XXXX has apparently forgotten. I do also hope that you look into training your staff to being more empathetic and customer friendly. This spewing of policy and statements as a mantra needs to stop. It really affects people. By the way, please take a look at XXXX XXXX XXXX and you will find out how your company is horribly reviewed. Your overall rating is ONE star. My review ( s ) are there. That is just the tip of the iceberg as far as getting the word out. Its simply facts and how a customer believes they are being treated. Ive loved my XXXX vehicles, and I have always had outstanding service from XXXX before. I am really dumbfounded by this, and sincerely hope this gets corrected. 

As I stated, I appreciate your attention to everything I have laid out and your utmost consideration with all these matters. I am sincerely hoping that you are different from the uncaring and unresponsive members of the XXXX XXXX Team. And, I thank you in advance. 

If you choose to look into this matter, my account number is : and the VIN number on my current car is : Sincerely, CC : CC : XXXX XXXX, CEO XXXX XXXX CC : XXXX XXXX, Executive Advisor to XXXX XXXX XXXX

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