Consumer complaint received 2019-08-04
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: VA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

Complaint:
This is a complaint about the credit bureaus and the obstacles they create for someone trying to freeze/unfreeze their credit report or just deal with them. 

On Friday, XX/XX/19, I went online to try to put freezes on my credit report with all three credit bureaus. Here 's what happened with each of them : XXXX made it easy. The good guys, I thought. Later, however, I went back into their website to make a record of where I'd need to go to lift the freeze, should I ever want to apply for a new credit line. I couldn't find the place to do that at XXXX. All I got was an ad for identify theft protection & after that a page saying my credit file is unlocked. When I tried to call their customer care line, the automated menu service hung up on me five times. There was no option to speak to a representative, & every option I chose led to another hangup. After an hour 's online search, I finally discovered that the best place to go to freeze or unfreeze one 's XXXX credit report is : XXXX With XXXX, after searching throughout their site, I inadvertently signed up for a " lock my credit '' service at $ XXXX/month. I got to that page without receiving any warning whatsoever that I was signing up for a paid service. I was suspicious when they asked for a credit card number, but I assumed that must be part of their identity verification process. I have since called and ( hopefully ) canceled the paid subscription, requested a refund for the charge that was already placed, & put a free freeze on my credit report. They said the refund may take a few weeks, & I'm still getting messages as a paid subscriber, so we'll see. 

With Equifax, it only got worse. After filling out the forms & answering a number of questions on its website, I got an online response that Equifax couldn't complete my request & I needed to call. Today, 2 days later, I've already spoken with four of their telephone rep 's & am now, at this very moment, awaiting another callback from Equifax. The initial problem on my call of XX/XX/19 was their inability or refusal to certify me as properly identified. The first rep, who I had difficulty understanding & who had difficulty understanding me, told me she should could not verify my identify after asking a number of questions about employment, past canceled/expired credit cards, mortgages, etc. I've been retired for a decade & haven't had a mortgage for the same period, so my answers to those questions apparently didn't help her. Without confirming my identity, she could not allow me access to freeze my credit report. I asked to speak with a supervisor. The first line supervisor said he couldn't ask any additional questions & that I needed to send in a copy of my SS card and other personal identifying documents that he wouldn't specify. Finally, I insisted on speaking with his supervisor, who was very helpful, did ask identifying q 's, & was able to confirm my identify. But I'm still locked out of the Equifax website. The 2nd line supervisor couldn't help with that, so I had to call the Customer Care line once again. I did & spoke to another rep yesterday, who said he'd unlock my account within 24 hours. Well, I'm still locked out of my account today ( XX/XX/19 ), & I'm now waiting for another return call from Equifax. I applaud Equifax for offering the " return call '' service, because I was on hold 67 minutes on XXXX before I choose that option. Just to reiterate, I need to be sure I have access to my Equifax account should I ever need to lift the freeze for a new credit card, etc. 

I think the amount of time I've spent over 3 days wrestling with the credit bureaus & their different demands is unconscionable. A legal requirement to allow a consumer to place a free freeze is of little value unless they also make it doable without a superhuman effort. This is a job for the CFPB. Isn't this why we have a CFPB? 

For anyone else wanting to freeze their credit report online, here are websites to use to, hopefully, avoid some of the initial difficulties I faced just finding the free freeze/unfreeze options : XXXX XXXX  XXXX/XXXX-XXXX Postscript : I just got another callback from Equifax ( XX/XX/19 ). The rep ( the 5th Equifax rep Ive spoken with in 3 days ) said there's a technical error with my account so he has to " escalate '' my issue. He gave me a case number & told me it will take 10 days to correct before I can have access to my account.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation