Consumer complaint received 2019-06-21
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
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:
Merchandise of less than {$50.00} was ordered end of XX/XX/XXXX or beginning of XX/XX/XXXX and never received. I received a letter ( that I no longer have ) from Macy 's stating the merchandise was no longer available, order canceled, and there would be no charges to account. Therefore, I was not expecting a bill nor the merchandise. In XX/XX/XXXX, I received a bill showing charges, interest, and fees for the merchandise never received. I called Macy 's customer service billing department to correct Macy 's billing error. I was unsuccessful in getting this matter resolved. Bills continued to arrive and I continued to call Macy 's to rectify their billing error. No success. Finally, in XX/XX/XXXX, the accumulated amount " owing '' was {$320.00}. The {$320.00} amount consisted of the cost of the merchandise ( less than {$50.00} ), compiled interest, and late fees. I again attempted to get this matter resolved. I was transferred multiple times from Macy 's representative to representative for about 4 hours with no success. I remember this was on a Sunday afternoon and the call hours were limited ; closing around XXXX or so. When the " day '' was over the representative placed me on hold and shortly thereafter I heard a recording stating the department was now closed and to call back the next day during normal business hours and " click '' the call was disconnected. This really ticked me off because the problem was not resolved and Macy 's just wasted precious hours of my time. At this point, I gave up and figured this mess would eventually drop off of my credit report. I had a very good/excellent credit rating and didn't figure this would cause too much damage. And, I was wrong! Macy 's has relentlessly reported derogatory information to my credit report. The tactics used by Macy 's reports my account as a charge off, " over '' the credit limit, excessive serious delinquency, and late payments as if this was new and/or recurring. This really makes me mad because I am being reported delinquent, my credit being marred, and considered a credit risk because of the incompetency of some worker at Macy 's to rectify the problem or acknowledge the billing error by Macys. 

In the past, I reported Macy 's to the XXXX XXXX XXXX, and disputed these charges with Macys. I have made disputes with the credit reporting agencies ( XXXX  and XXXX  ) multiple times. The credit reporting agencies have not corrected this error because the credit agencies " say '' they sent the disputed account/information to Macy 's and Macy 's said the information is correct. Of course Macy 's is going to say the information is correct, because they have not corrected their own billing errors. Each time I dispute this inaccuracy to XXXX  or XXXX, Macy 's enters a new entry and again reports my account as delinquent. Therefore, continuing to make this situation worse by continually plaguing my credit report and credit worthiness. I am warned from further contacting Macy 's as the " debt '' will reset for another 7 years from the date of contact, thus extending this catastrophe for an even longer period of time. 

With each dispute I make, the agency, etc., wants proof of the inaccuracy. I attempted to gain all my billing statements from Macy 's, but am unable to acquire them since my account is closed and I no longer have access to that account or to download them. Therefore, I am at an unfair disadvantage. I located two Macy 's statements from just prior to this billing mess that show 's my credit limit at {$500.00} and a balance of - {$52.00} because I over paid my bill. The overpayment remained on my Macy 's account for several billing cycles until I received a refund from Macy 's for the {$52.00} overpayment. Additionally, I had another Macy 's account for a furniture purchase that was paid in full. The furniture account originally had a " high '' credit of {$2200.00}. For some reason unknown to my, that amount now shows on the " delinquent '' account, along with a {$200.00} credit limit with {$320.00} owing, and Macys reporting as seriously delinquent with 160 % credit usage. I do not know if the high credit {$2200.00} is a good or bad thing to show on a credit report. I am not disputing that ; I am disputing the delinquency and negative reporting by Macy 's. 

Macy 's continual reporting of inaccurate and marring information has caused increased insurance rates ( which I didn't know was happening until recently ), and the inability to obtain a mortgage at the lowest rates. My credit report is spotless except for the Macy 's inaccuracy. There are no late payments except for Macy 's. There are no delinquencies except for Macy 's. There is no excessive credit usage, except for Macy 's. My debt usage is approximately 7-8 % except Macy 's reporting of excessive debt to credit at 160 %. I have no medical debt or delinquencies. Nada, Nothing, except Macy 's billing error. I pay my debts in full and on time. I will gladly pay Macy 's extortion of {$320.00} that they state I owe just to get rid of them and to remove all that negativity from my credit report. Morally, this is wrong and I would be paying a debt I do not owe. Macy 's has reported me delinquent for nearly 5 years and my report shows the delinquency will drop XX/XX/XXXX.  That is 7 years of negative reporting on my credit report as a result of a Macy 's employee who made a billing error that ultimately resulted in excessive late fees and interest. My credit report is clean except for the Macys report. Why on earth, would someone not pay one creditor for their debt when they pay all the others? This makes no sense. It also makes no sense to pay for merchandise never received and cancelled by Macys and their associated excessive late fees and interest. 

Macys negative reporting is causing approximately a .5 % add on to the lowest mortgage rate that I would be eligible for. Over the life of the mortgage, this .5 % increase in rate results in {$15000.00} calculated using simple interest. That is an insane penalty amount because some Macy 's employee failed to remove charges on my bill for merchandise I did not receive and its corresponding interest and late fees amounting to {$320.00}.

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