Consumer complaint received 2020-01-24
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: NC
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: Difficulty submitting a dispute or getting information about a dispute over the phone

Complaint:
Equifax 's website states the following : https : //help.equifax.com/s/article/How-long-do-you-keep-my-credit-information How long do you keep my credit information? 
The length of time information remains on your Equifax credit report is shown below : " Closed accounts reported by the lender as paid as agreed can stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years from the date it was reported by the lender to Equifax. '' I have credit reportings that are paid in good standing that are way past 10 years old. I  have been contacting Equifax about this for months, asking them to remove the reportings. Each time, I am on the phone with Equifax reps who keep transferring me from department to department, dropping the call, telling me that I am in the correct department but they don't know how to assist with the request, etc. Calls to Equifax are taking 2 - 5 hours. I was told yesterday after being transferred and having call disconnected that Equifax does not remove reportings from credit reports and that they can remain on there for decades. In the past, I was told that I am required to work with each individual business and talk to them about removing anything from my credit report. The Equifax rep stated that I had to do that. I didn't think that was correct because I pay Equifax monthly for services. But, I began calling and speaking to the credit bureau departments. This was so time consuming. The credit bureau department that I spoke to stated that Equifax was responsible for removing the reporting and sent me back to Equifax. I am simply asking them to remove the items from the credit report that are greater than 10 years old. The rep who I spoke to yesterday said the reportings can remain on the report for decades, and there is nothing I can do about it. I will provide a short timeline at the end of this complaint that will include dates, times, and IDs to give you a better understanding. 
In the past, I pushed the issues up to XXXX XXXX, Supervisor, Executive Office of Consumer Services, ( XXXX ) XXXX, XXXX. I provided dates, times, and associate IDs to him and other supervisors. I was told that this still was not enough to track down the Equifax rep. Or, they claimed that calls were not recorded. 
No one is able to tell me anything about any inquiry that I have. A little while back, I received a check from Equifax that stated they had not provided the services that I had been paying for each month. I called and asked the Equifax rep what services had not been covered and for how long. She said that there was no one who could provide me with that information. And, during the security breach, I spent hours trying to get help. All of this was reported to XXXX XXXX. But, he was zero help. Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional details. 
XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, Equifax refuses to remove outdated reportings, even after seeing notes that reportings were last paid with no activity in over 10 years. 
XXXX, Equifax rep stated that I needed to call each company and request removal XXXX, Copied & pasted saved chat with Equifax rep for you to view : Me ( XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ) : I just read what the link said. It states " Closed accounts reported by the lender as paid as agreed can stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years from the date it was reported by the lender to Equifax. '' So, why is Equifax refusing to remove this? 
XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX ) : If the time frame has passed and the account was not removed, you dispute it. 
XXXX Called XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ) again. Spoke to XXXX in Credit Bureau department at headquarters, XXXX or XXXX. She sent me back to Equifax. Explained that Equifax removes this because they leave it up to each credit burea as to how long they report it on their report. 
XXXX, contacted Equifax by phone at XXXX. XXXX, Associate ID XXXX transferred me to XXXX in the dispute dept. Her ID is XXXX. She said she was in the credit dispute department and this was something that they would handle. But, she said she did not know how and would need to transfer me to a " special department ''. I asked what department that was. She saw silent and then said she didn't know and would need to place me on hold to find out. She placed me on hold and never came back. I finally had to hang up. 
XXXX - Called Equifax. Spoke to XXXX, ID XXXX, in XXXX. Call disconnected by rep. 
XXXX - Called back to Equifax. Spoke to XXXX, Associate ID XXXX. Rep states that this is not an Equifax issue and that reportings can remain for decades. She stated that there was nothing I could do about it. She said there was nothing that Equifax could do about it. I referred her to the info that was on their site that stated reportings in good standings removed after 10 years. She kept saying that Equifax can not assist and that I had no way to request the removals. She stated that once I disputed the items, Equifax would revise the reporting date and start reporting again. 

So, each time I ask Equifax to remove the old reportings, they just revise the reporting date to show today 's date. Although paid, closed, and last activity date shows XX/XX/XXXX, Equifax is revising the date each time, so that outdated reportings will now show on my report until XX/XX/XXXX or forever. I am requesting to have the reportings removed. And, I am requesting to find out what the check was for that they mailed me, since the Equifax rep said that no one would be able to tell me what services were not being provided and for how long.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation