Consumer complaint received 2020-05-01
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: SC
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit repair services
Issue: Problem with customer service

Complaint:
I have been using Experian since XXXX and have been a paying member of Experian Credit Monitoring app at {$19.00} per month since XX/XX/XXXX. This is in addition to XXXX XXXX, XXXX  and XXXX  free services I am also using to monitor my score. 

I have never been able to submit an online dispute with Experian despite having a valid SSN, address, card etc. The message I receive when I attempt a dispute is that it can not be processed online due to security reasons. I have not had major issues so I did not use the dispute option and thought it would change once becoming a paying member. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I got an alert that a collection debt has been of {$52.00} has been added to my report. I called the agency XXXX with which I had a paying agreement established. The XXXX agent has confirmed that the erroneous reporting will be removed and would not be on the report withing 7 to  14 days. Please see audio attachment. 

I have received the alert on all my bureaus. The collection notice had decreased my Fico score XXXX in XXXX  from XXXX to XXXX. This notice has been added as an account to my XXXX  report. The same notice on my Experian Report decreased my score by 7O points for a collection debt of {$52.00} from XXXX to XXXX. I have been unable to submit a dispute either over both a PC and the app with Experian giving me a " Security issue '' message. 

I have been in contact with their customer support both on the phone and via email. Their phone rep tried to convey that I am looking at different XXXX Scores but I was not. The scores in questions were Fico score XXXX. The representative on the phone did not offer a solution for my inability to submit a dispute despite being a paying and verified member. 

After going back and forth with the App Support Team via  email, I was able to get a ticket open for their IT team to look into the issue. However, I am not able to get anyone to explain the discrepancy between my scoring and why would one collection notice decrease my score by 70 points. Prior to this being added to my report, I have had 0 collections and/or public collections. I also have a total of 33 on time payments for my car loan and insurance. No evictions. The major issue in my report is that I do not own a credit card for which I am being bullied to get by emails twice a day. 

I am concerned that the main factor affecting my reporting is the fact that I am not an American citizen and my history can only be tracked to XXXX. I have moved to the US in XXXX and have had a valid and permanent social security number and employment without which I would not be able to have a report at all. Since coming to the US I have been making on time payments on my car, rent, bills, insurance etc. I have had a payment plan scheduled with CCS agency in XXXX and the amount has been reported incorrectly since it is only {$52.00}. 

Now after 5 years of hard work and on time payments my score went down 70 points during the COVID-19 pandemic effectively disabling me to even apply for anything. 

When I inquired about this with Experian, I was provided with the generic response copied from their FAQ section. They also said they can not provide advice legally. I am not seeking credit advice but someone from their company to help me understand their Company 's policy and why my score decreased by 70 points and what was the main factor behind the increase prior to the collection being added. Since their company is behind the scoring and how the same is calculated and I am already paying for a service I am not seeking advice on what to do ( actions have been taken ) I am seeking an explanation on the specific criteria their algorithm is looking at in my case. For comparison, my American born peers do not have this huge decreases despite having two accounts in collections for larger medical amounts. Their scored went down 5 points for a collection of {$1500.00} and I went down 70 point for a {$52.00} collection. 

- 33 on time payments for auto loan - no evictions or public records prior to {$52.00} collection - 8 inquiries - no credit card account ( by choice ) It is really concerning that my entire work for the past 5 years can be removed by a rather trivial note which is being removed. However on XX/XX/XXXX at around XXXX XXXX, the phone rep from Experian told me they " can not guarantee that those 70 points will be back once the dispute is removed. '' So as a paying and trusting consumer whose life choices are dependent on these scores, I can not get the guarantee that my hard work will be reinstated. 

As of today, no one from Experian tried to contact me with more information. Why do my on-time payments for my car ( {$350.00} then {$260.00} ) get an increase of 1 point  every three months and a {$52.00} collection notice decreases my score by 70 points?

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