Consumer complaint received 2020-09-06
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: VA
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: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
The purpose of this request is to seek your assistance in rectifying an injustice perpetrated by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). 

About two years ago, my Mother got confused and inadvertently used my checkbook to pay her bills. It was her belief that she was writing her checks against her account, as we both have checking accounts at the XXXX. Not only are the checkbooks very similar in appearance, but my Mother is a non-US citizen and sometimes easily gets confused with the English language and some of the American customs. 

I was totally unaware of this situation, or any other problems with my account, until XXXX notified me that my account was overdrawn. I immediately froze the account and began to investigate what had happened. Initially, it was my belief that my checkbook may have been stolen and was being used by an unauthorized person, as XXXX confirmed to me that they had verified that the signatures on the checks that were posted to my account were not mine. With a bit more information, I was able to determine what had happened. My mother wrote those checks. She was confused and just made an honest mistake. There was no attempt to defraud the bank ; no criminal intent ; and no crime committed. People are human and humans make mistakes. 

I thought that once it was determined that my Mother had written the checks by mistake, and that I had no knowledge of any of the transactions, that XXXX would have rectified the situation by switching the erroneous entries to my Mothers account for payment. However, unbeknownst to me, XXXX did not take that action. Instead, they adjudged my account to be in default and had a collection action posted against my credit file with Equifax via a Collection Agency. 

I still have that XXXX account, and at the time this occurred, I was a XXXX XXXX XXXX and not working at the time. Thus, there has been no activity or transactions on this account over the past two years  and I havent had a need to access or check my XXXX account in that timeframe. The main reason for this is that I manage my budget and expenditures via the use of a debit card and do all my banking with the XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I was asked why I have not been checking my XXXX statements. The answer is simple. With paperless statements and no activity on my part, it was a matter of out of mind and out of sight. There just wasnt a need for me to do so. Thus, it wasnt until last XXXX, when I was denied a major credit card application, that I discovered that there was a collection action on my credit file. 

I then contacted XXXX several times. When I ask why they took action against my account when they clearly knew I was not the cause of the problem, they said that they did so because it was my name and account number on the checks. I guess they dont realize that anyone can have checks printed from XXXX and a thousand other places. If that is all that XXXX did, then they certainly lacked proper procedures and due diligence, as I am now being penalized for actions that I did not do ; for transactions that I had no knowledge had occurred ; and for something that XXXX knew was not done by me. 

My Mother has recently provided me some money and I paid the debt in full. And XXXX told me when the debt was paid, that they agreed that I shouldnt have the collection action in my file since I was not at fault. They indicated that they would contact the XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and have them eliminate it from my file. I was told that this might take a month and to have patience. However, the only thing that XXXX XXXX XXXX did during the month of XXXX was to indicate that the debt had been repaid in full. 

Meanwhile, I wrote a dispute letter to Equifax. They denied my dispute and closed the case stating that they had contacted the Collection Agency and that they have verified the collection action was in the  proper file. 

So I went back to XXXX to again get their help to remove the collection action from my credit report that they initiated. This time I was told that in the absence of a police report indicating that the checks were stolen, they would take no action to remove the collection action. Seriously? The checks were never stolen! It was an inadvertent act, not a criminal offense! Im certainly not going to file a police report. 

XXXX also indicated that they would take no action because I violated the disclosure agreement for the account. I re-read the agreement and it states that I have 33 days to contact them if there is a discrepancy with my account. I certainly contacted them immediately upon my account being overdrawn and that was less than 33 days. As indicated above, I never had another transaction with this account within the last two years. And the disclosure agreement does not require me to contact XXXX repeatedly for the same incident. Therefore, I dont believe I am in violation of the disclosure agreement. 

Finally, I find it ironic that XXXX wont remove the adverse collection action from my credit file, but at the same time they just offered me a credit card with a {$4000.00} limit and a line of credit for {$1500.00}. So, I guess what they are saying is that Im untrustworthy and need to have the collection action remain in my credit history, but Im creditworthy enough to have to have them issue me a credit card and a line of credit! 

Since I was never legally responsible for the debt in question, and since XXXX was paid in full for all the checks that were written and suffered no loss of funds, I should not, therefore, be held responsible for either late payment or non-payment of this debt. This incident was not my fault, yet Im the one being penalized. According to the credit report, the unfavorable information could remain in my credit history for up to seven years! 

Im a Deans List college student who is concurrently working a full-time job. I have applied to become a XXXX XXXX school XXXX and hope to start classes this XXXX. I know I have a short credit history, but have never missed a payment, including any of my student loans. I could use some additional credit for books, supplies, tuition and other expenses. And I believe that Ive demonstrated that indeed I am a creditworthy person. Yet Im being denied an additional credit, and possibly for the next seven years, because XXXX took action to place an unfair collection action in my credit report. This needs to be rectified. 

Therefore, I am requesting your Agencys assistance for the following : 1 ) I would appreciate any help or advice that you might have as to how I can permanently eliminate the collection action from my credit file. If this were to occur soon, I would consider this incident closed and take no further action. 

2 ) XXXX should be investigated to see if they used proper procedures and due diligence in handling this situation. They knew when they compared the signatures on the checks that I was not at fault, yet took action against me. Had they just transferred the erroneous transactions to the proper account ( which they knew ), I would not be in this situation today. 

With you help, I hoping that I will be able to reestablish my reputation that I am a trustworthy person ; have the collection action permanently removed from my credit file ; establish that I am indeed creditworthy ; and be able to obtain additional credit with any credit company in the future, as needed, without encountering any further problems due to this incident. 

Incl. XXXX XXXX rejection Dispute resolution results

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation