Consumer complaint received 2016-04-07
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: NH
Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Credit reporting company's investigation
Sub-issue: Inadequate help over the phone

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX, I tried to upgrade my XXXX XXXX XXXX on line to a XXXX which offered more rewards. I was surprised when I was declined since I have had my current XXXX XXXX card since XXXX and have always paid the balance in full and on time. In fact, in XXXX, XXXX, my credit line was raised to {$9400.00}. A call to XXXX revealed that Experian was reporting that I had no credit score. Experian was also reporting no record of my ever having my XXXX despite the fact that is ( and has been for the past 12 years ) in my possession and used on a regular basis. 
The saga continued when I thought that if I had more than one credit card I could actually get a credit score. I went to my Credit Union ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - XXXX ) on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, and applied for a XXXX Card. The representative I was working with was a bit puzzled when she pulled my credit report and found that I had no credit score or record of my having a XXXX despite the fact that she was holding the card in her hand. She spent the next 20 - 30 minutes trying to contact someone at Experian to see if she could help. After listening to numerous advertisements attempting to sell questionable " products '' offered by Experian and others we were finally connected to a person named XXXX. XXXX sounded totally disinterested and said we would have to contact XXXX. I explained that I had already had numerous conversations with XXXX and was in possession of XXXX ( XXXX ) letters from XXXX dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX, when they raised my limit to {$9400.00} and a second dated XXXX XXXX, XXXX, stating that they were reporting to all three reporting agencies including Experian. Not offering to help or institute any sort of investigation, XXXX repeated, " Call XXXX. '' The XXXX representative then explained that it had been very difficult and time consuming to reach a person at Experian and ask XXXX for a number where we could talk to a person and not have to listen to advertisements for XXXX - XXXX minutes. XXXX gave us the number XXXX which she said would be answered by a human. 
Returning home from XXXX I decided to call the number XXXX had provided because I also noticed an erroneous address listed of my Experian report and wanted to at least get that corrected. I dialed the number and was greeted by cheerful voice saying ... 
" Congratulations! You 've won a free cruise! '' This was followed by a lengthy discussion about the cruise. Finally the voice said, " Push 1 now to be connected to an operator who will book your cruise or push # to skip ''. I pushed #. Another excited voice .... 

" Congratulations! You 're eligible for a free home security system! '' Again this was followed by a lengthy discussion about the security system and why I needed it. Again, " Push 1 now to claim your security system or push # to skip. '' I again pushed #. 

This continued over and over. I lost count of the number of " offers '' but it had to be at least a dozen or more. Nothing ... nothing had to do with Experian or my credit report. After a lot of wasted time on this worthless call a recorded voice told me that the number I had called had been changed. I was given a new telephone number to call. XXXX. You guessed it - another series of worthless, obvious scam, " offers. '' Experian makes it impossible for people to correct errors on the " reports '' they provide to potential lenders. They turn such attempts into sales opportunities for not only questionable products they offer but apparently also sell opportunities to completely unrelated companies as well. 
This goes further than being irresponsible. This affects people 's finances. I have discovered that I have been paying more than I should for my home, auto, and umbrella insurance policies because of my lack of a credit score. I am willing to testify to anyone who can help me.

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