Consumer complaint received 2018-11-01
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: UT
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:
Below is the letter I sent to XXXXXXXX XXXX  to dispute a 30-60 day late they reported to my credit report. When I initially called them about this issue, I was told by one of their representatives that if I sent this letter along with the supporting documentation from my bank, that they would gladly remove the 30-60 day late from my credit report. I have the audio recording of their rep saying this because I record all of my calls. 

That same day I faxed over this letter with the supporting documentation from my bank to begin a formal dispute with XXXXXXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX   told me they would have an answer regarding my dispute by XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted them today, XX/XX/18 to follow up on the dispute and was told that after reviewing my dispute, they are unable to remove the late payment from my credit report. 

I asked the XXXX XXXX rep I spoke with today for some clarification as to why it was denied. After speaking with her supervisor, she told me that it appears that whoever reviewed my dispute went by the date the check cleared, not by the date the check was actually received. Per the documentation that I provided XXXX XXXX from my bank, the check was received on XX/XX/18 and cleared on XX/XX/18. According to both XXXX XXXX reps I spoke to, the date a check is received and stamped at their PO box is the date they consider it received -- not the date it clears. With that said, my check arrived before the end of the month and shouldn't have been considered late. 

Below is the dispute letter I faxed to XXXX XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Loan # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, UT XXXX XX/XX/18 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, NJ XXXX Dear XXXX XXXX : This letter is to dispute a recent 30-60 late payment reported to the credit bureaus for our XXXX mortgage payment. The reported late payment has not only negatively affected my credit, but my wifes as welldropping our scores by as much as 82 pts overnight. 

As you can see from my payment history with XXXX XXXX, I have always made our mortgage payment before the end of the monthtypically around the XXXX or XXXX of the month. While I understand the payment is due on the XXXX of the month, this is the best we can do at the current time. Nonetheless, I have always made our payment before the end of the month and will always make our payment before the end of the month. In fact, Im hopeful that after receiving our upcoming 2018 tax return, I will be able to begin making our payments on the XXXX of the month. 

For our XXXX mortgage payment, I opted to use XXXX XXXX bill payit was the first time I made our mortgage payment using this method. I decided to use this method to avoid the {$10.00} processing fee XXXXXXXX XXXX   charges to pay by phone. On XX/XX/18 I filled out the online bill pay form on XXXX XXXX website, it stated that the check would be mailed out by XX/XX/18 and would be delivered by XX/XX/18. Assured that it would be there on-time, I decided to proceed with the bill pay method. On XX/XX/18 I received an email confirmation from XXXX XXXX that the check had been sent that day and would arrive by XX/XX/18. Ive included a copy of the confirmation email with this fax that clearly shows the sent date and estimated delivery date. 

Fast forward to Sunday evening, XX/XX/18. I received a credit alert via email stating that a 30-60 day late mortgage payment had been added to my credit reportdropping my score 82 pts. I figured it had to be a mistake because I knew that I had initiated the bill pay in sufficient time to arrive before the end of the month. I immediately contacted XXXX XXXX to confirm the bill pay information. XXXX XXXX confirmed that a check in the amount of {$1200.00} was sent on XX/XX/18 to XXXXXXXX XXXX and was delivered on Friday XX/XX/18 and cleared on XX/XX/18. 

I contacted XXXX XXXX regarding this issue on Monday XX/XX/18 to get information, specifically regarding the date XXXX XXXX uses to determine a payment received by mail. The representative I spoke to stated that they use the date the check was delivered to the lock box, not the date the check was processed and cleared. I explained to the representative that according to XXXX XXXX and the bill pay proof of payment, the check was delivered on XXXXalthough cutting it close, it was still delivered before the end of the month. The XXXX XXXX  representative said that according to his records, it was delivered on XX/XX/18. Again, I told him that I had a proof of payment from XXXX XXXX with the delivery date stating it was delivered on XX/XX/18. I even contacted USPS to see how long it would have taken to arrive and they said with 100 % certainty that it would have been delivered no later than the XXXX. 

I asked the XXXX XXXX representative what could be done at this point because I felt like I had done my due diligence to ensure that our mortgage payment was delivered before the end of the monthwhich it was according to the proof of payment. I was told to write this letter explaining the situation and to include the email confirmation, and proof of payment from my bank. Ive included both with this fax. 

I beg you to please work with me on this. I have been desperately trying to improve our credit scores over the past year. Again, I have made every effort to make our payment before the end of the month and have done so ever since our mortgage was transferred to XXXXXXXX XXXX. I cant afford to have our credit scores drop this drastically. More importantly, I cant afford to have another late mortgage payment added to our report. With the information and proof I have provided you, I hope that you will be willing to work with us and remove the recent 30-60 day late mark from our credit reports. Again, Im hopeful that in the near future well be able to make our payment on the XXXX of the month. Unfortunately, the XXXX is the best we can do at the moment, but we have never paid our mortgage payment beyond the end of the month with you guys. Please show some compassion and help us. Moving forward I will continue to pay by phone to ensure my payment is processed on time. 

I would ask that someone please contact me regarding this matter after this fax is received. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Loan #  XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation