Consumer complaint received 2018-12-01
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL
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:
XX/XX/XXXX I received notification that XXXX was reporting Late 90 day reporting for XX/XX/XXXX. I contacted XXXX immediately and disputed negative reporting and requested that XXXX update credit reports to reflect ( NO LATE PAYMENTS ). XX/XX/XXXX accounts were still " Deferment '' status. I received no notification of owed payments, nor account status update.I did try to register for college in XX/XX/XXXX, however Financial aid did not pay school in time, thus me being dropped from courses. I was laid off work XX/XX/XXXX. I included copy of benefits received by state as proof. XXXX  customer service representative stated that they did not have correct contact information on file which i previously gave. I gave correct email, phone number, address. She than stated that it was XXXX error and she will submit change to update my accounts to reflect no late payments, with good payment history. She stated it takes only 48 hours to update. On XX/XX/XXXX I called back to check status of dispute and was advised to wait another 48 hours but request was made to update account to reflect no late payment history. I called back XX/XX/XXXX since I checked credit reports and did not notice change. I spoke to a very rude supervisor who stated that a request was made but it was still being reviewed. I was told it typically takes 45 days but that I needed to mail dispute directly to XXXX. I did express my concerns and frustrations since my credit score drastically dropped and I needed credit to move into a new apartment. I mailed dispute letter with returned receipt and confirmed received. XX/XX/XXXX I received from XXXX a response to my dispute that they believed that they were accurately reporting information. I received notification from credit reporting agencies that they also reported late 90 day reporting for XXXX, which I had previously disputed with XXXX after providing certified letter from XXXX XXXX College which proved that my account should be " deferment '' status, thus no late payments. however XXXX retaliated and illegally re-added negative reporting to further damage my credit. As a result I had to pay higher deposit for apartment, cost to mail another dispute letter to fix a problem that had already been resolved. I have told XXXX to review calls, where representatives stated they would update my records but I guess that's not important when conducting investigation. I have updated contact information several times and XXXX has continued to update correctly. I have included mailings that I printed off XXXX online account which further proves they input false contact information yet take no responsibility for not being able to communicate. ON XX/XX/XXXX I called and tried one last time to speak with someone from XXXX to possibly expedite my dispute to resolve this matter and was told " it doesnt matter what information is given by service '', but department that handles dispute. XXXX has displayed on numerous occasions they lack ability to implement proper policies and procedures to protect consumers like myself from incorrect information being reported. In addition, they do not conduct thorough investigations, but instead verify " accurate ''. I understand mistakes occur occasionally but the length of time it takes to resolve these matters due to XXXX  negligence and noncompliance only hurts consumers like myself who value credit. For years I have been denied credit, charged higher interest rates, incorrectly judged based on incorrect information being filed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation