Consumer complaint received 2020-10-01
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: PA
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
XXXX wrongly reported my account as 30 days late to the credit bureaus while I was in COVID forbearance, then amazingly denied reversing the reporting to the shock of even the XXXX Regulatory Compliant Specialist, XXXX in XXXX, FL. 

TIMELINE : XX/XX/20 Enrolled in Covid Forbearance XX/XX/20 Went to account ( online- cant call anyone mid-covid ), to re-up. Site says I cant re-up that account because its ALREADY in forbearance. ( See attached screenshots ) XX/XX/20 Went to account online to re-up, or find out if I cant, and to start paying. Site says I cant re-up because Im already in forbearance. THAT VERY DAY XXXX REPORTS ME AS 30 DAYS LATE. I called immediately when my multiple credit monitoring services alert me to XXXX reporting me. I took a screen shot of erroneous XXXX.XXXX  info in case they fixed it and denied it ever happened. The specialist  on the phone assured me that the screenshots show an obvious technological error on XXXX part that fooled me into thinking I didnt need to make a payment. I IMMEDIATELY made a payment to show I wasnt trying to hold out- I PROACTIVELY came to my account page to carefully manage my account, as I always have. My account has never been reported 30 days late nor have any of my numerous other accounts. This is XXXX fault! 

XX/XX/20 Filed complaint with Credit Bureaus and CFPB XX/XX/20 Received letter from XXXX XXXX, Regulatory Complaint Specialist saying, basically, You applied for 2-month forbearance and there is no record of you re-upping that, so you were reported as 30 days late COMPLETELY ignoring my argument that the reason I didnt send a payment is because XXXX official, secure account details website mis-portrayed my account as already IN forbearance, and a reasonable person would interpret : to mean what it says : that the account is already in an active forbearance and no payment is due. During the early days of Covid, it wasnt unusual for the account page of a creditor to say an account had a min payment due, THEN inside say, No payment due- hardship  forbearance XX/XX/20 Received letter via USPS that company refused to deal with CFPB because I had listed another person in the complaint. I listed no one in the complaint. CFPB site says that XXXX refused to respond because there is another authorized user on the account " XXXX XXXX '' ( my wife ). CFPB sent a letter to XXXX saying " This complaint lists someone the company does not recognize as their customer or their customer 's authorized representative '' My wife 's name is not on the card, and I never mentioned her in the complaint ( her name is not on the full text of the complaint on cfpb 's site, either. Looks like they just confused us since we both have XXXX accounts and live in the same house. 

XX/XX/20 I called XXXX back at the phone number in his letter. I got XXXX in XXXX, FL. He reviewed the notes from the dispute and I read him my previous letter. I logged into my account just now at XXXX and it STILL ERRONEOUSLY shows that the account is currently in forbearance to this day! XXXX recommended I try again, write this letter, include full social security and account number and more specifically point out that the account detail page on XXXX.XXXX  is clearly in error, and that is the only reason the payment wasnt made- because XXXX   told me I didnt have to. Then reported me as late, erroneously damaging my credit. 

I took careful notes on that phone call. 

Some quotes from XXXX Regulatory Complaint Specialist, XXXX : I dont see how they could not see the tech mistake..? 

You have a valid reason for your dispute! 

Hoping a different set of eyes will see this more clearly and side with you! 

I have a long-standing relationship with XXXX and its currently on the rocks. Im just one voice, but believe me, Im one loud voice. There is no way on Gods green Earth that Im going to take this lying down. I will be filing complaints with the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, XXXX XXXX, the FTC, and will be filing suit locally. The company I was furloughed from for Covid is active in the XXXX XXXX in XXXX and XXXX. Ive told the principals at that firm of this situation and they love my family and have offered every bit of help from free legal time to launching a star-studded XXXX campaign. Theyre quite ticked off. 

Were not talking about a situation where a flighty kid forgot a payment. Were talking about a XXXX year old dad with a long history of perfect credit pro-actively taking careful stewardship of my XXXX account and XXXX mis-representing the account status online, and using that as a hollow excuse to mischaracterize this family to future creditors as a bad risk, causing damage. Weve had to cancel our plans to refi our house, and we may miss out on the best interest rates in the history of the country. 

I wanted to include my credit report, but I couldnt download it because it has an open dispute. 

XXXX suggested that I fax my complaint to XXXX which I did and so far have heard nothing. 

I'm attaching both the screenshot I took of my account page at XXXX from the day credit monitoring detected the erroneous delinquency, and additionally, a recent screenshot to show that even though I resumed paying the account and indeed have paid it off, XXXX, still erroneously shows the account as currently in forbearance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation