Consumer complaint received 2022-03-04
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TN
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:
XX/XX/XXXX Autopay payment for XXXX processed from XXXX account that was closed due to identity theft on XX/XX/XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX I proactively logged into XXXX XXXX  portal and added the new bank account ending in XXXX that replaced the previous account closed due to the identity theft. This account was set to be the primary autopay account. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I proactively made the payment of XXXX from the new account to cover the autopay payment which I knew would be returned, though it had not been returned as of this date. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received notice that they autopay payment drafted on XX/XX/XXXX was returned unpaid by my bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I made the payment of {$30.00} from the new account to cover the autopay payment return payment fee. 

On or around XX/XX/XXXX I sent a secure message to XXXX requesting the return payment fee be waived due to the identity theft issue that had just occurred and also whether a lease payment could be deferred at all. I received confirmation that the fee was credited back to my account and that lease payments could not be deferred. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX attempted to process the autopay payment from the OLD account once again, despite my having added the new banking information the previous month. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I requested a payoff document for me to buy-out my lease with XXXX through my credit union which was good through XX/XX/XXXX. The total amount of the payoff was {$40000.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the payoff check was sent to XXXX via overnight mail and was deposited by XXXX to their bank account with US Bank on XX/XX/XXXX. This check amount included {$14000.00} allocated to the remaining lease payments, {$28000.00} for the residual amount due with a credit of {$2800.00} for the Unearned amount. Whereas the check was cashed on XX/XX/XXXX and applied to my account, it is once again impossible to have any late payments. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I sent a message via the secure message portal to customer service as the title had not yet been received by my bank. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a reply stating that the amount received had not been applied to the account due to the account being short {$620.00}. 

*****Note that the check for the payoff had already been cashed and would have had to be credited to my account for accounting purposes. Also note that the credit reporting agencies ALL report that XXXX updated my account to reflect it being paid in full in XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, after receiving an email from XXXX to call them about my account, I called and spoke with a customer support rep who was unable to provide the details around the payoff and title or the issue with the payoff shortage. I was transferred to a supervisor who at that time informed me that the payment for XXXX was returned and WAS NOT included in the payoff dated XX/XX/XXXX. When I asked why the payment was drafted from the old account when I had added the new information AND had the previous months payment taken from the new account, I was told it was because I did not delete the original account information from the account and that simply adding the new account was not enough, though she did confirm that she saw the new account listed on my account. I asked whether this was being reported as delinquent and the supervisor explicitly said, No. I authorized the supervisor to draft the payment of {$620.00} from my new account, which she was able to do WITHOUT me providing the account information to her. It was also explicitly stated that the amount being paid was the remaining balance on the account, NOT the lease payment from XXXX. 

*****Note that this amount of {$620.00} DID NOT include any late fee as would customarily be charged if a payment were actually late. 


On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX, I received notification that I had a message in the XXXX message center. I retrieved the message, and found that XXXX was issuing me a refund in the amount of {$1300.00} to the same bank account that I have twice previously instructed them to cease using as it was closed due to identity theft in XXXX. I called and spoke to a representative who stated he put in a request to the back office to halt the ACH transaction and yet again I provided the bank information for XXXX XXXX Bank ending in XXXX. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I still have not received this refund, not had any further communication from XXXX on the status of the stop request. 

In the attached document, you will see the various reporting to the credit bureaus, the removal or modification of the reported information multiple times, and the vast difference in the information being reported. The credit bureaus have disputed this and each one came back and said that the information was confirmed or updated by reviewing the reporting form submitted by XXXX. 

The bottom line is that I paid this car off in full on XX/XX/XXXX. There were NEVER any XXXX day late payments as the check they cashed was broken down BY XXXX XXXX including {$14000.00} for the lease payments. The check could not have been cashed if it was NOT applied to my account as there was another lienholder involved and the check was from them and by cashing the check XXXX was obligated to release the title to them. XXXX is reporting different information to each credit bureau, they have modified the reporting more than one time without cause, and the information is not only inaccurate, it is severely affecting my credit score and has halted the refinance of my home. XXXX is very aware of the dispute I am raising and they have yet to respond to me directly since I first raised the issue more than 30 days ago.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation