Consumer complaint received 2020-07-10
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: TX
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes

Complaint:
I placed security freezes on my credit report with all three major reporting agencies in XXXX, after XXXX attempts were made to open fraudulent credit accounts under my name. I had no reason to attempt to lift those freezes until we decided to purchase a new vehicle on XX/XX/XXXX. I followed the instructions to lift the freezes, and both XXXX and XXXX freezes were lifted almost immediately. Experian, however, kept stating that I had an incorrect PIN, even though I entered it exactly as it was printed on my freeze confirmation letter. Experian then said that they were going to " use information obtained from internet records '' to verify my identity. That didn't make much sense to me, since there is no way to know where that information came from on the internet, or if it was accurate. I answered all questions correctly, but was still told that I had to mail a request to have the freeze lifted. While at the dealership, I tried to call Experian, since that was the credit reporting agency that XXXX XXXX uses. I followed the instructions for PIN retrieval, and discovered that the XXXX freeze confirmation letter had printed XXXX leading zeros that were not part of the actual PIN. I tried, again, to lift the freeze by phone, and was told again that they were " unable to verify my identity '', and my request would have to be sent by mail. There was no option to speak with a human representative. Because I was unable to lift the Experian freeze online in the one hour time-frame dictated by the XXXX XXXX, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, and because the vehicle we wanted to purchase was the only one on the lot with the features we wanted, we were unable to wait a week for the freeze to be lifted, and had to purchase the vehicle under my husband 's name alone. This hurt his credit scorXXXX, and also presents possible problems in the future if something happens to him and I am not listed as an owner/borrower on the vehicle. 
I sent a letter to Experian by Certified Mail on XX/XX/XXXX, demanding that they never again use unverified " information from the internet '' to confirm my identity, issue a new written verification of how my PIN should be entered into their online system to lift the freeze in the future, explain to me in writing why they had issued the original PIN with XXXX  leading zeros that they knew would render the PIN invalid, and that they acknowledge that these practices were unacceptable and apologize for the harm done by not unfreezing my credit when a proper request was submitted. Experian responded with a copy of my credit report, and a new letter detailing how to lift the freeze online. The new letter did show the PIN without the leading zeros. 
I waited a bit, then tried this morning to lift the freeze online, following the directions provided in Experian 's correspondence dated XX/XX/XXXX. I took screenshots of the information I entered, to prove that I had entered it correctly. AGAIN, I was told that they could not verify my identity, and that I would have to mail a request to lift the freeze ; requiring that I send sensitive identifying information through the mail in order to exercise my rights as a consumer. 
It is my belief that Experian intends to punitively deny consumers the ability to lift their credit freezes online, in an attempt to discourage those consumers from exercising the right to freeze and unfreeze their credit, which would allow Experian to profit from the sale of credit information for same consumers by reducing the number of frozen credit files. I would like this issue to be investigated, with the hope that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could censure Experian and prevent further incidents.

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 non-monetary relief