Consumer complaint received 2021-05-13
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: NC
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report
Sub-issue: Reporting company used your report improperly

Complaint:
This complaint is not necessarily against Experian Information Solutions , IncXXXX Its rather about an XXXX lender who is using my credit file against me to extort money from me. I know that I am not the only person that this lender is abusing. However, I can only speak for myself in this complaint. This lender is in breach of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and several other federal and state laws and statutes. The lender in question is XXXX XXXX Please consider this complaint an informative note, as well as a desperate plea on my part for your help. I desperately need your help to deal with this lender accordingly to not keep me any longer under pressure. I am also addressing the issues that I am having with XXXX XXXX with the XXXX FTC, FBI, and several state attorney generals and local district attorneys in states that XXXX XXXX  operates. However, getting results takes time, and in the meantime, I would like to be able to use my otherwise good credit to obtain loans and function properly in our credit-driven economy. 

The account that this complaint is about is identifiable as account number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on my credit file. Previously it was identified as account number XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX when it appeared for the first time on my credit file around XXXX of XXXX. Ever since it appeared on my credit file, I contacted XXXX XXXX  and asked them to remove it. After several written complaints to XXXX XXXX sometime around XX/XX/XXXX, they changed the account number from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Since XXXX, in every complaint that I submitted to them, I asked XXXXXXXX XXXX to provide me with a copy of my original credit application and copies of all the statements going back to XXXX when XXXX XXXX claims that the account was opened with them. They also say that the account was closed in XXXX. On my XXXX  credit file, it says that account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX was closed in XX/XX/XXXX. Anyone looking at my credit file can quickly see how conflicting the information for account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is. To add insult to injury, after I filed my latest dispute with your company, XXXX XXXX in their reply to you, they also added a late payment for XXXX at the very beginning of the month. Please consider that I dont receive statements for this account, that I dont have online access to it, and that I dont have a credit card for it ( XXXX XXXX misreports this as a charge account ). Please also consider the fact that there is no credit history going backward beyond XX/XX/XXXX. On my Experian and XXXX credit files, XXXX XXXX claims that the account was closed in XXXX, while on my XXXX credit file, they say that it was closed in XX/XX/XXXX. 

Considering the lack of cooperation and the hostile behavior that XXXX XXXX exhibited towards me, I can only conclude that this bank engages in criminal activities and misuses credit files to extort money from people. Yes, I said people, not customers, because I did not open this account with XXXX XXXX  Neither do I claim that someone else opened it in my name. By doing this, XXXXXXXX XXXXk undermines the public trust in the consumer credit bureaus and in the enforcement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was meant for accurate credit reporting. Understandably, every bank uses credit files to keep customers in line and obtain payment from them. We, as consumers, even tolerate the fact that banks endlessly change their terms and conditions and interest rates, not to mention the occasional mathematical mistakes they make when they compute interest charges and overbill us. Thats all good and well, and we, as consumers, just pay the bill so that our ability to borrow money is not crippled by a bad credit report or a low credit score. 

However, XXXX XXXXk has taken this a step too far. In my case, I believe that XXXX XXXXk stumbled on my personal information in one of the massive acquisitions that they made over the past couple of years. Even if that was the case, it probably was a non-traditional credit line that was not opened with a traditional bank or lending institution. In any case, it was not a charge card. It probably was a trade line that could only be used for certain things. Either way, the account was paid and closed a long time ago. In the almost two years that Ive been fighting and disputing this erroneous information posted on my credit files, XXXX XXXX not once talked to me about how they obtained this account and how they came up with the balance on it. My best guess is that they found some kind of fee or residual interest or something that they could grow into a balance. And that is if they bothered at all. The burden of proof lies with XXXX XXXX to show how they came up with this account. Please look at my credit history for the past 15 years, and you will see that this account just popped up one day, and it was instantly closed. 

I am currently petitioning federal agencies, state general attorneys, and local district attorneys to open an investigation into the criminal activities that XXXX XXXX is engaged in. I am kindly asking you to work with me and help me. It will take time for the authorities to move forward. In the meantime, I kindly ask you to remove account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX from my credit file and ensure that XXXX XXXX can not post it back ever again. If XXXX XXXX can provide reasonable evidence that I owe them money, then they are more than welcome to pursue other avenues to collect it from me. For XXXX, they could simply talk to me and treat me like a human being instead of avoiding any kind of dialogue with me. If not, then they are more than welcome to send it to collections, or we can even go to court. However, in the meantime, I would very much like to be able to function and use my credit to purchase a vehicle or sell my house and buy a different one in another city. XXXX XXXX should use one of the many tools at their disposal if they want to obtain money from me and if they have legitimate proof that I owe them money without resorting to crippling my good credit. 

Please take a look at the two letters that I have attached to this complaint. They are both from XXXX XXXX saying that they can not provide me with a copy of my original credit application. Whats even more disturbing is the fact that they did not want to write the full account number or even the last four digits on either of these letters. This is pretty pathetic behavior coming from a bank, and if anything, it indicates criminal behavior on its part. 

Again, please help me by removing account XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX from my credit file so that XXXX XXXX  can no longer keep pressure on me. Thank you.

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 explanation