Consumer complaint received 2016-06-03
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: IA
Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report
Sub-issue: Account status

Complaint:
I disputed the negative reporting related to XXXX on my credit report. They updated it to show as paid ( {$0.00} balance ) but still show it as a serious delinquency due to paying late. This has negatively impacted my credit score. It took us a VERY long time and a lot of work to get a final bill with detailed charges from XXXX and once we finally did we paid it within a few days. It is the creditor 's responsibility to provide the consumer the information they need to understand if the charges are valid and since we did not receive this we do not want the late/delinquency reported on our record. Here is more background. I closed my account with XXXX. They have sent me bills in the mail that only show the total amount owed but not what the charges are for. My husband and I attempted to call them multiple times as well as stop into the store to understand these charges. We were only hold for extremely long periods of time with no-one picking up the phone. In the XXXX their collection agency XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX contacted me and asked if there was anything they could do to help resolve this debt. I let them know that I wanted a bill noted as final that showed what the charges were for. They agreed to this and all I received from them was another bill that just showed the balance due ( not what it was for ) plus a collection charge. To make matters worse I noticed that my credit score dropped significantly this month so I pulled my credit report. I have NEVER had a late charge on my credit report in the XXXX years I have been an adult. XXXX reported my account as deliquent. I contacted our local non profit credit counseling agency and they suggested I first try to work with XXXX to get a final copy of the bill and also to get it removed from my credit report since they have not provided me with adequate information to understand the charges. I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with XXXX and took detailed notes. They said that they would send me the bill as I requested ( " now '' ) but that once it went to their collection agency I would have to wait 7 years for the negative information to go away. I contested this verbally on the phone as I was never given the proper information to understand what the bill was for. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold. I waited a few minutes and they said they were connecting me to a supervisor now that would help me - no-one had picked up 7 minutes later when I finally gave up and hung up. I would like to understand what I need to do to get this negative information removed from my credit report. When they finally did send me the bill I paid it ( plus the collection fee ) in a very timely manner. However, I have a significant problem with XXXX not providing me the information to know whether the debt was valid and then reporting it as late/delinquency on my credit report. I also have major issues with being on hold multiple times to get this information without them picking up the phone. I am hoping that you can help resolve this for me. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation