Consumer complaint received 2017-06-09
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: FL
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem
Sub-issue: Their investigation did not fix an error on your report

Complaint:
I have added the complaint /demand that I sent Equifax , which will give you all of the details pertaining to their part in this mess. I was going to do two complaints however, your system will NOT allow me to file one against XXXX XXXX XXXX because they have NOT signed up to get complaints from your system. Which is NOT surprising considering they are trying to avoid paying taxes on the cash payments they get and they try to avoid doing the right thing in general. The brother owns the car lot and then XXXX XXXX owns the Finance company and then I think they BOTH own the insurance company. I was told it was to avoid any requirements of being the car lot owner and the finance company. I was told by a former employee that they did it that was because something about it may be illegal to own both, or something to that effect! All I know is if you look into XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX  you will find some shady stuff for sure!!
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So this complaint is about Equifax and XXXX into one because I cant do XXXX  with out Equifax. If you need any additional info to get both of these complaints filed PLEASE do NOT hesitate to let me know.
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My complaint issue is two fold, for this one I will submit the information pertaining to the defaming and damaging information a Furnisher placed on my report, admitted it was there mistake and sent me an apology and confirmed they would have it removed and updated with in the following 30 days. That was in Mid to late XX/XX/XXXX. SInce then I have gone back and forth with the company numerous times requesting they do as they said and agreed in writing, which was to have it removed from Equifax, which would then have Equifax correct my report and scores. It is now XX/XX/XXXX and Equifax did finally remove the inaccurate statement on my report, however they have NOT corrected my scores, paid the restitution to me, nor have they reported the corrections to ALL of the lenders that viewed pulled my report since it was Incorrectly placed. Additionally they have NOT removed the codes and numbers that remove the Repo status from my reporting. SO they have only done a small part of the correction. I disputed it with Equifax on 4 separate occasion, as well as the Furnisher. The CFO has sent me a few emails which I will attach to prove they have accepted responsibility of the DAMAGING information being their NEGLIGENCE AND MISTAKE. Which has cost my family and I several hundreds of thousands of dollars in Interest on CC, loan denials, car financing denials, being called a fraud, in front of my small children which caused my character to be harshly defamed, which also cost me numerous financing abilities of all kinds including but not limited to getting financed for cars, approved for houses, and loans that we needed to help our family get a safe and habitable home. We were forced due to the GROSS negligence of the Furnisher placing an INVOLUNTARY REPOSSESSION on my credit report since XXXX, which I was NOT made aware of this until Mid to late XX/XX/XXXX, WHen I was informed of it, I was completely and utterly embarrassed by the information and how I was told. I was at a large car dealership, where there was a longtime friend of the families who worked there and offered me the BEST price on a brand new car, along with their promotion of 0.9 % financing. When I arrived at the dealership, I showed them that I had a XXXX  credit score, they were very happy bc that score provided them with the ability to grant me financing at the 0.9 % and to give me the car I wanted at FAMILY PRICING, which took off an instant XXXX from the sticker price. They also had massive incentives from the dealerships which would have allowed me to have a BRAND NEW FULLY WARRANTIED car with all the trim, bells and whistles I needed and wanted to secure a safe car from my children, as opposed to the current one that I had purchased in XXXX from the Furnisher XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, who is one in the same of the furnisher that placed the DAMAGING HARMFUL DEFAMING, INACCURATE INFORMATION on my credit report, which now I was told of when they denied me credit, financing of any kind at the dealership when they pulled my auto credit. This was the first I had heard of a Repo of any kind on my report. When I instantly contacted the furnisher it took them a few days to get back to me and when they did, they informed me that the were able to confirm it was absolutely a FULL MISTAKE ON THEIR END and that they were sure to correct it ASAP! they gave me the apology letter to use to try to prove it was their mistake and I was worthy of financing. When it had NOT been corrected in XX/XX/XXXX, I again spoke to the CFO XXXX XXXX who again assured me they had submitted the request for removal to Equifax directly and due to their backlog it may take up to 90 days to be fully removed. At that time I was NEVER aware of the FCRA, FACT ACT OR THE CFPB ACT that protected me, and would have helped me then. It was NOT until XX/XX/XXXX when I went to get a new car once again at a large dealership that was offering HUGE rebates and interest of 1.9 % to qualified buyers. Well even with the Repo at that time my credit was still in the mid XXXX 's I do n't want to say an exact # because I do n't have that exact # in front of me. So I do know for sure it was in the XXXX- XXXX range at that time. Which had the Repo NOT been on I would have gotten the 1.9 %, they again had it all set until they pulled the car credit and the REPO was still showing, NOT only was it still showing, IT HAD JUST BEEN RE REPORTED AS CURRENT BY THE FURNISHER as of that month! Which means NOT only did they NOT correct it, they actually kept reporting it as a current issue. I again contacted XXXX, who then APOLOGIZED and admitted it was HIS human error that has caused it to NOT be removed and to be currently reporting, I also showed him that he had placed late and Missed payments on my report that were ABSOLUTELY NOT correct. THe missed and Lates were adding up due to the way they had my account all mixed up. The account that was listed as an INVOLUNTARY REPO was showing numerous late and missed pays when it was NOT it had been paid in full and it never had a balance due after it was paid off in XXXX. Additionally this when I was sent to another car dealership who felt that their strong relationship with a bank would allow them to use the apology letter to show it was an ERROR on the part of XXXX XXXX XXXX and that I was never late and all of my accounts are in GOOD STANDINGS with XXXX XXXX XXXX. WHen the finance MGR of the dealership sent the letter the lady from the bank came back while I was there with my two boys and stated, that I WAS A FRAUD AS WAS MY LETTER because there is NO way any finance company would admit this amount of guilt in writing, and put Equifax in the SAME guilty seat as them. Now they had caused my Character to be fully defamed and to not allow me to have any chance to get financing, and if anyone in the auto industry tried to finance me and she heard of it, she would inform them of my letter being a fraud. I even tried to explain that she could contact them directly to prove it was NOT a FRAUD. She said she would NOT waste her time. SO this was when numerous INQ were placed on my reports due to me HOPING and PRAYING that someone would help me. THe car I was currently driving was very messed up and VERY UNSAFE and it was From XXXX. They had me trade that car in and get two cars, one for me and one for my husband which they said that bc they had messed up so badly they would allow me to keep these cars until the credit report was cleared and then they would buy them back no problem. SO now let 's fast forward to XX/XX/XXXX, and I had done a great deal of research and found out about the FCRA, FACT ACT and CFPB act of protection. I sent them several emails with options to resolve my financial, emotional, physical, mental personal and professional damages. THe owner XXXX XXXX, got involved and stated her WOULD NOT NOT ONLY PAY ME ANY FINANCIAL RESTITUTION, BUT NOW HE WOULD NOT LET HIS AGENTS OR ANYONE IN HIS COMPANY CORRECT MY REPORT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WRONG AND WRONG FROM THEM WITH THEIR FULL ADMITTANCE OF THEIR MISTAKE! I have that in an email which I will also attach. I tried with everything I could to get them to work with me, they then refused to do as they said and buy back the cars I was stuck with from them, and I was still paying their extortion rates of over 19 % interest rather than the 0.9 or 1.9 % I deserved and would have had if their company was not negligent in their FALSE, DAMAGING, HARMFUL, AND MORE WITH THEIR RECKLESS REPORTING to EQUIFAX. Each time I disputed the error with Equifax, they would come back and say that XXXX  CONFIRMED THE INFORMATION TO BE ACCURATE AND IT WOULD STAND! MEANING they FORCED IT TO STAY ON EVEN AFTER ADMITTING IT WAS INACCURATE AND THEIR COMPANY 'S FULL MISTAKE, AND THAT MY ACCOUNTS WITH THEM WERE IN PERFECT AND GREAT STANDINGS AND THAT I HAVE FULFILLED ALL OF MY FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS WITH THEM. Each time this happened, I would reach out to XXXX who would either IGNORE ME AND MY EMAIL REQUEST FOR THEIR HELP, OR THEY WOULD TELL ME VIA THEIR SALES MGR THAT EQUIFAX NEVER CONTACTED THEM AND THEY NEVER REAFFIRMED THE REPORTING SHOULD STAND. I finally sent a demand letter to Equifax stating that I will take them to Federal court if they did NOT fix my report, it was then and ONLY then that they paid attention to me and called me to discuss my issues. Most attorneys did NOT want to take my case because they know that BUY HERE PAY HERE LOTS are SCAM ARTISTS And they do n't show a lot of money on the books so it is hard to get any money out of them. However I was able to find an attorney that would take the case and make it a co case of XXXX and EQUIFAX. They said they have had to sue EQUIFAX on a daily basis because this is their normal business practice. It has been admitted that Equifax and the other XXXX of the big XXXX, feel that it is easier to pay off the few hundred consumers per year that take it this far, rather than hiring and employing the proper staff to do the claims investigations the correct way, which as you know all too well, is what they have agreed to do in order to stay in business. They have been sued so many times they mainly settled out of court now because they know they take the risk of a judge and Jury awarding 3 to 5 times the amount that a consumer will accept in a settlement without a lengthy court battle. In addition they are aware that the Federal courts ARE TIRED OF THEM CONTINUING THEIR ILLEGAL BEHAVIORS AND DISREGARD FOR THE CONSUMERS. Well XXXX HAS stated to me that no matter what they will NOT remove the inaccurate info, because they DO N'T WANT TO OR HAVE TO! OnXX/XX/XXXX I sent the written demand to Equifax explaining that I want FINANCIAL compensation from them and if not I will proceed to federal court. Well, on XX/XX/XXXX I got a call from 2 separate people in the Equifax corporate office, looking to help get the item/s removed from my report. They said that without taking them to court they would NOT pay any kind of restitution. That is also whet XXXX Said, XXXX said that if I take them to court they are protected and I will get NOTHING and have to pay their court cost. WHich from what I have researched is FAR from the TRUTH! I have all the written proof that they are NEGLIGENT and with their continued admitted refusal it shows their WILLFUL INTENT TO CAUSE HARM TO ME AND MY FAMILY. Which again from myresearch and speaking to attorneys and research on you the FCRA, FACT ACT and the Consumer FInancial protection act THEY ARE WRONG! And I am entitled to damages they have caused my family since they placed the INACCURATE info and were notified of it. They agreed to remove it and did not and then stated they WONT remove it and do n't are what I do or say, or what happened to me and my small children! On XX/XX/XXXX The representative from Equifax contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX with me on the phone, The secretary stated that XXXX, who is the ONLY one that can authorize the removal of the inaccurate HARMING, DAMAGING, CHARACTER DEFAMING ETC, INFO. SHe said he was in a meeting and she would NOT disturb him. She said that she will have him contact Equifax Rep, when he got out. It may be that day or the next, he will do it at his earliest convenience. SO XXXX XXXX, the Equifax agent, told me that when she hears back from XXXX she will conferenced me in. Well she contacted me the next day XX/XX/XXXX without XXXX on the phone. She stated that he did agree to allow her to remove the WORDS INVOLUNTARY REPO FROM MY REPORT, BUT HE WOULD NOT ALLOW HER TO REMOVE THE LATE PAYMENTS AND MISSED PAYMENTS EVEN THOUGH HE AGREED THAT THEY WERE WRONG AND INACCURATE! So again, EQUIFAX removed just the wording of INVOLUNTARY REPO, but that is ALL they did and that is ALL that XXXX would allow them to do. Even though they knew that it was causing me DETRIMENTAL DAMAGE, and causing me to pay EXCESSIVELY HIGH FEES on anything with interest. THe Equifax rep told me that XXXX REFUSED to speak to her with me on the line because they wanted NOTHING to do with me, and if I was going to sue them then they will not help me in any way. Equifax proved at that point that they had NEVER actually contacted XXXX as they said they had, and if they did and XXXX refused it to be removed, they should have required proof. I had sent EQUIFAX the letters of apology from XXXX and they still chose their side. XXXX claims in an email that he removed it via their internal systems, WHICH WAS ANOTHER LIE from them, which continued the damage and Harm to my family.
When we sat down and calculated our losses in a very conservative way and we have concluded that due to their intentional willful intent to cause and do HARM to my family and I financially, emotionally Physically, Personally, Professionally, I WAS UNABLE TO GET A JOB WITH THE REPO AND I LOST MY JOB MAKING {$75000.00} per year because of the excessive stress and physical damage they caused me, I was no longer able to perform my job duties. I explained all of this to them, and they did NOT CARE AND TOLD ME NOT THEIR ISSUE and they STILL WOULD NOT HAVE IT REMOVED. I then became unemployable because my job requires me to work with MONEY and very private and sensitive information of the company that I work for. I am NOT able to do that with a REPO on my report. It makes me look like I am IRRESPONSIBLE and NO company wants someone controlling their accounts that is FINANCIALLY IRRESPONSIBLE! The job I lost I had been working with since XXXX, so they did NOT pull my credit after the REPO was placed.
All and ALL, we are requesting a restitution FInancial Payment be made Immediately to me, of {$350000.00}. WE are willing to accept a reasonable counter offer if they also agree to remove every negative item they have EVER placed on mine and my husbands report, Including the repo they placed on him due to their lies of taking back the hunk of junks they told us to buy and they would buy them back as part of their apology. Additionally they allowed My niece and Nephew to take over payments on the van that I had NOTHING but issues with. My nephews father is a mechanic and he was able to finally fix it the right way after XXXX charged us more than {$500.00} in repair bills added with interest that they continued to incorrectly fix. They did this with the XXXX that was in my husbands name as well, which we let them take back because they should have done it when they said, and had they fixed my credit in XXXX as they said they would, we would have never had to get their piece of JUNK cars to start with, SO all of it is on them. I also want the Van that has been MORE than paid for, TO be paid in full with a clear title given to my niece and Nephew!
Also I can more than prove it was the REPO holding me back from getting financed, because the car I currently have is at 9 % instead of the 0 % it should have been at, but the ONLY way XXXX even gave me that deal was I showed them the APOLOGY LETTERS FROM XXXX, ALONG WITH THE LETTER FROM THE OWNER XXXX XXXX STATING THEY WILL NOT REMOVE IT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THEIR MISTAKE! SO that is PROOF POSITIVE that it has BEEN ALL OF THEIR WRONG DOING ALL ALONG. OH and I also had to send that same info to XXXX to get my credit card. However instead of getting a {$5000.00} limit I was given a XXXX limit and instead of getting 0 % for the 2 years I only got the 0 % for 9 months. SO now because I have come to the end of being able to handle the enormous financial burden their negligence has and continues to cause me and my family, WE are in a spot that our payments are late for the first time EVER, and that we are unable to pay our bills because we have been paying the ENORMOUS RATES FOR SO LONG WE JUST HAVE FUN OUT OF MONEY TO KEEP DOING IT!! I HAVE TRIED SO MANY WAYS AND TIMES TO GET THEM TO SETTLE AND THEY CONTINUE TO REFUSE TO DO THE RIGHT THING! I pray for the safety, health and well being of my children you will be able to get them to make us whole again, after waiting for right at the 2 year mark. I do have an attorney looking into the case for Equifax, however, I will also file a complaint against them and share the info with you regarding their part more in detail as well as XXXX 's being a co conspirator with their negligence just as Equifax is a co conspirator with XXXX. If you are able to use this as the info is the same, and the documentation is the same for the most part, and file this against XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and EQUIFAX CREDIT AGENCY I WOULD SO APPRECIATE THAT. If NOT I just want to say, I appreciate you help getting this matter resolve once and for all!
So to recap, We want Restitution in the form of {$350000.00}. and or If they agree to absolutely remove every negatively reported item on Mine and my husband XXXX XXXX XXXX 's reports that they have sent to the credit reporting agencies, along with Providing a CLEAN AND CLEAR PAID IN FULL TITLE to the Van Under my niece XXXX XXXX, then we will entertain a lower offer.
Please make sure it is clear that they have HARD COST me, {$15000.00} in 2 years of work, due to the stress, they have factually hard cost me to pay 9 % higher on a XXXX car, due to had this been corrected I would have received 0 % interest, and I would have had that rate 2 years ago, and never had to pay them the EXTORTION RATES OF 19 % on the 2 piece of XXXX cars I had no choice but to take from them, because their negligence and willful intentional intent to cause harm left me with no other options of buying cars from them, One could argue that they do this to everyone so they are FORCED TO RELY ON THEM FOR CARS, AND GET TO KEEP CHARGING THE EXCESSIVE RATES OF 19+ PERCENT ON TOP OF THE EXTREMELY OVER PRICED CRAP CARS THEY SELL! I am sure that has a legal name, and whatever it is, I would think it is a punishable act, and if so I would like that to be imposed should they refuse to settle my claim promptly!
I appreciate your prompt attention in this matter, and your assistance in getting this resolved is GREATLY appreciated.
WE know that if there is ever an agency that TRULY FIGHTS for consumer rights it is YOU GUYS and we ca n't express how much we appreciate you!!
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THANKFUL, XXXX and XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation