Consumer complaint received 2022-07-13
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CO
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account information incorrect

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I was sold a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX truck under false pretenses by XXXX, XXXX XXXX, WA XXXX Dealer # XXXX. It fell apart within a week after the purchase and the cost of repair exceeded the value of the vehicle, it was a lemon. The price for the truck was {$2400.00}. I put {$500.00} down and financed {$1900.00} with XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Upon trying to return the vehicle I was told " tough luck '' by both the dealer and the lender, as they enforced the contract on me. I made two payments of {$200.00} ( {$410.00} ). My total out of pocket was ; Down Payment + 2 Monthly installments = {$910.00}. 

I was financially displaced because of the purchase, and subsequently lost my job and home. I was not able to secure help on my behalf to defend myself so after struggling to make 2 monthly payments I was unable to pay for 4 years while I recovered financially. There was no way I could have fought them on this at the time with the limited resources I had on hand. 

When the truck broke down I left it with a mechanic who said he would coordinate with the lender for the repo and reimbursement from warranty repairs that were allowed and serviced. Although the services performed by the mechanic did not get the truck back to running or driving sadly. The lender did not attempt to collect the vehicle from the mechanic. Instead they charged off the account and considered it a loss. They even stopped trying to contact me or have me pay the debt. 

4 years go by. I pay all my other bills on time. I built a credit history I'm proud of and never miss a single payment on anything EVER. It turns out, throughout my entire credit history this was the only derogatory account. It is safe to call that a mistake. Things happen but this is not a consistent pattern for me as I always pay my bills. 

So I reach out to the lender and attempt to clear the debt with them approximately XX/XX/XXXX. They refuse to work with me and insist I pay an egregious dollar amount which included an unwarranted amount of interest otherwise they threatened to file suit to get a judgement against me. They were absolutely rude and aggressive in their attempt to collect the debt, making an assortment of threats with lies on how the legal process would work in their favor. I opted for an attorney to litigate with them. They would not budge. After a month of going back and forth they served me with with the lawsuit in XX/XX/XXXX. I had no choice but to pay, they " settled '' with me at {$5000.00}. I had {$1500.00} left to pay when I stopped making payments in XXXX ( vehicle price minus total out of pocket / {$2400.00} - {$910.00} = {$1500.00} ). I paid them more than 3 times that amount. They continue to report inaccurate & derogatory information to the credit bureaus even when they have come out far ahead. They want to do what they can in spite of me only because they feel they have to power to do so. You've been paid XXXX XXXX stop hindering my account and defaming my name. I have lost so many opportunities in housing or increased payments for other loans all due to this one mistake I made in the whole of my financial history. Please help me put this behind me. Please help me get XXXX XXXX to stop deliberately reporting inaccurate and harmful history to the credit bureaus. Its been long enough and they intent to report this history for the full 7 years after the settlement in XXXX. I will be affected and incur considerable loss for a total of 11 years before this falls of my credit report if cXXXX XXXX  gets their way. I believe they are grossly taking advantage of the financial system to hurt consumers just because they feel they are in a position of power. Its not right. 

They still claim that I have settled with them for less the the original amount, this is false. They are reporting that I am delinquent in payments for all of XXXX and all months in XXXX leading up to XXXX, but the contract was initiated on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX not anytime before that, so that is false. The credit reporting agency will not approve my 100 character explanation note to be presented in my profile for all inquirers to see with my claim that i have paid more than the contract amount. I have paid a total of {$5900.00}, for a truck I never got to utilize.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation