Consumer complaint received 2022-02-12
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 status incorrect

Complaint:
I had applied for a XXXX XXXX card over 3 yrs ago to make a 1x purchase of an expensive XXXX XXXX XXXX I needed to build my credit score, so I thought this would help. I had the money to pay for the phone and setup AUTO-PAY to make sure to achieve my goal of raising my Credit Score all of which backfired. NOT EVER USING the credit card since this 1x purchase/payoff has been ruining my credit score and effecting my ability to get a better rate on a home loan or any loan for that matter. My score used to be upwards of 825+ plus, now it doesnt go above 600! 

The start of this MAIN issue : I noticed XXXX XXXX XXXX were still showing an ANNUAL Credit Card Fee. I called and spoke to a XXXX rep from the XXXX to cancel this card back in XXXX of XXXX and he assured me he would and he reset the balance owed to {$0.00}. I asked him to followup with a confirmation email that my request was followed through and to send me a snail mail letter. Neither one happened after he said he would. Since XXXX, I have made numerous calls to XXXX and spoken directly to a CSR who all confirmed it was an error of XXXX to keep sending me emails indicating a balance for an ANNUAL FEE that quickly escalated to Late Payments, which then severely effected my Credit Score. Each call over the past few years has resulted in countless fabricated resolutions from a XXXX XXXX that they took care of my cancellation request and any owed late payments/balances. 

MAJOR COMPLAINT ISSUES to address regarding XXXX : Not cancelling the card per my years of requests via phone ( They do NOT have a physical address to send a dispute letter ) Inconsistent month-to-month Credit Card balances on a card that does not PHYSICALLY exist in my possession as I shredded it after the Phone purchase to make sure I never use it again. I had no use for this card other than to help increase my Credit Score, I thought. 

Mysterious balances that make no sense as I can not get any hard copy statements from XXXX, even after requesting them time and again. When I call, they say it was a mistake on their end, and the next month I get a very generic email with a balance identified as {$0.00}. Then a few days later or the next month, I get another email indicating a balance that can go anywhere from {$0.00} to as high as {$140.00} or more, with no available statement records online or physical indicating what this balance refers to. They provide me with no explanation other than an error on their end. Since I am not making any purchases, they have no statements for me, I presume? Either way, when I contact them directly, in ALL cases, they say its their error and the card had been cancelled. 

I had the XXXX purchase from XXXX setup on the CC as AUTOPAY and would have no reason to change it. Somehow, in XXXX and XXXX of XXXX, AUTOPAY was OFF and in XXXX and XXXX of XXXX, AUTOPAY was back up and running without my knowledge. It appeared to be taking out {$50.00} to pay for those 2 months of payments. My balance as of XX/XX/XXXX showed {$94.00}. In XXXX of XXXX, the new balance was {$79.00}. Why was a payment of just {$14.00} made to cover this balance, when {$50.00} was the minimum and what was the payment for? No one knows! 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from XXXX regarding a balance of {$59.00}, then a followup email on XX/XX/XXXX ( just 4 days later ) saying that my new balance was {$9.00}, then no email for XX/XX/XXXX, then a new email on XX/XX/XXXX indicating a new balance of {$140.00}. When I called again in XXXX of XXXX and spoke directly to a rep, they said it was their error, AGAIN, and would straighten this out and cancel the card. Yet another " dead end fabricated canned response '' from XXXX during my phone conversation. After XXXX of XXXX, I did not have a CC available for them to take any funds from my bank accounts, ever as I did not update any information with a new CC number when the old one expired. I didnt need to, the XXXX was paid off and supposedly the card was cancelled on their end. Somehow they were showing payments due/payments made, yet my own BANK ACCOUNT RECORDS never indicated any funds going to XXXX. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I put an offer in for the purchase of a home. When the Loan XXXX pulled my Credit Report, it had gone down from over 850 earlier that year to less than 600 due to Citibanks supposed LATE PAYMENTS. I immediately called to talk directly to a XXXX XXXX this time ( XXXX ), who would not give me his name for privacy concerns. I asked about these late payments and why this card isnt being CANCELLED per my numerous requests to do so. The conversation was quick and easy for me this time he immediately told me I see what happened here, this is definitely XXXX error and that he would talk to his manager to make sure this negative information gets removed from my Credit Report History due to the timeliness of me needing to improve my Credit Score ASAP. He briefly put me on hold to discuss my requests with his manager and said they would contact the 3 Credit Bureaus and red flag it in their system to remove the late payment information. He also promised me a letter would arrive stating that my CC would be cancelled. The call lasted less than 5 minutes and this time I was left with a sense of relief that someone finally got it at XXXX and this issue would go away for good! Most importantly, my CREDIT SCORE would not continue to be yearly damaged by XXXX with no just cause. 

The letter did arrive as promised ( dated XX/XX/XXXX ) with yet another dead end result. I'm just trying to resolve these issues : Cancel this card and remove any LATE PAYMENTS/BALANCES as nothing is owed on a Credit Card that doesnt physically exist or have a way to have payments taken out from my bank account to pay off these mysterious balances. The letter stated they have researched this ongoing issue, and they have concluded that the information on my Credit Report is correct. 

REMINDER : Every XXXX XXXX I have ever spoken to over the past few years ALL indicated it was a XXXX Error. XXXX letter informed me that they contacted the consumer reporting agencies to note that I am disputing their findings, and if Id like to add a note as to why, that I need to contact the agencies directly at a physical address. It appears to me that XXXX lip service of admitting fault was totally dismissed in their followup research - how and what are they following up on? How can you say you researched my simple request to cancel a card and still continue to say is has been cancelled? As mentioned, I have never used this CC for any purchases other than my 1x purchase of an expensive XXXX years ago that I only used to build my Credit Score, not tear it down as it appears to be doing. 

CURRENT STATUS : The card has never been cancelled since my original XXXX request via phone. 

Inconsistent mysterious balances arrive in my email every month for a card ending in XXXX the most current arrived on XX/XX/XXXX with a {$0.00} balance. How did it go from a high balance of {$140.00} in XXXX to {$0.00} when they have no access to my BANK ACCOUNTS? How did it get paid if their was indeed a legit balance? 

My CREDIT SCORE is still being affected as a result of not getting any resolution for over XXXX XXXX, when every single phone correspondence from a CSR at XXXX identified that it was an issue on their end. 

No physical statements or online statements are available per XXXX. If I request them online or via phone, they tell me my card has been cancelled and there are no statements. If it was cancelled, why do I still get email correspondence in XXXX stating what my current balance is? This makes no sense. In addition, they have since removed their XXXX number off their emails that says if you have any account specific inquiries, please sign on to your online account or call Customer Service.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation