Consumer complaint received 2020-02-29
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:
To whom it may Concern, I have tried to dispute this account several times over the last few months and I feel that the creditor is using illegal tactics in their reporting of this account. I have requested that this account be removed from my credit reports because it is past the time limit a creditor is allowed to report a debt to a credit bureau. The DOFD should be XX/XX/XXXX. I have asked the creditor to provide me with proof of the DOFD and account information and payment history and they have not complied. 

I have included some documentation so that you can see the discrepancies and inaccurate reporting of this account. Each file is named according to what content it contains. I tried to scan the information together so it would adhere to the right time frame as well. Besides having a name each file is numbered. I will explain each file as follows : I sent my last disputes about this account sometime in mid-XXXX. They were sent electronically. I asked for a copy of the disputes from the credit bureaus but they said they could not provide that information. I only filed the disputes with XXXX and Equifax because the account was not showing on XXXX  However as of today I see that XXXX/AKA XXXX University is now reporting on XXXX  but it shows a different starting balance than the other 2 credit bureaus. I will include this as file marked 1. Please note how this account shows on XXXX  with a different original loan amount than it shows on the Equifax and XXXX  credit reports. 

During this timeframe I called XXXX University/AKA XXXX University on the advice of XXXX XXXX who I had hired to help me with the removal of this account from my credit reports. I spoke with a XXXX XXXX who informed me that the University was undergoing a change in loan servicing and that it was the last day that the person presently handling it was working. I was unable to speak with him. She said the new person. Mr. XXXX would not be available for a couple of weeks. 

After that communication I received a letter from them it is the file marked 2 I have not received any other documentation from them. No statements, no loan information etc. In fact I havent had any correspondence from them in years, including no loan statements. I get informed delivery from USPS so I see what mail I am receiving, I have not had any other mail come from XXXX University or their loan servicer. 

I noticed a name listed on the account ( XXXX XXXX ) from the dispute results that I had obtained. I called XXXX University and obtained an email for him, which happened to be their CFO. The email communication is file marked : 3. After our initial email communication Mr. XXXX had a Mr. XXXX call me. During my phone call with Mr. XXXX he proceeded to tell me what the credit bureaus had communicated to him in regards to the account. He said that because some payments were made on the account that it would stay reporting to the credit bureaus until the date of the last payment. However, Mr. XXXX did confirm that no payments were made in XXXX. ( Which would make the DOFD XX/XX/XXXX, as the account then became first delinquent ) ) But he said because a payment was made in XXXX that the DOFD had started over, however I explained that the account was never brought current. This did not seem to matter to him, I told him that by law the DOFD should never change. He also said that it looked like there was a forbearance for this account and I told him that this account was never granted a forbearance. He said he was just giving me the information the credit bureaus told him and that the status of the account was decided by the credit bureaus. You will see from the various reports and information regarding this account that the information reporting on the credit bureau reports have changed very often. XXXX is reporting what they want to, not what is accurate information. Every couple months they add a statement to my account which causes my credit score to drop significantly! I have heard this is score suppressing? Also on my Equifax report it shows it typed in notes that the date of my last payment is XX/XX/XXXX but in the payment history it shows the last payment as XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX-which is the accurate information. 

After reaching out to Mr. XXXX, he said that he had forwarded my file to the legal department. However when I called the legal department and left a message they did not return my call. I then decided to send a reply with supporting documents concerning my last disputes to XXXX  and Equifax these are files marked 4 and 8 and contain this information. 

File marked 10 are the dispute results from XXXX  after their reinvestigation ( file marked 8 ) -it appeared nothing changed, other than there is no more account history in XXXX at all. Thus deleting the DOFD information for XXXX and for the XX/XX/XXXX past due payment. Again a sign of re-aging of this account. 

I have not received anything from Equifax in regards to the reinvestigation. In fact I dont think they actually did one. I was told to fax them the information as you can see from the file marked 4. However I did not hear from them in regards to their results. I have called them numerous times to check but kept being told that it takes time for them to get the information and process it. I also requested information as to how they validated the account information but was not provided that from either credit bureau. 

Files marked A/B/C/D are from my Equifax and XXXX  credit reports. These are a quick picture of how differently and inaccurately this account is reporting-file A shows a credit report from XXXX  from XX/XX/XXXX which shows the original DOFD as XX/XX/XXXX, it also shows the account as in collections and closed. Then the file marked B shows on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX University omits the DOFD payment history for XXXX and changes the account status to open and 180 days past due, thus re-aging the account. 

Next the file marked C shows the credit report pages from Equifax from XX/XX/XXXX the account states the last payment was XX/XX/XXXX but then says DOFD as XX/XX/XXXX ( how can this be when the last payment is in XXXX? ) It also shows it previously as a collection account, then in XX/XX/XXXX it changed account status like XXXX  to show 180 days past due and now open, again XXXX University re-aging the account. 

The file marked D is my credit report on the Equifax website from XX/XX/XXXX, it now shows the account again in collections -but also shows it 180 days past due instead of account closed? It also has a new DOFD as XX/XX/XXXX, instead of the XX/XX/XXXX they previously reported! ( However XX/XX/XXXX is the correct DOFD and this should never change ). 


The file marked 6 is an XXXX  credit report page from XX/XX/XXXX. I used this information in my first dispute to XXXX. It shows payment history for this account as being ok in XX/XX/XXXX and no data in XX/XX/XXXX. This is not accurate information and is their attempt to re-age the account. I have included the file marked 15 to show that in fact this account was delinquent 45 days as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX reported on the file marked 6 that the account was current in XXXX of XXXX when it definitely was not, as file 15 proves this. You can actually see from the file marked A -the XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  report that XXXX previously reported the correct account information for XXXX and XXXX of XXXX as being delinquent, but then later changed it. Thus re-aging the account. 

File marked 15 is the original delinquency email received from XXXX/XXXX  University. This account has changed loan servicers 3 times since the original loan. I only know this as I called my local University to ask for original account documentation which they could not provide. I believe this is why it recently changed account status back in XX/XX/XXXX from a collections account to open with current inaccurate late payment history. XXXX University began to re-age the account at this point and it caused my credit scores to plummet. 

File marked 11 is an entire year of XXXX/XXXX  University account information provided to me from XXXX, you can see the changes to the account as XXXX University repeatedly changed the information they provided as well as reported inaccurate information to the credit bureaus. 

I believe I have no other recourse but to file a complaint. I need to move but I am encountering roadblocks because of the recent history changes in the account. XXXX University is trying to re-age this account. It is my understanding that according to consumer protection laws this account should be removed from my credit reports as it has past the date allowed by law to continue to report on my credit history. Also XXXX University is required under the same law to provide me with the history of this account as well as the DOFD of this account if I dispute the validity of what they are reporting. Everyone who has reviewed this account, including an attorney confirms that the XXXX/XXXX  University account should be removed from my credit reports, or the credit bureaus is required to provide me with proof of their validation process. 

I know I have provided a lot of information and I apologize that there is so much to have to go through. If there is any questions at all please let me know. My phone number is XXXX, do not hesitate to call me. Hopefully you can print it out so that you can see all the differences together. Thank you so very much for your time and attention to this matter. 


Best Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation