Consumer complaint received 2024-06-10
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: Empower Finance, Inc. (OH)

I had previously used Empower for payday loans. In XXXX of XXXX, XXXX offered a new financial product, called XXXX, that promised to help boost my credit score by reporting installment loan payments to the credit bureaus. 

I used Empower XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I made my final Empower XXXX payment and closed the account. 

In early XXXX, I began applying for a mortgage loan. At this point, I realized that Empower XXXX had not updated my account balance or status with XXXX and XXXX -- it still reflected an open account with a balance of {$460.00}. 

Empower XXXX had not been updated with XXXX or XXXX since XX/XX/XXXX. 

At this point, I called Empower and was unable to reach a representative. I then began emailing them at XXXX. 

In the attached email chain, you can see that I reached out multiple times, beginning XX/XX/XXXX. Eventually receiving a zero-balance letter on XX/XX/XXXX. 

At this point, I filed a dispute with both XXXX and XXXX -- submitting an explanation, as well as the XXXX-balance letter provided by Empower. 

XXXX kicked back my first dispute, stating that the information was accurate. I submitted a second XXXX dispute. Again, the dispute was resolved as complete and stated that information was accurate. 

My mortgage lender pulled my credit and saw that both XXXX and XXXX continue to report my Empower XXXX balance as {$460.00}, with a most recent update of XX/XX/XXXX -- over 2 months out of date. 

My lender states that if this is not cleared up immediately, I will be ineligible for a home loan. 

I reached out to XXXX Friday, XX/XX/XXXX to ask for help and was told that -- on their end -- my Empower XXXX account showed a XXXX balance. The representative stated that the reason my lender was seeing a {$460.00} Thrive balance was that he had only performed a soft-pull, and that a hard-pull would show an accurate amount. 

I asked my lender to perform a hard-pull. He did so, and showed me that the XXXX report still showed a {$460.00} Thrive balance. 

I called XXXX back a second time and spoke with a new agent. This representative also assured me that, on their end, my XXXX balance reflected as XXXX. When I asked for additional assistance or for the opportunity to connect her with my lender, the agent disconnected the call. 

I then called XXXX back a third time, one hour later, and spoke to a third, new agent. 

This agent told me that my Empower XXXX balance reflected at {$460.00}, and that she had no record of it reflecting at XXXX, which is what I had been told by the two previous agents during my calls that day. This agent also stated that she had no record of my two XXXX disputes. 

To recap : XX/XX/XXXX- XX/XX/XXXX : Maintained an open account with Empower XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Made final Empower XXXX payment and closed account. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Emailed Empower asking for a XXXX-balance letter. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Submit my first dispute with XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Received XXXX-balance letter from Empower regarding my Thrive account. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Receive first XXXX dispute results, stating that the Empower XXXX account is up to date. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Submit my second dispute with XXXX, this time including the XXXX-balance letter provided by Empower XXXX. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Receive second XXXX dispute results, again stating that the Empower Thrive account is up to date XX/XX/XXXX : Contact XXXX customer service three times. The first two agents state that my Empower XXXX account reflects at XXXX. The third states that my balance reflects at {$460.00}. The second and third calls were disconnected without my consent. 
XX/XX/XXXX : Both my XXXX and XXXX credit reports continue to reflect an out-of-date Empower XXXX account status, continuing to show the account as open, with a balance of {$460.00}.