Consumer complaint received 2024-01-07
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes — 
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc. (OH)

On Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I called three different phone nos. I have, to reach Experian 's Customer Service department. The reason for my call was to immediately reinstate the Freeze on my Credit Report, rather than to wait until the temporary removal period I requested on XX/XX/XXXX expires, and the Credit Freeze is automatically reinstated on XX/XX/XXXX. I wasted an hour trying numerous different times, at the three different phone Nos. I have for Experian 's Customer Service department, to get through to a human Customer Service agent, because Experian 's Customer Service phone contact method robotic voice response menu system does not offer a choice for what I need to ask Experian to do for me -- which is immediately reinstate the Freeze on my credit report. I tried navigating the voice response menu system to do this, but there is no way to do so. When I asked to speak to a representative or agent, the voice response system said it could not transfer me to a live agent, because it was only allowed to let me through for limited reasons. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ABSURD!! No business or agency that controls records that affect a person 's ability to obtain credit, or to do anything else that a person is legally allowed to do, has a right or can legally refuse to allow that person to talk to someone at that business or agency about a matter affecting their ability to obtain credit. My inability to talk to someone at Experian could affect my ability to obtain credit in two ways : ( 1 ) If I am unable to immediately reinstate the Freeze on my Credit Report, and a fraudster takes out credit in my name, using my credit history and identity, and runs up a huge debt in my name, this could impact my aboveXXXX credit score and ruin my credit history, making it much harder or impossible for me to obtain credit in the future. ( 2 ) If I am unable to lift the Freeze on my Credit Report temporarily, so that a creditor with whom I have applied for credit may see my Credit Report, I can not receive a new extension of credit from that creditor. 

Experian needs to immediately ( not two years or two months or two weeks from now, but NOW ) reprogram their phone answering voice response menu system to offer a person calling in to talk to Customer Service, an easy, immediately available method to reach a human Customer Service agent. Such as, " You may dial '0 ' at any time to reach a live agent. '' ALL other companies I have dealt with ( thousands of them ) do this. It can not possibly be legal, and it is certainly not acceptable, for Experian to be able to block people from getting through to a live Customer Service agent. 

My previous CFBP Complaint No. XXXX, from XX/XX/XXXX, also mentioned this same issue. That complaint was about not being able to get FALSE information removed from my Credit Report. I have also complained twice directly to Experian about this. My most recent complaint was on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, in a Customer Service survey response. 

Experian has done nothing to address this problem in the 2-1/2 years since I originally brought this to their attention through the above-mentioned CFBP Complaint ( there was no other way to bring it to their attention, because you can not get through to them to report this issue ). The phone voice response menu system has not been re-programmed to offer a means to get to a live agent.