Consumer complaint received 2021-03-12
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc. (MA)

Early in XXXX, my husband and I decided to buy a house. On XX/XX/XXXX, I noticed that my credit score had dropped significantly a few months prior and it was due to an account with XXXX XXXX that was on my credit report and was reported as delinquent by many months. Having never used XXXX XXXX before, I was confused by this. I called Experian and filed a dispute, citing that I do not know about this account. At the same time, I called XXXX to try to understand whether someone stole my Social Security Number and created an account in my name. I was routed to more than 10 different departments and people at XXXX XXXX, each of whom looked up my information. However, XXXX did not have my SSN on their record, nor did they have my name. They told me to instead talk to Experian, who likely matched this delinquent account to the wrong person. I told Experian this when I called them, and they told me that they would follow their typical dispute process, which involves reaching out to XXXX to verify the account. While frustrated, I decided that Experian would do their due diligence and resolve this for me. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the results of the dispute. Not only did they " verify '' the account, they noted that it was updated with 1 more month 's worth of delinquency. I was obviously outraged. I called Experian, who told me that there's nothing I can do because the creditor " verified it ''. I tried to get information and found the XXXX XXXX account number. Using this, I called XXXX XXXX and found out that the account does exist, but with an entirely different SSN and name than mine. The only similarity is that our names ( both unique XXXX names ) are somewhat similar. I tried to get more information or even pay off the account, but was unable to do so because I don't have the " PIN '' needed to access the account ( obviously, because I didn't create the account ). Because the account itself is legitimate, they can not simply close it. They told me I need to get Experian to fix this, because it is clearly an issue on Experian 's side, where they have matched this delinquent XXXX account to the wrong credit file. I decided to re-submit a dispute to Experian with this information, and an ask for them to verify not only that the account exists, but what the SSN is. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Experian completed my dispute and once again " verified '' it. They clearly did not go through any of the steps that I did to investigate the veracity of this account and its ties to my name. This account does not show up in any of the other credit unions ' reports. And it's absolutely shameful that their customer service hasn't tried to help, besides saying " the creditor provided this information ''. When the public puts so much trust into you, you have a responsibility to actually doing thorough investigations - this " mistake '' costs people their lives. 

What's even worse is that I pay for the Experian " credit monitoring '' tool - {$30.00} per month. What a waste and a terrible customer service experience. Because I had to give my SSN out to so many people, I have had my SSN used to open up a bank account just last week. Experian is not only adding major inconvenience to major life events, it is making my personal credit file less secure.