Consumer complaint received 2015-08-29
Product: Credit reporting — 
Issue: Incorrect information on credit report — Personal information
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc. (TX)

Re : Experian Annual Credit Report XXXX XXXX, XXXX : " Permanent '' Opt-out is missing or not shownRef. Attachment for PagesI sent a " permanent '' Opt-out form signed/dated XX/XX/XXXX to the OPT-OUT DEPARTMENT, XXXX. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, IL XXXX ( XXXX XXXX ). Experian 's name is prominently displayed at the top of the form. This Opt-out is noted on my current XXXX, XXXX and XXXX XXXX credit reports ( Pages XXXX ) but reference to such is absent on my Experian report of XX/XX/XXXX ( Pages XXXX ). ( Note : " Previous Addresses '' on the Equifax report are being disputed and have been obscured. ) The XX/XX/XXXX date for the Opt-out form is confirmed by the XXXX report ( XXXX XXXX ) which in the " Consumer Statements '' section clearly shows the " Added '' and " Begin dates '' as XX/XX/XXXX ; the date the mail-in form was requested. The " Credit Report Messages '' section XXXX report ( XXXX XXXX ; Attachment ) accurately notes " This opt-out has no expiration date. '' Is this Opt-out on file at Experian but not shown to the consumer? If not, why not? If not on file, I request it be added ASAP. I should not have to resubmit this request as it should have been implemented by Experian and any new request would be redundant with XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. 

Note to CFPB : Unsolicited offers for financial products including those containing partially completed applications and especially if " pre-approved '' can in today 's world cause harm if they fall into the wrong hands as well as place a burden on the recipient with respect to their proper destruction. Some credit offer envelopes are so thick they are difficult to shred placing an unfair burden on consumers who must destroy them. My shredder died when it was fed its umpteenth unsolicited " membership card '' from XXXX, which may not be a financial institution but is a great example of an abusive marketer gone wild. I have a number of unshredded credit card offers that came after this occurred. Asking consumers to call every single marketer and hope that they will cease and desist for some unspecified period of time at their pleasure without any written confirmation is not fair or reasonable. The Opt-out form states " While your name will be permanently removed from the lists that XXXX, Experian, XXXX and XXXX provide to businesses for the purpose of making you a firm offer of credit or insurance, you may continue to receive offers from sources that do not use Consumer Credit Reporting Companies to compile their lists '' but I believe that preventing unsolicited access to my credit is in my best interests. If I want a credit card ( or insurance ) I can shop as appropriate. For both simplicity and to reduce the chances of fraud I have purposefully limited the number of credit and debit cards I use even if that means missing out on discounts such as those offered by store-branded cards. 

For unsolicited credit offers " from sources that do not use Consumer Credit Reporting Companies to compile their lists '' consumers should be able to add their names to a list similar to the National Do Not Call List maintained by the FCC. Also, offers of credit addressed to " fictional '' persons have been sent to my address, sometimes relentlessly over periods of many months. Consumers should be able to report these ; it may help alert authorities to identity thieves who cross state/national boundaries or identify companies that engage in abusive marketing. 

To be practical and fair, when consumers open accounts with co-marketers such as airlines that result in unsolicited/relentlessly periodic credit offers an opt-out option through the primary branding agent ( in this example the airline ) should be mandated with the understanding that failure to do so would not override any master Opt-out list.