Consumer complaint received 2021-04-08
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Received unsolicited financial product or insurance offers after opting out
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc. (WA)

As a victim of a data breach at the XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I was offered a year of free credit and ID theft monitoring service through Experians IdentityWorks. 

After signing up, I also signed up for a credit report through Experian. I immediately started getting marketing emails from Experian, saying I should increase my credit limit! and apply for one of these pre-approved credit card offers especially for you and you can save money by refinancing your auto loan with these lenders! One email specifically stated I could run an inquiry WITHOUT hurting my credit further. 

When I logged into the Experian.com website, expecting to find good-faith offers from credit card companies that would help me as I am rebuilding my credit, Experian did NOT state that by applying for these pre-approved offers, I still could in fact be DECLINED nor was I told that in doing so, it would show up as hard inquiries on my credit and hurt my current credit score. 

I was under the obvious MIS-impression that Experian was an entity that was created to HELP me in my efforts to rebuild my credit as I have been diligently doing so since leaving my XXXX husband. Since my divorce, I was left penniless ( my ex-husband controlled all the family finances ) and with damaged credit.

So imagine my shock to find that actually, despite being one of the three American credit reporting gods, who wield all of consumers private credit and finance data over our heads, they are NOT trying to HELP consumers rebuild their credit. 

As owner of our credit and finance data, the for-profit company Experian knows full well my current financial status, and so by sending me their unscrupulous marketing emailsseveral times a day since I first signed up with them! pressuring me to apply for one of their third party partners credit cards, they KNOW my credit is not yet good enough to be accepted for a new credit card. 

And yet, Experian has NO problem partnering with credit card companies to take their advertising money, while pressuring consumers to apply for credit cards despite being those who are least able to afford having their credit scores hurt by the very inquiries they are actively promoting in their marketing emails to them. 

This is UNCONSCIONABLE!! 

Why is our nation allowing for PROFIT companies to wield such power over consumers lives? This is such an obvious SCAM. It is completely ILLOGICAL. How long will we continue to allow this scam to continue? 

American consumers credit scores belong with a NON-profit agency that is entrusted to HELP consumers make wise credit and finance decisions, not a greedy FOR-profit who could care less about consumers and only care about their bottom line. 

And despite my having paid off one XXXX XXXX credit card balance twice this past year, and having only {$140.00} balance on a second card with them, I am now forced to STAY with XXXX XXXX, which charges me {$400.00} a year in both annual and monthly fees ( NOT including interest charges ) for the privilege of having 2 credit cards with them, and whose APR rates charges me an EGREGIOUS 36.9 % interest, when as a current low income consumer, I can LEAST afford such extremely HIGH fees and interest rates. 

It is almost as if this system is PURPOSELY set up to keep the lower income consumer in a perpetual state of financial hardship and beholden to credit card company sharks. Indeed, because of my outstanding Federal student loans balance, it appears I will be perpetually designated as not credit worthy, despite faithfully and diligently working to rebuild my credit for several years now. Such a SHAME on our nation, doing such harm to the most in need. Simply shameful. 

When I called to complain to Experian disputes department, they said there was nothing they could do. They said to call the credit card companies who they had pushed me to apply for the credit card with to ask about removing the hard inquiry. 

Then of course when I called the credit company, they said there was nothing they could do. 

And so it goes. The perpetual scam continues unabated ... 

Unless your agency and Congress can do something to finally FIX this shameful blight on our nation? 

Heres hoping. 

Thank you. I look forward to your reply. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX