Consumer complaint received 2022-01-17
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes — 
Company: National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange, Inc. (PA)

This complaint includes two related problems pertaining to the security freeze status of my NCTUE credit file. 

-Problem 1. Lack of freeze despite receiving a confirmation and pin in XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX I used the nctue.com ( which linked to exchangeservicecenter.com ) website to place a freeze on my NCTUE credit file. To place the freeze I directly provided the requested information of : my first and last name, my DOB, my full SSN, my current address with a ZIP code of XXXX and my most recent previous address with a ZIP ode of XXXX where I last resided in XXXX. The information that I provided was accurate and contained no misrepresentations. At the completion of the process the website provided me with a .pdf document confirming my NCTUE credit file freeze with a date of XX/XX/XXXX and listing my name, my current address with a ZIP code of XXXX that I had provided during the freeze process and a pin number ending in XXXX. My address has not changed since my freeze request of XX/XX/XXXX. 

Believing the freeze of XX/XX/XXXX to be in effect for my NCTUE credit file I visited nctue.com on or about XX/XX/XXXX to explore my options for potentially temporarily removing the freeze on my credit file. At nctue.com ( which linked to exchangeservicecenter.com ) I directly provided the requested information of : my first and last name, my DOB, my full SSN and my current address with a ZIP code of XXXX. The information that I provided was consistent with the information that I provided on XX/XX/XXXX. After submitting the information the NCTUE service indicated that, " Your National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities Data Exchange ( NCTUE ) Data report is not Frozen. '' This was surprising and concerning since I have nothing in my personal records to indicate that I ever requested to remove the XX/XX/XXXX freeze of my NCTUE credit file and I do not believe that I ever requested a permanent removal of the freeze. 

I believe that NCTUE may have failed to properly cause my freeze request of XX/XX/XXXX to come into effect or may have improperly lifted the freeze without my direct request and without notifying me. 

-Problem 2. Incorrect address shown on freeze confirmation of XX/XX/XXXX. 
On or about XX/XX/XXXX, now believing my NCTUE consumer report to be 'not frozen, ' I endeavored to place a freeze. I visited nctue.com ( ( which linked to exchangeservicecenter.com ) I directly provided the requested information of : my first and last name, my XXXX, my full SSN and my current address with a ZIP code of XXXX. The information that I provided was consistent with the information that I provided on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. After receiving the message, " Your National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities Data Exchange ( NCTUE ) Data report is not Frozen '' I selected the option to " Place a freeze. '' At the completion of the process the website provided me with a .pdf document purporting to confirm my NCTUE credit file freeze with a date of XX/XX/XXXX and listing my name and a pin number ending in 10 but with an historical address with a ZIP code of XXXX where I have not resided since XXXX and which I did not provide during my freeze request. 

Presently, I am left to wonder if my freeze request has in fact been accomplished and why my historical address was used in the purported confirmation dated XX/XX/XXXX. 
NCTUE 's freeze process seems to me to be error-prone and unreliable.