Consumer complaint received 2023-04-21
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 — Investigation took more than 30 days
Company: EQUIFAX, INC. (LA)

Complaint:
Around XXXX of XXXX, my mortgage loan was acquired by XXXX XXXX. During this process, an error occurred with my account balance which effected my payments. I constantly called XXXX XXXX  for months to see what could be done and for updates to be given to be. Every time, I was instructed to wait for a communication through the mail. This not only was during the pandemic, but a natural disaster ( hurricane ) that hit my area in XXXX of XXXX. Communication was very poor from the beginning. When I called customer service, no one could help me, and it took months of receiving incorrect balance statements and XXXX XXXX having to re-run analysis checks on my account to remedy this issue. When I inquired about forbearance while speaking to a customer service representative on one of my many calls with them, I was told that I could file if I've experienced a loss of income. I told them this was not my concern as I was still employed at the time. They then told me to continue to look out for communication through the mail. By the time I received the corrected statements in XXXX of XXXX, XXXX XXXX reported late payments to the credit bureaus for the months of XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX of XXXX. I made multiple payments to the company from between the months of XXXX - XXXX of XXXX, including late fees that were added to the account. 

I have been battling with efforts to have these marks removed from my credit report since the end of XXXX, constantly reaching out to XXXX XXXX  and filing disputes with the credit bureaus, even disputes that were filed by customer service reps within the company. Every time a dispute has been opened, XXXX reports the marks as accurate due to the payments not being received on the XXXX  of the month during this time. No one has taken a look as to why this happened or even owned up to the mistakes made on their end ( multiple statements sent with incorrect balance summaries ). 

I have been trying to get someone who could properly assess the issue, but to no avail. I have sent multiple emails to customer care and also the loss and mitigation department. No one has responded or replied to any of my emails. Recently on XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke to a rep from the loss and mitigation department that told me that the proof I sent ( checks on my bank statements I emailed to XXXX back in XXXX ) weren't enough to have someone assess the situation. They needed a copy of the checks, front and back, the bank statements, and a copy of my credit report. Why am I being told this now? Every time I speak to someone, I am given different instructions, yet, the marks still have not been removed from my report. 

I inquired about the notes that have been kept since dealing with the issue, and it seems as though none of my concerns have been escalated by XXXX XXXX. For example, none of my emails have been addressed, not even through the letters I've received in the mail. Also, a rep. that I've recently spoken to told me that 1 ) I should've been given a grace period of 3 months before making payments after my loan was acquired by the company and 2 ) I could have filed for forbearance even though I was still employed, but unfortunately, they can't retroactively submit a request for it now. As for having the marks removed from my credit report, I was told by another rep that I've missed the time period to have these marks removed. However, on their website, it says otherwise, and yet again, I was not informed of a deadline for XXXX  to make corrections to credit reports. 

I have constantly been misled by XXXX XXXX  reps on having this issue resolved, and I've tried to be cooperative.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation