Consumer complaint received 2024-05-04 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I was denied an auto loan based on a poor credit score. ( This has never happened before. ) After checking my credit report, I saw that there was a " Lien judgment charge off '' from a XXXX XXXX account. I have never had any accounts with them. I notified all 3 credit bureaus, filed a dispute and initiated fraud alerts and a credit freeze. That same day, I contacted XXXX who advised me the account was opened XXXX, XXXX and soon thereafter, they detected fraud and initiated a " Fraud investigation restricted account status. That was XXXX. They never canceled the account. They confirmed the charge off and sending report to the credit agencies. They initiated an investigation on my behalf, on XX/XX/XXXX. After waiting the 30 days and hearing from noone, I checked my credit report and now saw XXXX XXXX issues under my " Disputes '' report, two of which were marked " deleted from your report, but dated XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. I have not checked my credit report in years, much less disputed anything. Additionally, the XXXX report that I had just disputed that month, was labeled " verified/accurate ''. ( where did the other two new entries labeled " deleted '' come from and who initiated them AND why were they deleted but not the one original that destroyed my credit?

I went back to my credit report and found two discrepancies. One was a name I've never had and one was a telephone number I've never had. I researched the name and found a person of that name in New Jersey. I researched the telephone number and of course, it too was a New Jersey number. I immediately contacted XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to another fraud specialist. This one was very helpful and agreed that they had not only the incorrect telephone number, but also, an address where I have not lived for over 11 years. Too, she used her resources and identified a person whom I've never known, as well as his physical address and email. The email began with the name abbreviated by the letter D on my credit report and of course the first name of the person I researched/located. The fraud specialist also found a completely different name associated with that telephone number and address. She said, " This is really bad. We have to fix this. I don't know how we denied your dispute. '' She completed what sounded like an extensive report and instructed me to call back a few days later to get an investigation update on Friday. When I called back on Friday, XX/XX/XXXX, I got another fraud specialist who claimed the fraud team in " The back office '' had reached out to me. However, he would not tell me the number they called. He insisted I provide him my correct number which I did. ( This was odd, because the number was discussed with the previous agent who confirmed it didnt match mine. ) He also avoided reading the report of the previous fraud specialist then after reading it, refused to corroborate her information. Then when I provided her name, he said he couldn't transfer me to her number. When I proposed he transfer me to the mysterious fraud team in " The Back Office '', whom he claimed had called me, he said he could not transfer me to them either, despite his claim that they wanted to speak to me. When I asked for a direct number to the back office fraud investigators, he said there wasn't one. 
I decided to call again on my way to work XX/XX/XXXX, in the hopes of getting an investigation update and obtain some documents. This fraud investigator was polite but had no update. Her supervisor was polite as well, but had no update either. I requested a copy of the charges this identity thief had accumulated as well as his credit card application. I was told that in order for him to do that, he would have to correct the misinformation they had and it would eradicate the evidence. ( Incorrect address, email and telephone number. So, I agreed to wait and have him send me the information via XXXX and await a call from the fraud dept. When I asked what address and telephone numbers they would use, he verbalized the fraudulent but ever-present address and phone number. I said " So I've been denied a dispute once already, despite the overwhelming evidence of fraud/identity theft that YOU actually initiated in XXXX, and no one can give me any information on the status of the second investigation, PLUS, I can't continue my own investigation because your fraud investigation system won't let you take down my REAL data without erasing the false data that you will need for evidence? Well, I guess I'll just wait. '' He replied, " I guess so '' then hung up on me. I have filed a police report as well as an identity theft report with the FTC. 
I have little faith that the situation will be resolved anytime soon.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation