Consumer complaint received 2025-08-07 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account status incorrect
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: MN

Complaint narrative:
Subject : CFPB Complaint Misclassification and Utilization Distortion of Closed XXXX XXXX  Account by Experian Institution Address : Experian XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX This formal complaint is submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) regarding Experians handling of a closed credit card account issued by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), Account No. [ REDACTED ]. Despite the account being closed by the creditor on XX/XX/XXXX, Experian continues to report it as an open revolving tradeline with Comment Current : Account closed at credit grantors request and Comment Previous : Account closed at credit grantors request. XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX, and a balance of {$17000.00} as of XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit 100 and Exhibit 101 ). This reporting is factually inaccurate, materially misleading, and legally noncompliant with FCRA 1681e ( b ), 1681s-2, and industry-standard Metro 2 Format . I originally submitted a formal dispute through Experians Dispute Center on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit 103 ). 

This complaint is now being submitted directly to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), supplementing my original dispute already filed with Experian. I have also preserved documentation for further escalation to the Minnesota Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission if corrective action is not taken. 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) ( Exhibit 901 ) o ID FOR COMPLAINT : XXXX o Filed XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) Consumer Assistance Center ( Exhibit 902 ) o Case Number : XXXX o Filed : XX/XX/XXXX 1. Chronology and Reporting Misconduct On XX/XX/XXXX Experian began reporting my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account ( Exhibit 100 ) as an Account type [ revolving ] credit card with a Comment Current : Account closed at credit grantors request, and Comment Previous : Account closed at credit grantors request. XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX and ongoing scheduled payments of {$350.00}. As of XX/XX/XXXX, the account still reflects an active credit limit of {$27000.00} and a high balance of {$29000.00}, despite being closed by the creditor on XX/XX/XXXX and no longer offering credit access ( Exhibit 101 ). 

1.1. Experian Credit Score Damage Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 17 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 18 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 19 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 20 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 41 ) Experian XXXX XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 23 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 26 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 27 ) Experian Credit Score XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ( Exhibit 101 ) 2. Legal Violations 2.1. Failure to Reclassify Under Metro 2 Format and FCRA Standards FCRA 1681e ( b ) requires consumer reporting agencies to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the data furnished. Experians continued classification of this account as revolving violates this standard. FCRA 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) prohibits the reporting of information a bureau knows or has reason to believe is inaccurate. 

Metro 2 Format provides clear instruction that once a revolving credit account is closed and the consumer is no longer able to access the line, the account must be recoded to reflect its true nature. This includes : 2.1.1. Changing the account type to Closed-End or Installment ( not Revolving ) 2.1.2. Setting the available credit and credit limit to XXXX 2.1.3. Ensuring that Remarks codes such as CBG or CLO are not contradicted by an open revolving status 2.1.4. Properly populating the Date Closed field 2.1.5. Removing the account from revolving utilization scoring logic 2.1.6. By failing to implement these changes, Experian is propagating misleading data in violation of Metro 2 data logic and credit reporting accuracy obligations. 

2.2. Suppression Required During Statutory Reinvestigation Window Under FCRA 1681i, Experian is obligated to conduct a reinvestigation of disputed information and complete its resolution within 30 days. During this window, the disputed tradeline must not be allowed to influence credit scoring algorithms or generate further adverse effects. Any updates to this tradeline that affect utilization, available credit, or payment history must be immediately suppressed until the dispute is resolved and accurate data is confirmed. 

Experians failure to suppress score-impacting activity related to this account during the reinvestigation period would constitute a separate violation under 1681i ( a ) ( 5 ) ( A ). 

2.3. Impact on Credit Score and Financial Standing The continued treatment of this closed tradeline as an active revolving account has artificially inflated my utilization ratio and damaged my credit score. This impact is quantifiable. As shown in score simulations submitted to federal regulators, a {$55000.00} reduction in revolving credit lines, including this account, caused a utilization spike from XXXX percent to over XXXX percent ( Exhibit 49 and Exhibit 50 ). This resulted in score drops across all major credit bureaus, including Experian. As of XX/XX/XXXX, my Experian score had fallen to XXXX ( Exhibit 41 ). By XX/XX/XXXX, it had only partially recovered to XXXX ( Exhibit 101 ), despite continued on-time payments and reduced balances. 

The historical reporting data confirms that this account was rated OK with no late payments, delinquencies, or derogatory marks for more than five years prior to the closure, from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit 101 ). This response was in reference to the dispute I submitted via Experians platform on XX/XX/XXXX ( Exhibit 103 ), which detailed the misreporting and requested reclassification. Experians XX/XX/XXXX dispute response failed to correct the revolving classification, balance reporting, or utilization effect ( Exhibit 102 ). 

3. Required Corrective Action Accordingly, I demand that Experian take the following actions : 3.1. Reclassify the account type from Revolving to Closed-End or Installment. 
3.2. Set the available credit and credit limit to XXXX. 
3.3. Ensure the comments accurately reflect the closure, without misclassifying the tradeline as open. 
3.4. Suppress all score-affecting activity for this tradeline during and after the dispute resolution process. 
3.5. Provide written confirmation detailing the outcome of the reinvestigation and specifying all corrections made to this tradeline, as required under FCRA 1681i ( a ) ( 6 ) ( B ). 
3.6. Regulatory Notice : Pursuant to FCRA 1681g ( a ) ( 2 ), I also request a copy of the tradeline as it appears in your file at the time of reinvestigation completion, including all data fields submitted by the furnisher and any alterations made by Experians internal Metro 2 parsing system. 
3.7. Should XXXX ( the creditor ) independently choose to reopen this account in the future, whether in response to ongoing investigations by the CFPB or NCUA, that development does not eliminate Experians duty to correct prior misreporting or its legal obligations under FCRA 1681e ( b ) and 1681i. 
3.8. Correction Propagation Across All Subscribers : Ensure that the corrected version of this tradeline is communicated to all third-party subscribers who accessed my report during the disputed reporting period, including but not limited to lenders, insurers, and score modeling systems that may have used outdated data in their decision logic. 
3.9. Written Acknowledgment of Misclassification : Acknowledge in writing that the tradeline was previously misclassified as open revolving despite being closed by the creditor and that this status has now been corrected. 
3.10. Request for Direct Bureau-Furnisher Communication Summary : Provide a summary of the results of Experians communications with XXXX XXXX ( the furnisher ), including the date of their response and the specific Metro 2 fields they confirmed or declined to update under 1681i ( a ) ( 2 ). 

Experian has an affirmative legal obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) to ensure maximum possible accuracy of consumer credit data. Failure to fully and promptly correct the reporting errors identified in this dispute may result in further regulatory action and legal proceedings for damages under 15 U.S.C. 1681n and 1681o. I request a complete and itemized response confirming the outcome of your reinvestigation and the specific corrective actions taken.

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