Consumer complaint received 2024-12-10 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Investigation took more than 30 days
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I spoke with a representative from XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX to discuss new evidence and information in an ongoing issue with a payment being incorrectly reported as late to credit bureaus for XXXX of XXXX. The representative strongly agreed that XXXX XXXX should correct an issue, at which point she assured me she had opened a credit reporting investigation on my behalf. I was told to expect a response in a matter of days. As of today -- XX/XX/XXXX -- I have not received a response of any kind from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  has mishandled any disputes regarding this issue. Attached evidence will show that no delinquency existed, and neither myself nor XXXX XXXX was aware of any issue that may cause brief delinquency for the months in question. All attached statements, balances and card functions, reflected successful, on-time payments for over 43 days. Returned payments occurred 43 days after the payment in question. Payments were reissued within an hour of notice being given ( more below ). Attached statements and letters from XXXX XXXX  will show that I did not request these returns and the account was fully funded. -- Beginning in XXXX of XXXX I attempted to obtain accurate information as to why payments would have been reversed over 40 days after being issued. Through numerous hours on the phone with multiple representatives, formal complaint filings, and more, I received several reasonings from XXXX XXXX, all in conflict with another, and none of which provided an accurate answer. In an ongoing effort, after months of attempting to rectify the issue and multiple investigations, XXXX XXXX XXXX associate reported to have identified the issue rather quickly : One digit in the checking account number I had entered was incorrect. This would not have been recognized by my reviewing statements, as they indicate " checking ending in XXXX '', which is accurate. Assuming I did mis-enter XXXX digit, the fact that it took banks 43 days to become aware of an issue, and 43 days to inform me, is far beyond any reasonable time frame to alert consumers of payment issues, let alone for XXXX XXXX to have retroactively changed credit reporting for XXXX XXXX which originally showed as " on time. '' I reissued payments immediately upon notification, as evident in statements. Upon re-issue, returns then occurred swiftly, at which point my account information was automatically removed, I re-entered and again made immediate payments -- -this is a typical timeline for an issue such as incorrect account information, and would have provided ample time for resolution prior to 30+ days. -- - As a consumer, I fulfilled my obligation immediately upon becoming aware of returned payments, and reissued payments. There was a one hour window in which XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXk viewed a payment as late, not 30+ days. I am aware that payments are often returned for several reasons, but this timeframe is typically 1-3 business days. Given these payments were submitted on-time, had XXXX XXXX, or XXXX XXXX recognized any issue, and notice had been provided in a timely manner, I would have been given more than enough time to rectify the issue before the 30 days allowed before payments are reported late to credit bureaus. For 43 days there were no late notices provided, there were no balances that reflected late payments, no late fees, nothing to indicate an issue within any reasonable amount of time. There were no reasons for any of the aforementioned notices to even exist. Furthermore, XXXX XXXX had no mechanism to allow for a proper internal investigation. There were no means to upload documents, no means to speak with someone familiar with the investigation, and communication was basically limited to XXXX chat, with documents only sharable at XXXX XXXX 's request ( they requested none ). This matter requiring numerous CFPB investigations, hours of phone calls, and countless representatives looking for a reason for this happening, without XXXX XXXX being able to identify a simple issue on my behalf, is unlike anything I have experienced as a consumer. Taking 43 days for an issue as simple, and common as an incorrect digit entered in the middle of an account number to result in returns proves a lack of a fail-safe on XXXX XXXX 's behalf, negligence by XXXX XXXX XXXX  and both companies refused to correspond on my behalf. As a consumer, I made all payments on time, had XXXX evidence of any issue, became caught in the middle of two banks, and XXXX XXXX retroactively changed credit reporting. I responded to the returned notice within an hour, with payment, and statements documented my responsible practices throughout the months in question. XXXX XXXX should not have changed the status of XX/XX/XXXX 's reporting. I am requesting that XXXX XXXX recognize my responsible consumer practices and immediate responses, and re-issue the original credit bureau reporting for XXXX XXXX to show " on-time. '' XXXX XXXX 's inability to find accurate information throughout this situation are consistent with other violations the company has been fined for by the CFPB in recent months. All CFPB XXXX XXXX representatives have agreed this should not have happened. Declining to correct reporting will result in my pursuing legal action to the fullest extent, as this has had a catastrophic impact on my ability to manage a small business.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief