Consumer complaint received 2024-10-26 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: CT

Complaint narrative:
Hello and thank you for your help in advance. 

XXXX accepted the return of my leased vehicle and then put a {$24000.00} deficit on my credit report!! Completely out of the blue. I do not have possession of the vehicle and never received any bill. After many hours and days on the phone with XXXX ( many of the customer service people were in the XXXX ), as well as XXXX XXXX, I have no car and a ruined credit report. I am a single mom trying to buy a home right now and my credit score went from XXXX to XXXX. I am beyond distraught. I even asked if I could buy the car but they said no, it has gone to auction, which is what they do with cars after leasing. 

The written lease, with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Connecticut ) ( dealership ) for a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( vehicle ) commenced on XX/XX/XXXX. The initial term of the lease was 39 months, thereafter the lease was formally extended to XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX further extended the lease by sending me monthly rental invoices and I continued to pay those invoices. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the vehicle sustained collision damage in a two car accident. I immediately notified XXXX ( and XXXX ). XXXX requested me to have the collision damage professionally repaired. Due to various delays ( e.g. police report, insurers ( of the other car, as I was not at fault ) approval of a series of additional work during the repair, and waiting for parts, despite my best efforts to have the vehicle repaired expeditiously, the vehicle was not returned to me from the shop until late XX/XX/XXXX. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX to arrange inspection and immediate return of the vehicle to the XXXX XXXX dealership. I was advised I would receive instructions, but I never received instructions, or even a call back. Instead, XXXX shut down my online account. 

After waiting for a response that I never received from XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX, I returned the vehicle to the dealership, which expressed no reluctance to accept it. ( A copy of the dealerships receipt, issued XX/XX/XXXX, is enclosed ). Incidentally, XXXX has XXXX to attempt to draw automatic monthly payments thereafter from my bank account, at least through XX/XX/XXXX, and certainly subsequent to its false report of {$24000.00} written off. 

XXXX has reported to Experian an alleged account balance in the amount of {$24000.00}, along with the following alleged Status : Account charged off, /Never late. {$24000.00} written off. {$24000.00} past due as of XX/XX/XXXX. The account status of Never Late is correct. The report of the alleged past due amount is false. The supposed write-off is false and defamatory. My credit score was XXXX before this. It plummeted to XXXX from this false claim. 

In view of the above, I have had no billed obligation past due to XXXX in any amount even approaching the outrageous sum of {$24000.00}. I have paid all invoices delivered to me in connection with the lease. Contrary to the above defamatory assertion, there was no sum past due under the lease. As the reporting concedes, the account was in fact never late. 

I have received XXXX letter of XX/XX/XXXX, copy enclosed. The letter simply ignores the following facts : XXXX ) Subsequent to the formal extension of the lease XXXX nevertheless billed monthly payments, bills that I timely paid and XXXX accepted, XXXX ) XXXX directed me to have the car fully repaired, which I did, and which took months to complete. XXXX ) XXXX closed my account and would not respond to my request to arrange return of the vehicle immediately upon completion of the repair, XXXX ) Notwithstanding complete lack of cooperation from XXXX I returned the vehicle within XXXX weeks of completion of the repair, and XXXX ) XXXX has continued to extract or attempt to withdraw monthly payments from my account, as recently as XX/XX/XXXX. 

Please note that once again the letter from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX ignores the fact that XXXX told me to get the car fixed. They could have dealt with it themselves. And they accepted payments up until XX/XX/XXXX and just recently accepted XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX!.

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