Consumer complaint received 2025-07-25 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: TX

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against Experian for inaccurately reporting multiple hard credit inquiries related to auto loan financing as separate entries on my credit report, even though they were all part of rate shopping within short time periods and should be treated as a single inquiry per shopping period under standard credit scoring practices and Experian 's own policies. This has resulted in my credit report showing 36 individual hard inquiries instead of approximately 3 grouped inquiries, severely damaging my credit score and limiting my access to credit. Experian has failed to properly categorize and report these inquiries, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and their responsibility to ensure accurate reporting. 

All of the listed inquiries below were initiated for the purpose of shopping for auto loan financing. Multiple inquiries for the same type of credit ( auto loans ) within a 14- to 45-day window are supposed to be grouped and counted as one for credit scoring purposes, as outlined by FICO, VantageScore, and Experian 's guidelines on rate shopping. However, Experian is reporting them as distinct inquiries without proper grouping or coding as auto-related, causing them to be treated as 36 separate hard pulls in my credit score calculations. This is not only contrary to industry standards but also misrepresents the nature of these inquiries, leading to an artificially lowered credit score. 

The inquiries in question are as follows ( all hard inquiries for auto financing ) : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX, Inquiry date : XX/XX/XXXX, Removal date : XX/XX/XXXX These inquiries cluster into a few short periods ( e.g., XX/XX/XXXX ; XX/XX/XXXX ; XXXX XXXX XXXX ), which qualify for grouping under rate shopping rules. Experian 's failure to code or report them appropriately as auto loan inquiries has caused them to be treated as separate in credit scoring models, inflating the negative impact on my score. This is not accurate reporting and has harmed my financial opportunities. 

I have not yet formally disputed these with Experian, but based on their policies and legal obligations, they should proactively correct this. If Experian can not accurately report and group these inquiries as required, they should remove all of them from my credit report to prevent further harm. 

List of Potential Violations Failure to Assure Maximum Possible Accuracy Experian did not follow reasonable procedures to ensure the inquiries are accurately coded as auto loan rate shopping, leading to them being treated as separate in credit scores instead of grouped. FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681e ( b ) Inaccurate or Misleading Reporting of Inquiries Reporting multiple inquiries separately without proper context or coding, misrepresenting them as distinct credit-seeking events rather than rate shopping. FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( promoting accuracy and fairness ) Violation of Own Policies on Rate Shopping Experian 's stated policy is to treat multiple auto inquiries within a short window as one for scoring, but this isn't reflected in practice. Experian 's internal guidelines ( e.g., on their website regarding car loan inquiries ) Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ( UDAAP ) Maintaining inquiries in a way that unfairly harms consumers by not allowing proper deduplication, despite knowing rate shopping is common. Consumer Financial Protection Act ( CFPA ), 12 U.S.C. 5531 ( enforced by CFPB ) Failure to Properly Handle or Categorize Inquiries If the inquiries aren't coded as " auto '' ( allowing grouping ), this could be seen as a systemic error in reporting. FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681i

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