Consumer complaint received 2021-03-23 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Credit inquiries on your report that you don't recognize
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: AR

Complaint narrative:
At approximately XXXX CST, on Monday XX/XX/2021, I received a notification from the Experian Credit Monitoring app on my XXXX. The notification stated that a hard inquiry was provided to XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have not authorized any inquiry, nor have I applied for any new credit cards or loans, nor have I requested a credit increase from XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have have not applied for any credit cards or loans backed by XXXX XXXX XXXX that may be presented as a branded card ( for example a department store card, or a rent-to-own loan ).

I immediately followed the steps outlined on my Experian account dashboard and found that disputing an inquiry must be done over the phone, with Experian. The fruitless call that followed ended with the Experian dispute center representative stating that no credit pull would be authorized without some type of certification showing that the pull is authorized, therefore, XXXX XXXX XXXX must have had authorization and if I have issue with the inquiry on my report, I should contact XXXX XXXX XXXX and request an investigation. 

I should also mention that I have not had an account with XXXX XXXX XXXX in nearly 20 years. Their help line requested an account number and transferred me multiple times until I finally reached the " Fraud and Security '' department ( this was after several attempts and being disconnected while on hold ). When I reached a human being, they tried to look for any documentation of an application using my personal information, such as my social security number, and found nothing. I was advised to contact Experian once again, and when I did, was given the same direction as the first person from their dispute department.

My second successful call to XXXX XXXX XXXX yielded similar results. Because I have no account with XXXX XXXX XXXX, there is evidently nowhere to look for an application. I requested to speak with someone from their fraud department. I was told the same again- because I have no account, there is nothing they can do. They did confirm that they could not find any sort of application or request for my credit report. The representative from XXXX XXXX XXXX then denied that any inquiry was actually made, and suggested that Experian was providing inaccurate information. My credit score did decrease immediately following the notification, so to me, it seems to be very real.

Growing increasingly concerned that my identity had somehow been stolen, and perplexed at how Experian could insist that XXXX XXXX XXXX  had received a " hard inquiry '' of my credit report, I'm now left to wonder who can provide me with assistance. I feel that Experian specifically has failed to protect me, and that XXXX XXXX XXXX has failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring there are no fraudulent attempts to steal a person 's identity.

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 non-monetary relief