Consumer complaint received 2025-05-18 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity theft protection services — Problem with product or service terms changing
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Formal Complaint Against Experian Deceptive and Unlawful Practices Related to Experian XXXX Program Date : XX/XX/year> Dear CFPB Representative, I am filing this formal complaint against Experian for engaging in deceptive, manipulative, and potentially unlawful practices through their Experian XXXX program, which is promoted as a feature to help consumers increase their credit scores by reporting verified payments. In reality, it functions in a way that misleads, penalizes, and exploits consumers through unjustified score reductions and false notifications. 

Misconduct by Experian Experian has developed a recurring pattern of removing legitimate, previously linked bills from Experian XXXX, followed by notifications that misleadingly attribute the disconnection to consumer action or missed payments. These removals are arbitrary, without cause, and damage credit scoresundermining the very benefit the program claims to offer. 

On XXXX separate occasions within the past few days, I received : An email stating my score had decreased with no explanation. 
A follow-up email specifying that Your Insurance bill was removed from Experian XXXX and your Experian credit file, which means your XXXX Score could drop. If you didnt delete the bill yourself, this could be due to a duplicate bill, missed payments or because your bank account was disconnected. 
This is categorically false. I have never deleted the insurance bill from my profile. I have not missed any payments. My bank account is active and fully connected through XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, which has confirmed there has been no disconnection or change on their end. This appears to be a deliberate manipulation of data that allows Experian to trigger score drops under the guise of user error or account issueswhen in fact, the consumer has done nothing wrong and is penalized due to internal system or third-party access failures on Experians side. 

Privacy & Data Security Concerns Experian uses a third-party data aggregator to pull banking information. My bankXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, uses multi-step login protocols for security, and for good reasonthey do not allow full third-party access. This restriction should never become the basis for Experian to remove a consumers verified bill or damage their credit profile. Experian 's insistence on using bank login credentials instead of sourcing payment history directly from utilities or service providers poses significant privacy, security, and ethical concerns. 

Why is a consumer being punished for their bank protecting their information? 
Why does Experian require access to sensitive financial accounts in order to provide credit for bill payments that can be verified directly with the service provider? 

This system is flawed and strategically biased against consumers who prioritize data security. 

Legal Violations Experians actions constitute clear violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ( UDAAP ) under the Consumer Financial Protection Act. Specific violations include : FCRA 1681e ( b ) Failing to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy of the information in consumer reports.

FCRA 1681i ( a ) ( 1 ) ( A ) Failure to properly investigate and correct inaccurate or incomplete information after removal of valid accounts.

UDAAP ( 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536 ) Engaging in deceptive acts and practices by misleading consumers about the cause of bill removal and falsely attributing it to user error, while failing to disclose system limitations or data access issues as the actual reason. 
These are not minor infractions. Experians system design causes direct harm to consumers, especially those who are being penalized for doing nothing wrong while being subjected to misleading and damaging score changes. 

Legal and Public Accountability If this issue is not addressed thoroughly and resolved swiftly, I am fully prepared to : Initiate litigation against Experian for FCRA and XXXX violations. 
Pursue a class action investigation with similarly impacted consumers. 
Submit formal requests for investigation by state attorneys general and FTC oversight. 
Publicly expose these practices through social media, news outlets, and consumer protection forums, highlighting Experians exploitation of consumers through deceptive score manipulation. 
Demand Congressional review of Experian XXXX and its conflict with federal consumer protections and digital privacy standards. 
Experians practices are dangerous, unethical, and illegal. This is not simply a technical errorit is a systemic abuse of power by a credit reporting agency that continues to harm American consumers while deflecting accountability. I respectfully request a full investigation and enforcement action.

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