Consumer complaint received 2025-02-19 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account status incorrect
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: MI

Complaint narrative:
I received an email on XX/XX/XXXX, which stated " Dear XXXX, this letter serves to inform you that your lack of cooperation concerning your delinquent account has resulted in the referral of your debt to the financial officers of this department. Your account will be reviewed for further collection action. If this action is taken, collection agency costs and/or legal fees may be added to your account balance where applicable. It is still possible for you to pay the account in full or to establish a Monthly Payment Agreement if you act immediately. Please reply to this email. '' I in turn reached out to the VA ( Veterans Agency ) who were responsible for paying my tuition as part of my MGI Bill. The VA did not find where a payment was omitted or retracted and could not provide me any clarification as to what happened and why I owed this amount. I received a call from XXXX XXXX sometime afterwards stating they were a collection agency for the University XXXX XXXX  and were responsible for collecting the amount I owed in excess of over {$4000.00}. I inquired with the XXXX rep regarding this amount and how it was accumulated and what was the circumstances of the amount. I was informed they do not have that information, and I would need to contact the school. due to my credit report showing delinquent on this account and my credit score had dropped significantly, I entered into a payment agreement with XXXX XXXX  to make $ XXXX/month while I researched more on the amount owed. Throughout this time, though I was paying bi-weekly payments, the University XXXX XXXX  XXXX continued reporting my loan as missed payments and delinquent and still has each month to this day. My credit rating and score is horrible at this point beyond repair. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent seral emails to the University to a XXXX XXXX who was my contact in the past via email regarding the amount owed as well as why the university was still reporting the account as delinquent and stating missed payments each month though I was making payments. XXXX XXXX had stated to me in a previous call that they did not understand why the University was reporting in this manner and that they ( XXXX XXXX ) had not reported me as delinquent. 

My email was as follows " Good morning XXXX, I recently saw this morning that the UXXXX account is still processing as delinquent on my credit report though I have been making payments through XXXX XXXX for this account. When the account was moved to XXXX, should the UXXXX  account been moved to a closed status. My concern is that my credit score has dipped drastically due to all the missed payments though I was working through XXXX XXXX for this. '' I did not get a reply so reached out again via email on XX/XX/XXXX, and the email was as follows " Good morning, I wanted to reach out again, as I spoke to a rep at XXXX  as well as XXXX regarding the University still reporting my account as delinquent with missed payments each month in an attempt to understand why I would in a sense be dinged twice for this account, once by the university and again by XXXX. In speaking to XXXX at the university, she stated the debt will remain as missed until the account is paid in full through XXXX. XXXX stated the account once moved to XXXX, should have closed through the University as a charge off and no longer reporting each month as missed payments. They did open up a dispute for me but I wanted to reach out as well to this end and see if anything I am missing regarding the reporting requirements for the university. '' The reply from the university on XX/XX/XXXX was as follows " Thank you for your email - I hope this email will clarify any confusion. 

-The Collection Agencies collect on behalf of the University . 
-Agencies do not report on behalf of the University because the University still " owns '' and manages the account. ( there is no " double reporting '' ). 
-We do ALL of our own reporting. 
-We continue to report you as a Collection Account until the debt is paid off with XXXX. 
-When the balance is paid in full, we then report the account as PIF/Was Collection account. 

What you were told by XXXX would be correct if we " sold '' or " transferred '' the account to another agency as we would no longer own or manage it. 

I hope this helps! 
Thank you and kind regards. 
XXXX I proceeded to ask if this was a loan amount, with myself being back in school, would I qualify for a deferment and I was informed the balance is not a loan. I have since not received any clarification regarding the amount owed and have spoken to the registrar 's office with no clarification. In turn I spoke to the Manager ( a male ) who oversaw the student collections to understand why they continued reporting missed payments to this day as I have been making payments. I asked if the balance could be moved back to the university so I would move to good standing with my credit report and continue making payments in this manner and was informed no they could not an would not do this. Again, the male XXXX was very rude and provided no insight into the balance nor how I could remedy the bad reporting. 

I am requesting to look into the reporting structure for the university XXXX XXXX. I am now several months into consistent payments for this balance, though I have no idea why I am paying this amount and the information behind it. I am solely paying as wished for my credit score to not get hit. My credit score in turn still accrued and still as of today accruing missed payments on my report though I am months into making consistent payments through XXXX XXXX. I do not agree with the approach of the University XXXX XXXX  would like to request the reporting structure and habits be investigated to ensure they are meeting the requirements they should. I do not feel my credit score and report should be this damaged when I have attempted to rectify this situation. Thank you for your time

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief