Consumer complaint received 2025-09-24 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with fraud alerts or security freezes — 
Company: Experian Information Solutions Inc.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
Per most financial expert 's recommendations, I have frozen my credit at all three credit reporting agencies ( XXXX, Experian, and XXXX  ). In order to co-sign a loan, I needed to temporarily thaw my credit, and the lender ( XXXX via XXXX XXXX XXXX would only perform credit checks through Experian. 

Online : I attempted to login to Experian 's online portal to thaw my credit, but the attempts were blocked by an automated warning saying that the account didn't exist ( despite being an member since at least 2023 ). I tried the account recovery options, but no recovery email was sent and the system rejected my phone number and social security number for authentication. I then tried to create a new account, and was rejected with the website telling me to try again later or try by phone. 

By Phone : I called the Experian credit freeze phone number ( for the first time on XX/XX/XXXX ) and completed the automated phone tree, up to the point where it asked for a freeze pin in order to complete the credit thaw. The freeze pin which I had recorded when I set up my account was not accepted and the automated system hung up on me. I tried again and this time said that I did not have a freeze pin. It tried to authenticate me, but would not accept my full social security number or any other data. It offered to mail me a recovery pin ( XX/XX/XXXX ), but that never arrived. I called the corporate switch board and got through to a human the first time who then directed claimed to be forwarding my call to tech support, but the call was forwarded to the same automated phone tree and I experienced the same failure at authentication ( XX/XX/XXXX ). Subsequent calls to the corporate switchboard were automatically forwarded to the phone tree without any human answering. 

By App : One should not have to download software to access their credit report, but in desperation, I attempted to login through the app on XX/XX/XXXX. The login was not accepted. I also attempted to create a new account with my info, and was given an error message. 

At no point in this process was there a way to talk to a person, and the automated phone system would automatically hang up if you asked to talk to an agent or representative. I called over 10 times over the course of a month and these phone calls were charged per minute. 

Finally, I sent a request via XXXX with a photo of my ID per the instruction on their website ( XX/XX/XXXX ). I feel that this is an intrusive expectation, but I was desperate. Experian states that it takes three days to process requests by mail ( as opposed to mere hours for electronic/phone requests ) and provides no method to verify if the request was successful. For this reason, the other co-signer of the loan will have to have their credit checked twice because I was unable to thaw my credit within 30 days of their credit check. This will negatively impact their credit score. This process cost me hours of my life as well as printing fees for the letter/ID photo and phone charges for the many unsuccessful attempts to contact Exerpian or resolve the freeze, particularly because the automated phone system would end the call without recourse, forcing me to start over. 

I still do not know if my credit was unfrozen.

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