Consumer complaint received 2024-01-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Improper use of your report — Reporting company used your report improperly
Company: NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I am writing to express my deep concern and frustration with the recent handling of my account by Navy Federal Credit Union. As a loyal customer for several years, I believe that my account was unjustly closed without proper notification or explanation. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to Navy Federal Credit Union to dispute a billing error of {$5300.00} under 15 U.S.C 1666b. According to securities laws, this amount is only half of what I am owed. I hoped that Navy Federal would investigate my billing error, but instead, they closed my account. This violates 15 U.S.C 1666 ( d ), which prohibits creditors from restricting or closing accounts containing billing errors. They should not have closed my account without notifying me of the impending closure. Moreover, my account was never labeled as disputed. 

Under Section 611 of the FCRA, consumers have the right to dispute any incomplete or inaccurate information on their credit reports. By law, these disputes must be investigated appropriately to confirm their legitimacy. Navy Federal did not investigate my dispute properly. They simply said that my dispute letter was not a proper form of payment. They continued to demand that I pay the balance, which was the amount I was disputing in the first place. 

About a week later, I received a call ( after XXXX or XXXX XXXX ) from a Navy Federal representative. She was nice and offered to help me. She stated that I could qualify for a lower interest rate on my credit card because I had been with Navy Federal for multiple years and had made consistent on-time payments. She asked me a series of qualifying questions and told me that I was qualified for a new, lowered interest rate of 3-6 % on my credit card. My payments would also be deferred until XXXX. This was a big difference from my current 18 %. I was so excited to resume making payments of around XXXX XXXX beginning in XXXX since I had been making payments of over XXXX XXXX for a while. To my surprise, I had no idea that my account was already closed! Why did the Navy Federal representative call me then? Was she playing a joke on me? 

Today, I spoke with a Navy Federal representative who informed me that my account was closed in XXXX. Why was this not disclosed to me? I received no letters, notifications, or correspondence on this matter. The call with the nice lady was recorded when she told me about my approval for a lower interest rate and deferred payments until XXXX. 

I love Navy Federal Credit Union, but my rights have been violated in so many ways. They are sharing my nonpublic information with non-affiliates despite my letter to opt-out sent months prior. This inaccurate and erroneous information shows up on my credit report. This is a violation of 16 C.F.R 313 Privacy of Consumer Financial Information and 15 U.S.C 6802, which prohibits financial institutions from disclosing nonpublic personal information to a non-affiliated third party ( XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, and XXXX are third parties ). Along with a clear violation of their privacy agreement with me in which they state that they won't provide my creditworthiness information to non-affiliated third parties, their disregard has resulted in me having a lower credit score, resulting in even higher interest rates on loans and lines of credit. It has also contributed to the denial of credit and lending opportunities for me. This is a violation of my rights under the Privacy Act of XXXX. This also violates 15 U.S.C 1681 - FCRA Section 602, which states that I have the right to privacy, and FCRA Section 604, which states that a consumer reporting agency can not furnish an account without my written consent. I did not provide consent to Navy Federal to share my information with non-affiliates or report inaccurate information. 

Also, Navy Federal is reporting late payments on my consumer file, which is a violation of 15 U.S.C 1666b. This law states that a creditor may not treat a payment on a credit card account under an open-end consumer credit plan as late for any purpose. 

I am a federally protected consumer who is subject to all claims and defenses that I could assert against a creditor who performs unfair or deceptive acts or practices under 16 C.F.R. section 433. In conclusion, since my consumer rights have been violated in numerous ways, I am contacting the CFPB. I hope that they can help Navy Federal and me come to a satisfying agreement for both of us. I also hope that they can assist me in rectifying this situation expeditiously to restore my credit, and any damage that has been done, and move forward on a more positive note. 

-- - Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation