Equifax won't listen to me. I've called. I've emailed. I've even attempted to Facebook you. No response. No help. So now, I'm airing your dirty laundry with 25,000 of my nearest and dearest readers. So, Equifax - CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Fix it. Make it right. DO YOUR JOBS!
Dear Equifax - I am HIGHLY disappointed in you as a company. You
encourage people to "know your credit. manage your future." but
obviously that is just marketing speak. My recent experience proves you are
nothing but L.A.Z.Y! My credit score is in SIGNIFICANT jeopardy due to a mistake on YOUR END and you all couldn't care less. Nor are you interested in fixing it. When EVERYTHING is based on credit score - from employment to home mortgages - these types of errors are inexcusable.
On my free Equifax annual credit report I noticed two errors
which I promptly disputed - an incorrect collection AND an incorrect name
associated with my credit report (incorrect maiden name listed). I received a
notice a few weeks later that the "dispute had been resolved”. This is how you “resolved” it - 1. Instead of
deleting the incorrect name on my file, you deleted MY CORRECT NAME! 2. You
said the disputed collection was confirmed as mine (AGAIN, WRONG!).
I called Equifax to discuss further and was told by the
RIDICULOUSLY RUDE customer service representative that - 1. My name was still correct on the report and 2. They
verified the collection using my SSN, so it must be me. She said I need to purchase
a new credit report, and at that time I'll see my correct name listed. As for
the collection situation, I would need to handle it with the collection agency
in question. Then she tried to sell me a credit monitoring program.
So, attempting to close the issue, I purchased a new Equifax
credit report for $14.95 via MyFico.com - and lo-and-behold, THE WRONG NAME WAS
STILL LISTED! In addition, after calling the collection agency to dispute the
listing with them directly, they told me THERE WAS NO SSN ASSOCIATED WITH THIS
COLLECTION, THEREFORE EQUIFAX COULD NOT HAVE VERIFIED MY SSN.
So, in a nutshell, your "dispute" process is a
joke - you obviously don’t take the time to verify ANYTHING – and your customer
service representatives lie – or perhaps just didn’t feel it necessary to
actually LOOK at my file and give me accurate information. Not a good business
model, my friends.
I have since called back your customer service line a second
time, and again attempted to report the inaccuracies. The customer service
agent was not only EXTREMELY rude, but said “we can’t add your correct maiden
name back onto the file – only remove the inaccurate ones.” So my maiden name
isn’t an important part of my credit report?? As for the inaccurate collections
issue, he again stated I would need to work directly with the collection agency
in question. Luckily, the collection agency was significantly more professional
and responsive than Equifax, and is filing their own dispute. They actually
listened to the fact that I NEVER EVEN USED the creditor (Comcast) in question,
nor have I lived at the address listed. Believe it or not, there are a whole
bunch of “Smiths” in Atlanta….
I’m disappointed in you Equifax. You’re in the business to
empower people – to provide knowledge to consumers. Instead, you proved over
the last month that you are LAZY. You didn’t take the time to properly vet my
disputes, NOR did your customer service representatives take the time to
listen. Shape up, please. Your customers deserve better.