Equifax Customer Service is Just Lip Service

In an attempt to make some mid-year resolutions, I am trying to be more diligent about managing finances and monitoring things like my credit report. I wasn’t the victim of an identity theft crime, but then again, how would I know? I just decided that I should take an active interest in things like…er…interest. Finances in general have never been a strong-point for me. I make money, spend money; my financial management program is akin to most people’s attention to filling up their gas tank. When the car turns on its light saying, “here’s the thing, I’m nearly out of gas and we’re in the middle of nowhere. This isn’t just your problem now, it’s mine as well,” I start thinking about when and where I’m going to get more gas. I believe they call this “living paycheck to paycheck.” I don’t know what percentage of the population out there does this, but I would make a guess – based upon the percentage of individuals using credit – that the number is pretty high. I’m not doing so well on the general financial management aspect of things. The notion of a budget is quite advanced for me. It seems to take a considerable amount of time to construct, monitor, and adjust it consistently. On the credit report detail, against my earnest efforts to do this right, I’m being thwarted.

I have just about written off Equifax completely. If it weren’t for their industry reputation and reliance, I would drop them altogether. As it is, I feel like I have to live with the service problems because Equifax is the behemoth and I’m the peon.

Screw that! They pissed me off today for the last time – hence this negative post. I even made up a new word for my discontentment. Flog (fart log). It’s a blog (web log) a la Monty Python. Equifax, I flog in your general direction!

I ordered the Equifax Score Watch (TM) monthly subscription to give myself a way to watch my score as it changes month-to-month and access free and discounted credit reports when it’s appropriate. The ordering process seemed professional enough until the end. It was unable to process my credit card to pay for the service. I thought it a fluke at first and even gave it another card to try. I became concerned that perhaps I was being taken for a ride – giving up credit information to evil hackers at the very place I thought I was safe. I did some digging and couldn’t find any signs of tampering. It seemed that Equifax was just unable to process credit cards. Having returned to place the order in the next day or so, I was met with success – confidence restored – and the order was handled promptly and correctly. The goods were delivered instantly and I was able to enjoy my Score Watch product immediately. After just a short while of playing around with the account features, I started getting pages that indicated that Equifax was having some application problems at the business logic layer. The interface worked perfectly, but most of the account-related functions were no longer working. Frustration. I go away and come back the next day to meet the same type of problems. I discover that I can work around the problem by navigating back into the details from the order summary link. It’s a minor issue to me, but a frustration nonetheless. I assume it’s just related to some heavy-use patterns that Equifax is experiencing.

Then I find a real case for contacting support. The credit report (provided by Score Power within Score Watch) gives you very granular details about your credit history. There’s a summary that effectively tells you what positive and negative factors there are that creditors may use. I try to look into a negative factor and I can’t find it in the details. Maybe it’s there and I’m unable to figure it out, or maybe there’s a problem in the correlation between Score Power and my credit report. That’s what I want to find out. I contact support via email (my preferred avenue to begin things) to ask about the problem. It takes through a form in which it asks some personal information such as your social security number for account verification and such. It seems logical, though I would prefer if it just linked my account number to the contact form. I get an email the next day stating that they can’t find my account and that they need additional information from me. That infuriates me. I’m supposed to be dealing with a professional company. Why am I using a half-assed application unable to facilitate the management of its customers? I give them what they need anyway. How else will my problem ever be solved? Now, five days later they reply with what surely is an automated form response to my inquiry:

Dear Mr. Gradin, …

Our records indicate that you ordered the Equifax Score Watch (TM) monthly subscription. This
subscription includes two free Score Power (TM) reports, one at enrollment and one to be used at
any time during your subscription, and discounts on additional Score Power(R) reports.

Please note, as the Credit Report is a snapshot of your file as of the date you purchased, it will
not be updated during the time is viewable. In order to view your updated credit report, please follow the instructions
listed below

  • Please visit our website, www.Equifax.com
  • Click on Customer login.
  • Enter the User ID and Password and then click “LOGIN”.
  • Under the heading “Equifax Member Center”, click on “Equifax ScoreWatch (TM)”, your FICO (R) Score is already visible.
  • Click on ” Score Power (R)” on the menu at the left side of the page

From this point you are able to view your Credit Report or to pull a new Score Power (R) at the
discounted price…

If you need further assistance, please contact us…

Seriously?!? Do you think I would have contacted support to ask about a problem within the application if I couldn’t figure out how to access it? Do you think I would have contacted support to ask how I might purchase additional products? Plan B is to call Equifax support to work through the problem. I’m sure I can get to the bottom of this…eventually, but if you’re a company offering email support, staff it with support personnel.

I replied to the email with an inappropriate remark on the service representative’s ineptitude. I’m reminded of Despair’s apt words of wisdom on motiviation.

Motivation

14 comments

  1. For those of you who are trying to find the Equifax customer service phone no. 1-866-640-2273 —Since they don’t provide it anywhere unless you purchase a product. When you get to the prompt which asks if you have a “confirmation” no. just hit 1 for yes and keep doing it until you get a rep. Once you get a live person (which sounds like they are in India) then you can let them have it…. They just sent me a letter saying that they were successful at placing an fraud alert on my file..Which of course, I never requested..
    After frantically going through their entire site looking, I purchased the $10 credit report and got the phone no. for customer service I needed. The rep tells me that they don’t know who placed it, but that it was done through the automated system…Hmmm,,,that’s funny,,,I guess the person who was trying to “steal” my identity placed a fraud alert on my file?? Guess she/he must be quite a thief… Equifax,,,what a bunch of idiots.. Last year again, for reasons unknown they changed my D.O.B. on record for the last 35 yrs from 1972 to 1951… Again, they don’t know who did it,,but it was done… After all of this,,,the rep on the phone was trying to sell me a credit monitoring service…What crack are they smoking?? They can’t even accurately keep their own records and they want to monitor the other ones for me as well????

    Anyway,, enjoy the phone no and don’t pay them a damn cent.

  2. Thanks, because I thought this only happened to me. My story is almost identical to yours. I got the same letter, which at first looked like plain text add for credit protectionb that they sell. I was about to through away the letter untill in the nick of time I noticed “were successful at placing an fraud alert on my file”.

    I was so infuriated, because now for the past 2 months everywhere I go, I have to show them (stores and etc) my drivers licence, Which infact exposes me to identity theft, because they say due to the credit allert, I have to let them write down or copy the drivers licence. Wow a credit allert I never asked for, is not protecting me but making it easier for my identity to be stolen!!!

    The Indian guy I spoke to is Sam id # 13206, who wasted 2 hours off my time tell me nothing can be done, then an hour more with a supervisor “Neil”. Neil said “that it was done through the automated system”. He said I did it, I said look idiot, if I did it then I must need it right, He said Right, Then I said fool, then why am I wasting my time to undo something I need.

    Man, I have to waste postage to mail them a request to undo this, yet to do a credit alert according to him its an automated system. Well where is the automated system to undo this.

    Are Equifax doing this to make money on scaring pople by placing credit allerts they never asked for.

  3. Hey all –

    Just wanted to send a shout out and say THANK YOU for your info and a hundred thousands thanks for publishing the phone number with an actual person! Technically I no longer exist 🙂 according to them anyway. Thanks to you guys, i was able to exit the ‘circle-jerk’ that is known as the contact us link on their webpage! hung out with a not very intellegent person who now has all my information and more for 40 minutes and still didn’t get what i needed, but at least i exist again! Best of luck to all.

  4. Can someone please tell me if I can sue this company because I have had it, my frustration level has really made me want to move to the woods and barter for things I need to survive. Equifax has ruined my CAREER, my CREDIT and my CHARACTER. Even after disputing items and submitting documentation of proof things they had on my report were inaccurate, they still listed them on my report or better yet, removed them and put them right back on the next month. I disputed items and because their e-mail went to bulk, when I tried access the results of the report, I was told it expired, what the hell does that mean and why can’t they mail me a hardcopy considering they refused to allow me to access my initial report on-line. So I goto their whack site to get a customer service number and get put in this continuous loop of pages with absoluetly not-a-one providing a number to anything other than an electronic recording. I have flippin had it so if someone can tell me if I can legally sue them for slander or defamation on character, I would love to know.

  5. I’m in Canada. I tried to contact Equifax today. I got the customer service number off their website. I enter in all my info and address and all that. The system says “We cannot process your application with the information you provided. Thank you for calling Equifax. Good bye.”. The damn thing doesnt give me any recourse. its just hangs up. No way to contact a human being for assistance. Then I recall hearing on the automated service they have a customer service number at the bottom of your credit score after you receive it. So like any person with a computer does I Google for the number. 4 website4s later I find this number here for the (not known at the time) American Equifax. I call, they put me on hold for 15 minutes looking for a Canadian number. I call it, its automated. Great. So I call back the US number and ask for CANDADIAN CUSTOMER SERVICE number. Only a 10 minute wait this time! I call and punch 1 a bunch of times til I get to a live person. Hooray right? Wrong. They tell me they have no information available to me except a phone number for customer service. So I call. ITS FRENCH!!!! I listen through the mumbo jumbo til i hear some numbers. Good thing I was forced to take french til the 8th grade. I manage to figure out what the hell shes saying and formulate a phone number. SO this time I call and get a person who speaks English. Wonderful. The journey has ended. Almost! I get into my discussion with her, she mentions I was late on a payment a few months back explaining why my credit score was a bit off. But the kicker is she says ” So when you make your regular payment for the next 3 to 6 months without incident, call back and inquire about your score. Heres the number…” !!!!!!! I hang up the phone, look at my pad of paper and see 7 phone numbers I had to call to get in touch with a English-speaking, Canadian, Equifax Representative. So Equifax.. keep up the good work fellas. Oh and by the way. What the hell is it you do anyways?

  6. What is the phone number that you receive if you purchase the $10 order?

    I don’t have $10 to waste on nonsense from Equifax and their cheating business plan.

    Please, someone out there, just tell the phone number.

  7. 8664949192 got me to a dispute rep. They will try to sneak in the monitoring service sale during the call. Good service to have but I have it from another company. Not the most compliant sales approach so be careful.

  8. Thanks for the number. I called it, and the people on the other side are about as worthless as tits on a bore hog. They have no idea what your sayin or what your tryin to tell them. My wife is Canadian and we just got her green card so now she has a SS# but she cant take a loan out because equifax does not show her SS# to be valid, and if i want it to be valid, She has to fax paperwork in stating it is valid with all her personal info on it. I cant send it in for her because it does not protect her. How does sending a fax with you SS# on it with all your personal info to go with it protecting anyone? Smart move equifax and try to sell me some more stuff while im trying to get everything work out. IDIOTS!!!

  9. Well, my horror story with Equifax is pretty simple – I’ve requested my annual free credit report 5 times now…online says it can’t process my request, I’ve gotten a customer service (now there’s an oxymoron) phone number and have called them 4 times – each time explaining that I am requesting my free annual report (which I am entitled to and never received), I’ve written to them, I’ve gone through Annual Credit Report (never received my report), I’ve gone through Equifax’s phone ring around the rosy and still no report. I was able to obtain the other two credit reports on line within 5 minutes, but with Equifax? NO CREDIT REPORT. Not in the mail, not online, not thru customer service, not through Annual Credit Report, no way, no how can I get a copy of my credit report through Equifax. WTF????

  10. It’s time we all file complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

    Equifax is by far the worst of the three agencies. Like many of you I too have had to waste hours of my life trying to get someone on the phone and I too experienced the heavy sales pitch for their credit monitoring services even after I tell them “no thanks, I have that service with another company, no thanks. Now can you please help me with the reason I’m calling instead of trying to sell my something?”

    All I wanted to do is confirm that a fax was received correcting my last name with for whatever reason, is reported as my former marriage name which I’ve not used since 2001. I’ve provdied them with all the required information on two separate occassions and have just done so again. TransUnion and Experian have managed to take care of this why can’t Equifax???

  11. Thanks, everyone! I was about to sign up with Equifax for three-credit-report monitoring service. Why would I choose
    Equifax? Because I have had experiences with Experian similar to those all of you have had with Equifax. My credit has
    been monitored by Experian for the past four years because someone stole a computer loaded with personal data
    on thousands of employees and retirees, and the company (Boeing) paid for credit monitoring for everyone as a result of the theft. When the Boeing plan expired this month, I telephoned Experian to subscribe for the service. That’s when the trouble began. I gave them a credit card number, but a week later I discovered the payment had not hit my credit card so I called Experian. Seems that to activate the monitoring for me they needed to “call up” my credit report, but they were not able to do that because they kept getting a “Code 78,” meaning among other things I had no credit history. For the next 10 days or so, I spoke to seven or eight Experian monitoring people and (eventually, after being required to download a copy of my credit report to give them a credit report number), two real live people in the “disputes” part of the company. I reviewed my report as well as those from Equifax and Transunion, and I did not find anything unusual or incorrect in any of them with one exception. My son, who happens to be a junior, was listed on the personal information page in the Experian report along with my name. I explained what I believe was wrong with the report to a number of people, but they kept bouncing me back and forth between the monitoring service and the credit bureau. None was helpful. In fact, they were all dunces. After a lengthy conversation on Jan. 14 with a “supervisor” I was assured everything would be fixed within 24 hours. It wasn’t. They are not paying attention to details, and this kind of work demands attention to details. Why is my son’s name appearing on my report? Do they punch in information on the basis of names only? Why don’t they use social security numbers? I have come to the conclusion that these people are either stupid, ignorant, incompetent or just plain careless in how they do their jobs. There’s much more to this story. I’m 79 years old with high blood pressure; I doubt I can take much more of this. I am not sure I want to deal with Equifax either. Should I take the chance?

  12. Security Freeze on your file, you must include your 10 digit PIN. Where do I get this pin number?

    Thank you,
    Dennis L Wagner

  13. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DISPUTE SOMETHING ON MY FILE THAT IS COMPLETELY WRONG AND CAN’T GET ANYWHERE. IT IS LIKE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE SIMPLEST THINGS. I AM TRYING TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO CLEAR THIS UP BEFORE I HAVE TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THEM.

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