Q.I have totally disappeared from Equifax and have no report from them, I do not know why this has happened. I discovered this while trying to get a VA mortgage from a loan officer who also could not find it.
My Experian report has me at a 640 and TransUnion only has me at a 480. I have been told since I have only two reports they have to use my lowest credit score, which will not get me a loan. My TransUnion score is so low I cant borrow a plug nickel. I am almost convinced that once you have bad credit there is no way to fix it, once you are there the credit bureaus keep you there.
A. I understand how disheartening this can all be. The credit bureaus are known to have highly inaccurate information. Some studies have estimated that one out of every four credit reports contains serious errors. To add insult to injury, you’ve probably got one of Equifax’s famous “split files“.
What is a split file and how does it happen?
Equifax sometimes splits its files into two, Equifax 1 and Equifax 2, if the information is too much, usually as a result of name and Social Security Number (SSN) mix-ups. Another possibility for a split file may be there is an excessive number of account, inquiry or other or credit information in your file.
What is frustrating about a split file is that each of these credit reports have its own credit scores and information. This makes finding your report in the system very complicated and the errors even more difficult to find and correct.
In your case, it could be that all the information concerning your credit is on the file which has your incorrect SSN and name. If this misinformation happens to be in Equifax 1 file, the search results will turn up nothing when searching on your name and SSN.
Usually in credit reports pulled by mortgage companies, though, your two Equifax files should be merged and the complete information should be there. The fact that the mortgage company cannot find your Equifax report suggests to me that there is a name and SSN mix up.
Call Equifax’s fraud office (or anywhere within the company) to talk to a live person. Forget about the advertised 800 number, you won’t get a live person, but an automated menu system. I’d suggest looking up their local office number in Atlanta, Georgia (this worked for me). You can also try this page for some tips: How to Get A Live Person on the Phone.
Have you been the victim of Equifax’s “split file” syndrome? Tell us by leaning a comment!
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I think something similar to this happened to me. I haven’t been able to get to the bottom of it yet. I requested my credit reports, and disputed the inaccuracies, and thought everything was “ok”. Shortly thereafter a potential lender pulled my credit report, and about laughed me out of the office. She refused to show me the report she had pulled, but she made verbal reference to accounts that I thought had been deleted, or which had not even appeared on the copy they provided to me. I have never been able to get this matter resolved. It seems wrong that if a third party pulls your credit report, and especially if you have to pay for them to do it, that you cannot then see the information they were provided with. You should be able to verify that lenders are being given the same credit profile that the CRA gives you as an individual. And if not, to question “why not?” Of course, without the proof, they simply denied it happened. I guess this is another way the CRAs get away with keeping you in the dark about your credit report. I really just don’t understand the reason for such behavior on their part.
Same story with me, my file is gone. I try to get it online, it gives me to verify places I’ve never lived, loans I’ve never taken, when I check “none of the above”, it says that it cannot find my file. I sent a form and documentation by mail, they sent me a standard letter that they cannot find my file. I tried to open a dispute, same story. I wrote a letter to their headquarters by hand, sent it by certified mail, got the same response from a mail box. They know how to push you around.
I already filed an FTC complaint and considering joining a class action.
The same thing is happening to me! I have a score w/ TransUnion and one with Experian, but none with Equifax. I’ve sent numerous letters, emails, and filed a number of online disputes and my w/ Equifax has yet to be updated.
Same thing here, im in the middle of buying a home or was before my file vanished into thin air. Im told i dont have a file yet i can see on file that i did in june 2011 when i last ordered my file. Unreal how equifax can be aloud to just hold your life hostage like this. 3 weeks now ive been told they will esculate my matter, yet nothing resolved. Im very close to hiring an attorney
same here but i suggest contacting a credit repair consult,they know the laws and the rules,i have one starting on mine next week,good luck to those that try to handle it on their own.