Tried to get credit report - security questions don't match

Ciel · Post by **Ciel** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 12:48 am

I'm not sure if I should be worried about identity theft or not with this incident.

I went online to request one of my three free annual credit reports - I opted to go through Equifax. I verified all my info, SS #, etc. When I got to the security questions, both questions involved what banks I have taken loans from (mortgage and auto loan) and the monthly payments for these loans as verification of my identity. I have never taken out a mortgage, auto loan, or any other type of loan. I selected "none of the above" for everything, and was denied access to my report.

Has anyone experienced something similar? I assume that calling Equifax is my best option now? If this is an error, I'm hoping it won't be damaging to my credit history. If it's identity theft... yikes. Any thoughts?

JoMoney · Post by **JoMoney** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 12:59 am

I recently (last week) had the same problem with Equifax. Only one of the security questions had actual true data about my background, the others were "none of the above" sort of answers. After answering the questions it told me they would not be able to give me the report online and I would have to contact them. I assumed it was because I already have a "fraud victim alert" on my profile and it was just making things difficult. I haven't bothered to contact them yet because my TransUnion looked fine and I figured I'd get around to it later. Now that I see your post I feel a little better about mine, but am curious as to "what their game is"...

Ciel · Post by **Ciel** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:22 am

I too feel better reading your post. It's very odd though. Just checked Experian which indicated no problems so I'm not too worried.

beanstock · Post by **beanstock** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 5:49 am

same thing happened to me. they asked about a car loan I supposedly took out and I answered none of the above. Wrong. its amazing how many hoops you have to go through to get your credit report. I think k they do this on purpose in order to get you to call the agency, so they up sell services. I don't understand why private 3rd party businesses are responsible for providing our credit info, way can't we receive e it directly from the government? I think its a scandal that companies profit from providing you your personal credit report.

M_to_the_G · Post by **M_to_the_G** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:54 am

Similar thing happened to me last year. I think it's deliberate to get you to give up and just pay them for the report. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't giving them a dime. I sent the request by mail and got my darn free report.

IlliniDave · Post by **IlliniDave** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:04 am

Yep, same thing happened to me. No problem from the other two services. I decided it was a ruse to extract money somehow, maybe by tricking people into thinking their identity had been stolen or something then trying to sell a monitoring service. I believe they are required by law to provide the free report, and I'd like to see them get hammered for the obfuscation they're employing.

rkhusky · Post by **rkhusky** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:06 am

If you need to request by phone or mail, use the links from this page: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. If you go through the bureaus, you used to have to submit all sorts of documentation.

Grasshopper · Post by **Grasshopper** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:20 am

With all the bank takeovers it is hard to answer who you had a loan from. A hint I always write down in a file the questions and the the answer that was accepted. I have had street names changed (Pheasant Run to Lark), town names changed (Green Acres to Spokane Valley). Once I was asked for a 30 yo phone number, gee come on now.

thewizzer · Post by **thewizzer** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 9:11 am

rkhusky wrote:If you need to request by phone or mail, use the links from this page: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. If you go through the bureaus, you used to have to submit all sorts of documentation.

Hey, thanks for the link! I'm putting mine in the mail right now. I've always had issues with the full reports printing. One year, one of the three I downloaded just disappeared. Other than costing me a stamp, the form is much easier to fill out. Name, DOB, SSN, and mailing address. We'll see how long it take to get back and if it's in a more reader friendly form when I receive it.

Ciel · Post by **Ciel** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:39 am

Thanks for the further information - it seems to almost certainly be deliberate on their part as a way of getting people to sign up for services. Hopefully this is something Equifax will need to answer to in the future as it's fairly transparent...

js2012 · Post by **js2012** » Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:35 pm

This happened to me a few days ago too and last year. I was able to get it from Transunion last year but not the other two. I was also concerned that there may have been a problem, but checked on my creditkarma account and didn't see anything so I'm pretty sure it's okay. My student loans changed hands and I had an auto loan so far back that I wasn't sure if it ever changed hands, so I'm guessing that I got one of those questions wrong. I was very tempted to pay for the report because I did have a panic moment about my report but decided against it. I'd be very curious to know if they are denying access to credit reports to encourage the sale of people's credit reports.

SimonJester · Post by **SimonJester** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:51 am

I had a similar situation with one of the three agencies a few months back, ordered the report by mail. When I received the report there was nothing out of the usual on the report. So I don't know what was up with their system that day.

As a tip I spread out my reports and order one report from one of the various agencies every few months.

Personally I think the agencies should be required to give us 24x7 365 days a year access for free.

As is all of my reports are frozen which does make for some interesting hoops to jump through at times, still well worth it.

Bill M · Post by **Bill M** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:45 pm

Had this same problem getting the free annual reports mid-July. TransUnion and Experion were fine; Equifax refused. The form I was told to submit for the Equifax report said to include a copy of SocialSecurity Card and Drivers License (a couple of other choices were also available for each of these), and send them to the Annual Credit Report office. Did that.

Yesterday I received a notice from Equifax saying the information on the request form didn't match their records, and that to get the credit report I had to submit a copy of my SocialSecurity Card and Drivers License. Again??? Didn't they realize I already sent a copy with the first request? This time to be sent directly to an Equifax office.

At this point I'm sure there is something that needs to be disputed on the Equifax report. In a few weeks I hope to know what. And hope to find out what damage it caused.

Calm Man · Post by **Calm Man** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:20 pm

I had the same nonsense with Equifax. It asked details of my potential auto loan and mortgage, neither of which I have. It also said I needed to do it by mail. Right -- I will print it out and mail it in with my social security number and other info. My records also show that I checked with Equifax periodically over the years and they have always done this same poor job. And again, Transunion and Experian were fine. Somebody ought to call their Congressperso about these Equifax people. I know I would never do any business with them if I had a choice.

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:35 pm

I had this issue with Equifax a few months ago. I ended up buying the report online and there was nothing different from the previous year's free report. They suckered me.

What government agency handles this "free" requirement? I think I'm going to complain to someone official. If they're doing it on purpose isn't it fraud?

eucalyptus · Post by **eucalyptus** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:45 pm

Same issue as everyone else, Equifax. No way to answer the questions correctly, some based on incorrect information.

"Beneath contempt" neatly describes these "agencies." For fun, search "Equifax" and your favorite profanity. Go ahead, try to think of something new!

grabiner · Post by **grabiner** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:54 pm

The same thing happened to me with Equifax. In April 2013, Equifax asked me, "You may have an auto loan, opened in or about March 2013. Which of these banks holds the loan?" I don't have one, but someone could have opened an auto loan in my name, which is why I want to check my Equifax credit report. I had to do it by mail instead, and confirm that my report was clean. (I also checked Credit Karma, which would have revealed the auto loan since all four banks report to Trans Union as well.)

I was also once asked about an address that was 13 years old and was no longer on the report when I received it. I did know where I had lived at the time, so I got that question right.

And address are poor security questions because they are very likely to be incorrect. When I faxed an auto insurance application from an office fax, my insurer mistakenly reported the address on the fax cover sheet to Experian. I had another bank report its address as my address; this could have been interesting because Experian must have noticed that a lot of people at the same address in Sterling, VA had delinquent accounts.

(edited to revert previous edit; intended to follow-up instead)

SimonJester · Post by **SimonJester** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:55 pm

I think my wife's story will beat all of these, its a long one for excuse the length of this post.

A few years back we went to pull DW's credit file from the three credit bureaus. Two were normal reports however with one bureau we could not get past the security questions. So we filled out the form and sent in the request for a mailed copy of the report. We received a letter back stating they needed a copy of the social security card and drivers license. We sent that into the bureau and awaited the report. Finally we received the report and much to our surprise what we found on the report was unbelievable. There were multiple charged off accounts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, employers listed that my wife had never worked for including the US Army, residences in multiple states DW had never lived in, phone numbers we have never owned! We knew something was majorly wrong.

So we called up the bureau to find out what was going on, after all the other two bureau reports were clean. When we finally got through to someone a few levels up, the person at the credit bureau says "...oh I see what has happened, we have crossed linked your record with another person..." The other person happens to have the same first and last name as my wife different middle initial, DOB and SSN. She goes on about how they are going to have to unlink the two files and suggests we dispute the inaccurate information.
So we dispute all the inaccurate information and a few weeks later we get confirmation of a clean report. But here is where the real nightmare begins...

A few months go by and then the phone calls start, collection agencies looking for the person with my wife's same first and last name. Of course they dont believe us when we say yes a person lives here by that name but not the one you are looking for. We have the collection agency report back the last 4 of the SSN they have on file to confirm it is not the same as my wife's and tell them to remove our phone number. It seems when they cross linked this other person's information on my wifes file, they also put our phone number on the other person file! Multiple phone calls, certified letters, threats of legal action to the credit bureau all end with the same result; We (as in you) cannot remove information from someone elses file, that individual must dispute the information for it to be removed.

So we continue to deal with various collection agencies calling, we get a few calls in a month, then nothing for many months. One night my dog start barking and I notice a loud diesel engine running. I open the door to see a tow truck parked outside with two people crawling behind my car with a flashlight. I ask them what they are doing and they inform me they are there to repossess a 2005 red ford mustang! However I dont own a 2005 red ford mustang. I chatted with the repo folks for a bit about the situation and they confirmed DOB and other details did not match my wife. I did provide them with the last known address of this other person as it appeared on my wifes credit report, however this was several states away so these repo people were not going to mess with it.

On and on it continued every so often we would get a call from a collection agency and would have to deal with it. One time we get a call from an insurance company investigator looking to contact this person, seems she was in an accident and totaled her 2005 red mustang along with their client's vehicle. I explain about he mixup and also let the insurance agency know repo people were looking for the mustang to repo it. The agent said "oh we know where the mustang is, we have impounded it and its in our possession."...

Again years go by and the calls slow down, then they start up again. Finally quite annoyed I pressed one of the collection company for more information. I believed they were getting my phone number from this other person's credit file and it seems like this other person was in no hurry to correct her report. When I press the collector on where he got my phone number, he tells me "we have your phone number written down in ink on this credit card app. I am looking at it right in front of me." It seems this lovely scum of a person has now taken to putting our phone number on credit card applications, pay day loans, you name it! No other information of my wife is being used just our phone number. This seems like a good way for her to avoid the nasty calls when she skips out on her debts.

Now I am steamed! I called my local police and ask to file a police report on identity theft and fraud. After consulting their higher ups it was determined that simply using my phone number was not identity theft and they would not take a police report! They suggested we change our phone number!

I call police in the state / town this other person lives in and same dice, they will not take a report and they don't handle fraud as that would have to come from the creditor.

It has been seven years, every few months we will get calls looking for this other person. It seems lately she had change the first letter in her first name so its easier to now say no one lives here under that name and to remove our number.

I have kept very detailed documentation of who I spoke with at which agency / company in case somehow for some reason I need it.

Even more interesting we think we have met this person, years before all this happened my wife went into a dr appointment, as she was being checked in the receptionist behind the counter commented, ohh look we have the same first and last names!
Now we cannot be sure this is the same person, but it makes us wonder. Perhaps that is where it all started.

Ciel · Post by **Ciel** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:32 am

Wow, it's incredible how common this is with Equifax. Some google-assisted research shows that this does indeed appear to be a frequent occurrence with Equifax, and not so much with Experian or TransUnion. Surely this warrants some type of federal investigation and action.

Simon - What a nightmare - I'm sorry.

muddyglass · Post by **muddyglass** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:17 am

the same exact thing happened to me with equifax a couple of months ago. they rejected my "none of the above" answer to a security question even though it was correct. i panicked a little at the time thinking the problem was related to identity theft, but now it seems it was probably just shenanigans in the financial services industry, as usual...

muddyglass · Post by **muddyglass** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 5:31 am

SimonJester wrote:I think my wife's story will beat all of these, its a long one for excuse the length of this post.

A few years back we went to pull DW's credit file from the three credit bureaus. Two were normal reports however with one bureau we could not get past the security questions. So we filled out the form and sent in the request for a mailed copy of the report. We received a letter back stating they needed a copy of the social security card and drivers license. We sent that into the bureau and awaited the report. Finally we received the report and much to our surprise what we found on the report was unbelievable. There were multiple charged off accounts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, employers listed that my wife had never worked for including the US Army, residences in multiple states DW had never lived in, phone numbers we have never owned! We knew something was majorly wrong.

So we called up the bureau to find out what was going on, after all the other two bureau reports were clean. When we finally got through to someone a few levels up, the person at the credit bureau says "...oh I see what has happened, we have crossed linked your record with another person..." The other person happens to have the same first and last name as my wife different middle initial, DOB and SSN. She goes on about how they are going to have to unlink the two files and suggests we dispute the inaccurate information.
So we dispute all the inaccurate information and a few weeks later we get confirmation of a clean report. But here is where the real nightmare begins...

A few months go by and then the phone calls start, collection agencies looking for the person with my wife's same first and last name. Of course they dont believe us when we say yes a person lives here by that name but not the one you are looking for. We have the collection agency report back the last 4 of the SSN they have on file to confirm it is not the same as my wife's and tell them to remove our phone number. It seems when they cross linked this other person's information on my wifes file, they also put our phone number on the other person file! Multiple phone calls, certified letters, threats of legal action to the credit bureau all end with the same result; We (as in you) cannot remove information from someone elses file, that individual must dispute the information for it to be removed.

So we continue to deal with various collection agencies calling, we get a few calls in a month, then nothing for many months. One night my dog start barking and I notice a loud diesel engine running. I open the door to see a tow truck parked outside with two people crawling behind my car with a flashlight. I ask them what they are doing and they inform me they are there to repossess a 2005 red ford mustang! However I dont own a 2005 red ford mustang. I chatted with the repo folks for a bit about the situation and they confirmed DOB and other details did not match my wife. I did provide them with the last known address of this other person as it appeared on my wifes credit report, however this was several states away so these repo people were not going to mess with it.

On and on it continued every so often we would get a call from a collection agency and would have to deal with it. One time we get a call from an insurance company investigator looking to contact this person, seems she was in an accident and totaled her 2005 red mustang along with their client's vehicle. I explain about he mixup and also let the insurance agency know repo people were looking for the mustang to repo it. The agent said "oh we know where the mustang is, we have impounded it and its in our possession."...

Again years go by and the calls slow down, then they start up again. Finally quite annoyed I pressed one of the collection company for more information. I believed they were getting my phone number from this other person's credit file and it seems like this other person was in no hurry to correct her report. When I press the collector on where he got my phone number, he tells me "we have your phone number written down in ink on this credit card app. I am looking at it right in front of me." It seems this lovely scum of a person has now taken to putting our phone number on credit card applications, pay day loans, you name it! No other information of my wife is being used just our phone number. This seems like a good way for her to avoid the nasty calls when she skips out on her debts.

Now I am steamed! I called my local police and ask to file a police report on identity theft and fraud. After consulting their higher ups it was determined that simply using my phone number was not identity theft and they would not take a police report! They suggested we change our phone number!

I call police in the state / town this other person lives in and same dice, they will not take a report and they don't handle fraud as that would have to come from the creditor.

It has been seven years, every few months we will get calls looking for this other person. It seems lately she had change the first letter in her first name so its easier to now say no one lives here under that name and to remove our number.

I have kept very detailed documentation of who I spoke with at which agency / company in case somehow for some reason I need it.

Even more interesting we think we have met this person, years before all this happened my wife went into a dr appointment, as she was being checked in the receptionist behind the counter commented, ohh look we have the same first and last names!
Now we cannot be sure this is the same person, but it makes us wonder. Perhaps that is where it all started.

wow, that's quite a story! i'm sorry you have to deal with all that!

how recently did the fraudster work for the u.s. army? maybe you can get the military to step in. this is clearly dishonorable action on her part and someone in the military might take up your case and punish her if she's still working for uncle sam.

SimonJester · Post by **SimonJester** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 10:39 am

muddyglass wrote: wow, that's quite a story! i'm sorry you have to deal with all that!
how recently did the fraudster work for the u.s. army? maybe you can get the military to step in. this is clearly dishonorable action on her part and someone in the military might take up your case and punish her if she's still working for uncle sam.

We thought calling the Army and trying to get a hold of the person's CO when all this started, hinds sight we should have done that. As the initial event took place seven years ago I feel it is quite likely she is no longer employed by the Army.

I have also been tempted to track this person down to a phone number and asking her to knock it off, perhaps threaten a law suit. I doubt it would do any good as she is clearly not a responsibly person. Any legal action will cost me money and it very clear this person has nothing...

Also I went back through my records, the credit bureau that caused this was the same one people here have mentioned having problems with.

Default User BR · Post by **Default User BR** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:47 pm

I recalled that last time I pulled credit reports, I had trouble with one. Looking back, also Equifax. I was able to get Experian with no trouble at the time.

Today I pulled Transunion. No problem, but one of the questions threw me. It asked: Who owns property in the state of XXXX. The list of names included one of my brothers. So, how did that pertain to my credit report? It worked selecting him.

Brian

gkaplan · Post by **gkaplan** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:55 pm

I usually answer "no" to the questions I'm unsure about, even though they may in fact be true, and none of the three credit reporting agencies has denied me access.

muddyglass · Post by **muddyglass** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 1:55 pm

SimonJester wrote:
muddyglass wrote: wow, that's quite a story! i'm sorry you have to deal with all that!
how recently did the fraudster work for the u.s. army? maybe you can get the military to step in. this is clearly dishonorable action on her part and someone in the military might take up your case and punish her if she's still working for uncle sam.

We thought calling the Army and trying to get a hold of the person's CO when all this started, hinds sight we should have done that. As the initial event took place seven years ago I feel it is quite likely she is no longer employed by the Army.

I have also been tempted to track this person down to a phone number and asking her to knock it off, perhaps threaten a law suit. I doubt it would do any good as she is clearly not a responsibly person. Any legal action will cost me money and it very clear this person has nothing...

Also I went back through my records, the credit bureau that caused this was the same one people here have mentioned having problems with.

even if she doesn't work for the military any more, there's a good chance that she received some benefits from her employment there, say for example enrollment in the thrift savings plan. someone in the army might be able to penalize her still.

Testing123 · Post by **Testing123** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 3:13 pm

One easy way to complain about this is to go to the site: AnnualCredit Report.com, click on "Contact Us", then click on "Consumer Comment Form". I don't know if it will do any good.

ShortStop · Post by **ShortStop** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:24 pm

Last month I tried to get the free Equifax credit report by computer and it wouldn't let me. I thought it was just me. After reading this thread I went the Consumer Comment Form to complain about the situation. Yesterday I received an Equifax credit report in the mail. I hadn't ordered it, didn't get charged for it, and was very surprised to get it. Did anyone else complain and receive a report?

123 · Post by **123** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:52 pm

I got a couple of those kind of questions when I was setting up a FEDEX package redelivery account. One of the questions was a real doozy, it asked about the age (construction date) of my house. It's an older home in an older city and a couple of answers were a toss-up.

grabiner · Post by **grabiner** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:40 pm

123 wrote:I got a couple of those kind of questions when I was setting up a FEDEX package redelivery account. One of the questions was a real doozy, it asked about the age (construction date) of my house. It's an older home in an older city and a couple of answers were a toss-up.

I had a potential toss-up question from Experian when I checked a few days ago. One of the questions was, "What are the last four digits of your primary checking account number?" I have two checking accounts, plus checkwriting on my Vanguard money-market account, and I have no idea which one Experian thinks is primary; neither number appears on my Experian report. (My guess is that I reported my checking account number on some previous credit application, and it might not even have been the full account number, but the credit-union account number which has a suffix to identify it as checking.) However, the last four digits listed on the four options didn't match either of my accounts. If they had matched only one, I would assume that was the right one; if they had matched both, it would have been a pure guess.

bayview · Post by **bayview** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:32 pm

These questions (the lunatic ones, like your address in third grade) are courtesy of the LexisNexis database. Unfortunately, most of our memories aren't as fine-tuned as their db, plus then you add in the errors that have crept onto our publicly accessible records, like credit reports and whatnot.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/risk/solution ... ation.aspx

Bill M · Post by **Bill M** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:40 pm

Bill M wrote:Had this same problem getting the free annual reports mid-July. TransUnion and Experion were fine; Equifax refused. The form I was told to submit for the Equifax report said to include a copy of SocialSecurity Card and Drivers License (a couple of other choices were also available for each of these), and send them to the Annual Credit Report office. Did that.

Yesterday I received a notice from Equifax saying the information on the request form didn't match their records, and that to get the credit report I had to submit a copy of my SocialSecurity Card and Drivers License. Again??? Didn't they realize I already sent a copy with the first request? This time to be sent directly to an Equifax office.

At this point I'm sure there is something that needs to be disputed on the Equifax report. In a few weeks I hope to know what. And hope to find out what damage it caused.

Update -- Today I received the paper copy of the credit report -- three weeks after sending the documentation the second time. Seems excesive delay. Report was dated 8/7. Surprisingly, and fortunately, all is clean and just what is expected.

So why did the security questions not match????? Was Equifax just trying to get paid for a copy of the report instead of giving away a free one?

grabiner · Post by **grabiner** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:00 pm

bayview wrote:These questions (the lunatic ones, like your address in third grade) are courtesy of the LexisNexis database. Unfortunately, most of our memories aren't as fine-tuned as their db, plus then you add in the errors that have crept onto our publicly accessible records, like credit reports and whatnot.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/risk/solution ... ation.aspx

This seems odd, as the bureaus don't seem to take the questions seriously. I was once asked, "In which county is the current address you submitted?" This provided no security, as an identity thief would already have the address (having used it to get to that point), and if he wasn't already familiar with the local geography, could open another window and map the address to find the county.

Gnirk · Post by **Gnirk** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:32 pm

I've had the same problem for the past three years with Equifax. I just gave up, as I have no problems with Transunion or Experian.

muddyglass · Post by **muddyglass** » Wed Aug 21, 2013 12:35 am

ShortStop wrote:Last month I tried to get the free Equifax credit report by computer and it wouldn't let me. I thought it was just me. After reading this thread I went the Consumer Comment Form to complain about the situation. Yesterday I received an Equifax credit report in the mail. I hadn't ordered it, didn't get charged for it, and was very surprised to get it. Did anyone else complain and receive a report?

i'm going to try that the next time i want to see my equifax credit report. sending a paper copy should cost them more money than the online version. maybe if enough people complain and end up getting paper copies, then equifax will stop with this nonsense.

i also hope this thread shows up prominently in a google search on this issue.

M_to_the_G · Post by **M_to_the_G** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:09 pm

Well, it was time to do my free credit reports again tonight. This time, Experian and Transunion worked fine. This time, it was Equifax that decided to ask me obscure questions about who might have lived in a rental property I inhabited years ago that probably dozens of people have been in and out of since. Once again, a credit bureau is getting the form mailed to them. I'm getting my free credit report from them, one way or the other.

One other thing I've noticed: the credit bureaus seem to be becoming increasingly less accommodating, year on year. In previous years, they offered a neat PDF document of your report that you could just download to your computer. Now, they only offer to let you view your report online and/or print it out. And they've cleverly designed their websites so that if you try to cut and paste the information from the website into a Word document, it becomes a jumbled mess of what appear to be purposefully design tables that scramble up illegibly in Word. So I had to print them out and scan them into my own PDF files in order to have electronic copies.

JoMoney · Post by **JoMoney** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:23 pm

M_to_the_G wrote:... And they've cleverly designed their websites so that if you try to cut and paste the information from the website into a Word document, it becomes a jumbled mess of what appear to be purposefully design tables that scramble up illegibly in Word. So I had to print them out and scan them into my own PDF files in order to have electronic copies.

Have you tried printing driectly to PDF? There's lots of options out there, I used to use the free pdfCreator software http://www.pdfforge.org/ , it just installs a printer option on your computer and you print directly to PDF's. The Google Chrome browser has an option to "save as pdf" built in when you go to print.

GerryL · Post by **GerryL** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:46 pm

After pulling all 3 reports the first time several years ago, I now pull one report every 4 months. Sometimes the questions are a real quiz for me, but so far I've managed to ace the quiz and get the report. I review but don't print, so I'm making it easy on myself (and maybe the credit bureaus).

But as far as trying to call. Ha. I was having an issue with Experian, which, it turns out, manages authentication on the Social Security site. If you want to set up a MySocialSecurity account, the authentication process goes through Experian. Since I had previously frozen my credit -- at a cost of $10 per agency -- I was not allowed to open a MySocialSecurity account online. It seems that Experian, which is being paid by US taxpayers to contract with SSA, can't figure out how (or refuses to figure out how) to authenticate someone whose credit freeze they have processed -- that is, without collecting another $10. I also discovered that there is NO WAY to contact a human being at Experiean. (Well, unless you want to talk to one of their sales people.) I tried emailing them at an address posted on their site. Every email I sent bounced back as undeliverable. I found an "Ask Us" form with a photo of a smiling lady. When I typed in my question, it repeatedly popped me up to the back of the page to the FAQ link.

We need to remember that we are not the customers of the credit bureaus. We are the product. They don't give a rip about what we think of them.

Oh, yes. And during this time, these two articles showed up in the news:

This is the original story about Experian selling data to an ID theft service:
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/10/expe ... t-service/

This is a follow up with additional information:
http://www.informationweek.com/security ... d_IWK_News

cparke · Post by **cparke** » Mon Nov 18, 2013 9:57 pm

I too just went through this exact same experience with Equifax for my mother-in-law's credit report there. The security questions always ask about mortgages, auto loans, student loans, etc., and she's never had any of those, so we answered 'None' to all of them, but any way still denied online credit access and had to mail in the request instead. Tried it online a few times, but consistently got the same type of questions that don't relate at all. No such problem accessing the other credit bureaus, just Equifax!

Today we finally got the paper copy of the credit report that we had to request. Took about 2 weeks to get it. Looking at the credit report itself, there is nothing unusual or out of the ordinary as we had feared from getting those bogus security questions, and indeed the questions definitely didn't come from the credit report received! At the same time, I also see on the report that Equifax itself accessed the credit report each time we gave another try on the security questions.

I really think this is Equifax's own fault, not annualcreditreport.com, and no I don't think it is a ploy to get you to buy a credit report. Because when we went directly to the Equifax.com site and tried to buy a credit report there, we still got the same security questions that we can't answer! It seems to me like Equifax has chosen to only ask questions about installment loans found on your credit report, and so if you don't have any, they just throw you random questions but it doesn't matter how you answer, you're not getting instant online access.

I don't know what the folks at Equifax are thinking. If you can't generate valid security questions and are unwilling to grant immediate online access, just say that immediately, don't start throwing up nonsense questions! And BTW - just the other day as we started to get impatient waiting for the report in the mail, we tried to request the free annual report by phone and online again, even though it actually was already in the mail to us, and you know something, there was no indication at any point in the process to indicate that we had already received the free annual report!

kaneohe · Post by **kaneohe** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:06 am

I'm so glad to have seen this thread. I don't do online so I never had this issue w/ security questions. I do the automated phone line to
ask for the printed report. Usually there is not a problem. One yr one of the three said I had already obtained my report and had to wait out the rest of the
12mos. Since I had not requested the report I was puzzled since I had no problem with the other 2 companies. When I called the problem company, they
told me someone had already requested it and then in subtle ways to get me worried about ID theft and to pay for certain of their products. On the next annual cycle there was no problem w/ any of the 3 companies.

When this thread came out , I rushed to my records to find out which company I had a problem with...........yes, the same Equifax
Would be nice if some energetic person reported them to FTC (or whoever the responsible agency is).

tomd37 · Post by **tomd37** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:23 am

I periodically have problem only with Equifax. As a married couple I request a report from each of the three credit reporting agencies every other month under my name and SSN and then do the same for my spouse every other month the last six months of the year. So I end up with a report every two months. I do all these requests by telephone and get paper reports in about a week or so. Have never been challenged with any security question issues. Maybe that is online only.

l2ridehd · Post by **l2ridehd** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:56 am

Here is how I handled this. Had the same issues as everyone else. Finally got the Equifax report. It was clean. I froze the account and refuse to unfreeze for anyone. If I apply for something I tell them the accounts are all frozen and I will unfreeze either Experian or Trans Union for them. If the ask for Equifax I refuse and explain why. If everyone did this, Equifax would lose so much business that they would be forced to change or go out of business. So far everyone has agreed to accept another agency report. And if they don't, I will go elsewhere. That report will never be unfrozen or accessed by anyone ever again. They get paid every time someone requests your credit. So far they have lost money tracking me as they can never provide the report.

soaring · Post by **soaring** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:54 pm

My information has never matched over 10 years. I call get reports and all is well every time. I suspect because I was moving more than usual during that period and they couldn't verify addresses.

But never was an issue...for me.

widestance · Post by **widestance** » Wed Nov 20, 2013 8:53 pm

For me, the questions are valid but they're about information that's so old I can't remember the answers!

It's hell getting old

BigBearMike · Post by **BigBearMike** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 4:32 pm

I had my own problems with the security questions from Equifax not being realistic. They asked a about a car loan that I did not have and a phone number that was more than 13 years ago. Then I printed the form to mail in for the free annual credit report and mailed it in with the required proof of identity. Several months past and I never received the credit report or any response.

Acting on advise here, I went to the free annual credit report website and posted a complaint online indicating my experience and pointed out that I thought that Equifax was committing a kind of fraud to make users pay for credit reports because you can get one if you call and pay for it but not through the normal methods. A few weeks later, a credit report from Equifax appeared in the mail.

This approach may work for others who have had similar problems with the security questions that are not relevant or recent enough of a reasonable person to be able to determine the answer for.

Maybe if there are enough complaints posted to the free annual credit report website, some improvement may occur.

david99 · Post by **david99** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 8:55 pm

I had the same problem when I tried to get my free credit report with Equifax online ( http://www.annualcreditreport.com). So I called the number for the free annual credit report (877-322-8228) and they are sending the Equifax and Transunion report in the mail. You can get your free annual credit report from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion through the mail or online. I was able to get the Experian report online, but I couldn't get the Transunion or Equifax report online. It's a good idea to get your free credit report once a year to check for identity theft. Some people recommend getting one credit report every four months to check for identity theft.

grabiner · Post by **grabiner** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:48 pm

grabiner wrote:The same thing happened to me with Equifax. In April 2013, Equifax asked me, "You may have an auto loan, opened in or about March 2013. Which of these banks holds the loan?" I don't have one, but someone could have opened an auto loan in my name, which is why I want to check my Equifax credit report. I had to do it by mail instead, and confirm that my report was clean.

I checked my credit today with Equifax, and had no problem this time. Again, I was asked, "You may have an auto loan/lease, opened in or about June 2006. Which of these banks holds the loan?" I don't have one, and entered "None of the above", which was correct. (The other two questions were about my mortgage and mortgage payment, which I do now have.)

Ciel · Post by **Ciel** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:21 pm

Incidentally, I tried to access my Equifax report again two days ago. I got the very same questions I received when I created this thread -- about my auto loan and mortgage (neither of which exists). Answered accordingly and was unsurprisingly denied access again. Hopefully the great number of people with this issue with Equifax can get to this thread by a Google search before worrying too much about identity theft.

cheese_breath · Post by **cheese_breath** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:26 pm

Some problem with Equifax for both myself and my wife. No problems with the other two agencies.

LifeIsGood · Post by **LifeIsGood** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:15 am

Like so many others, I have also had this problem with Equifax. I just filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I'm sure it won't solve anything but maybe if enough people complain they'll be forced to change.

BigFoot48 · Post by **BigFoot48** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:16 am

Ditto on all of the above. Equifax came up on my six month rotation for a report a few weeks ago and two attempts at getting it were failures with the "please contact us" message. TransUnion worked just fine.