Frozen Credit Report

[Bobonli]

What am I missing?

Several years ago I was a victim of identity theft. Someone at my job pilfered personal info, gave it to someone else who filed unemployment claims. On advice of the State Labor Dept and police input a free on my credit reports. Fast forward and it’s time to get a new car. Dealer can’t do credit check because my Experian Account is locked. So I unlock it. Dealer still can’t do credit check, tells me account is still locked. Experian says it isn’t. Dealer says it is and won’t do the deal.

Calling Experian/ Transunion is getting me nowhere. They say the account is not frozen. Likewise dealer says he can’t move forward. I told him to have the lending bank check directly and the bank can’t access my credit history either.

I’m usually not the first or only person to encounter a problem. I bet someone here has been down this road. How do I figure out whether it’s actually frozen/ locked and find a resolution?

[AngryScientist]

Do you have an established relationship with your bank and/or whoever manages your investments? If I were in this boat, I would call my guy at Fidelity and ask for his advice/help. I've found that they usually value my business and are willing to provide some extra curricular financial advice on simple matters like this.

Additionally, if you work for a biggish company, they may very well have resources to help you with this.

Curious in this environment, what rate the dealer is giving you? If it's not great, shop that around before you make the purchase.

[donevwil]

(Hoping it's this simple for you) Our Subaru dealer did something similar, told us to unfreeze our Equifax account, we did so, told us it was still locked. Turns out they were using Experian, not Equifax.

[Bobonli]

Combination of things happening I think. First I think they’re not using my full legal name even though I provided my drivers license. Second I think they are searching one service but I was told to unlock a different one. I tried to ask them to contact my bank directly but either they didn’t or the bank wasn’t able to help.

The credit reporting companies are pretty awful at customer service. First you have to navigate the automated attendant and answer ten questions including what was the balance on your credit card while in high school and things of that nature. If you’re lucky or persistent you can speak to a human in a call center in another country.

[robin3mj]

I second the suggestion to get a car loan from your ongoing bank if possible. They probably have a team more adept at telling you which credit reporting services need to be unlocked, potentially better rate, etc.

I know that car dealers lose their verve for the sale when you tell them you will not finance the new car sale but that’s their problem not yours.

I locked my and my wife’s credit reports down for all three of the big bureaus at the time of the major breach a number of years ago and haven’t had cause to unlock any since. I do have the email and passwords at the ready to do so but totally clueless as to how smooth the unlocking process is.

[sk_tle]

I'd say that if you have to buy a car on credit, it is way too expensive for the task it is asked for.