Calling Equifax requires some time and patience, but it is not impossible. However, I would advise you to be in a quiet and safe place when you call because the virtual assistant is very sound-sensitive and will ask you for very personal information. I'm not sure how I feel about giving out my social security number on the phone, but I didn't really have any other choice. These are just a few of the things that made me uncomfortable about the whole situation, but a little context will help make it a bit clearer.
The call took over half an hour as well because once you finally manage to wade through the directory, you must wait a long time to talk to someone. I get that there are probably a lot of people who contact them on a daily basis, from people who are calling about lost credit cards to people who have to report fraud. Others may have questions about their online security accounts, but it seems that given the sensitivity of what people are calling about, you could have better measures to take care of them.
When you first call, you are greeted by a message that says, "Welcome to Equifax consumer care," you have to listen to a series of long messages that aren't likely related to most phone calls. They weren't related to mine at all. I wanted to put a freeze on my account, but I still had to listen to all of it. One message talked about how to add a short note to your credit history if your financial situation was affected by COVID-19. Then another note instructed me to go online to find support for many popular issues. Then there was a short talk about privacy and how you could find out more about the privacy policy.
Finally, I got to a virtual assistant who asked me to tell him what I needed help with in a few sentences, and I said, "help with freezing my credit report so no one will open a card without my permission." The response was, "Okay, let me give you a few options." One of those options was about freezing my account, so I chose it, but I still didn't get to talk to someone or move forward. It then made me say my phone number, social security number, and zip code before putting me on the hold line. If anyone was near enough, they could have stolen my identity right there. Then I waited on hold for a while. In the end, it was a lot of hassle.
This Equifax phone number is ranked #10 out of 13 because 187,800 Equifax customers tried our tools and information and gave us feedback after they called. The reason customers call 866-229-7861 is to reach the Equifax Equifax Online Investigation department for problems like Unfreeze Credit, Freeze Credit, Locked Account, Dispute a Charge, Credit Score Change. As far as we can tell, Equifax has call center locations in India or Philippines and you can call during their open hours 24 hours, 7 days. Equifax has 13 phone numbers and 17 different ways to get customer help. We've compiled information about 866-229-7861 and ways to call or contact Equifax with help from customers like yourself. Please help us continue to grow and improve this information and these tools by sharing with people you know who might find it useful.
Calling Equifax at this number should be pretty straightforward. Also important is what you do once you call, or what your other phone number options are. First of all, we strongly recommend using our free call-you-back tool. Essentially, we navigate their phone menu for you, wait on hold, and then call you when a representative from Equifax Equifax Online Investigation can talk. Generally, it saves you at least 27% of your wait time. So it's faster and you don't need to listen to bad hold music. Once on the phone with Equifax's Equifax Online Investigation department, you may need to provide them with information that identifies you as a customer, like your full name (or name on the account), email address, phone number, or an account number. It's usually worthwhile to gather this information before you call.
While 866-229-7861 is Equifax's #10 most popular phone number, it's not the only way to get a hold of their customer care team. You already know from reading above that 800-846-5279 is their best customer phone number overall, and we have put together a comparison of their 17 total ways to contact support for you to look at as well. One thing to keep in mind as you try to reach Equifax help by calling them, is that other customers give their customer support at this number a 69% score for their communication skills and a 65% score for the overall help they received. That could be indicative of their abilities to help you resolve your problem overall, regardless of whether or not you call this number.