Product: Debt collection

My lease in XXXX XXXX XXXX matured XX/XX/XXXX. The lease stated that the apartments would contact me regarding a renewal notice and if they did not do so, I was obligated to a 30 day notification. I contacted to Manager to ask about how to notify ( through email or verbally ) and she said that I was required to send a 60 day written notice, I then explained that I had not received a renewal notice from her and per the contract I was only obligated to give the 30 day notice I was attempting to provide. 
After a small verbal dispute, I reminded her that she was in breech of contract anyway because the apartments had failed to repair 3 different issues in the apartment that had been reported, one being that the door to my garage was broken and the door knob fell off and I could not secure my garage as a result and the only thing that they sent the maintenance man to fix, broke 2 months later, and most importantly, she had failed to repair the gates at the apartment when they broke and as a result there was a increase in crime ( drugs being sold, and cars getting robbed ) to the point that there were notices sent out to residents warning them of the recent crime sprees yet never fixed the gates to keep non residents out and I was not the only resident leaving as a result. I then opted out of any further conversation and proceeded to draft a written notice to the property notifying the apartments that I had found a house and would be moving at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX. When I attempted to deliver the notice at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, the individual at the front desk refused to accept it, and stated " I can not accept that from you '', then I said, " fine, I will leave it here '' and put it on the desk and walked away. 

The first week of XXXX I moved, I then spent two days cleaning out what we did not take and carrying the trash out and cleaned the apartment including baseboards, ceiling fans, light switches, blinds, fireplace, the carpet, disinfected the bathrooms and kitchen with XXXX, and swept the balcony down with hot soapy XXXX water as well as the garage and documented the apartments condition upon my exit with photos and a video. I then went to the apartment office and returned my key and my Fob for the broken entrance gate and asked if the wanted to do a walk through of the apartment and the individual who accepted my key said " no everything was good ''. I never caused this apartment complex damage, I was honest through the whole duration as a resident in that complex and I did everything I could to do the right thing in my situation. I paid every bit of rent to them that was owed on time, I honored my lease and I moved out in a very honorable way. That apartment needed the carpets to have a default cleaning and the small repairs earlier reported to be completed and the apartment was move in ready. 

I never received any correspondence from the apartments. I was notified of them attempting to collect from me via the collection agency report submission of this alleged debt to my credit report. This should be illegal. An apartment should not be able to cause damage to someone's life. as a result of this report on my credit, I have been denied the ability to lease a new home, buy a car, or obtain credit through XXXX because of this mark decreasing my credit score by a substantial amount. 

I contacted the collection agency regarding the collection and they just immediately said yes you owe XXXX $ but if you pay XXXX $ today we will settle with you. I refused and asked to speak to someone in charge but I could only get through to a call center agent. 

They contacted me again in summer of XXXX and I explained, I work as a paralegal and I am aware they are in violation of the US 1682, 1691 federal codes because I work in the field and I refused to settle and the call ended. The call should be recorded. 

I then paid a credit repair attorney office XXXX $ to try to settle or remove the debt and they were not able to accomplish it because they said it would take filing a complaint in federal court to force the collection agency to remove the tradeline. 

As it is, the collection states I owe XXXX XXXX The move out report I retained via the attorneys correspondence with the collection agency is inaccurate and full of false statement as far as the condition of the apartment upon move out and I am being charged for an inaccurate move-out statement and I have documented photos and video to prove it. 

I need help regarding this case or I am going to be forced to spend more money ( XXXX $ ) to hire a federal debt collection attorney to sue this entity in federal court just to get the debt removed from my credit report.