Consumer complaint received 2020-02-14
Company: Williams & Fudge, Inc
State: WI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Private student loan debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged

Complaint:
In Year of XXXX after receiving multiple notifications from XXXX   XXXX University Finance department about missed payments on private loan, I contacted them and spoke with the representatived listed on the notices and advised that I had just gotten a job, have XXXX kids, and could not afford to make the payment amount they were requiring but could do an alternative lower payment arrangement. Never heard back from the school. On XX/XX/XXXX, received notice from XXXX XXXX a debt collection representative of William and Fudge Inc trying to collect on this private loan for XXXX did not respond. On XX/XX/XXXX received a secure e-document from William and Fudge and another on XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX of William and Fudge. Did not respond. On XX/XX/XXXX, received another email on this same loan from another representative XXXX XXXX to which I did not respond. However, I received a phone call at my place of employment around XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX 's from a financial aid representative from XXXX who once I answered and stated my name proceeded to tell me that my loan was due and that i needed to make payments and that they verified I was employed for XXXX XXXX  and could make payments. My response to tell her to not contact me at my job, don't count my funds based on my alleged place of employment and tell me what I could do and asked why she was contacting me when they had already sent the account to collections because I had received the email and to send the paperwork etc, the representative then stated that " well will take you to court '' to which I told her " do what you need to do ''. infuriated that they had called me at my place of employment which they never had information on and meant they looked me up some kind of way and jeopardized my employment by contacting me at work about a personal debt, i called the representative, XXXX and spoke to him and relayed my being furious that they would do something so unprofessional and insinuate that they saw where I was employed and based on that made the assumption that I could afford to pay this debt. He stated he did not know anything about that but that the client had the right to verify employment, asked me if I was interested in paying the debt. I told him I have XXXX kids and I am a single parent and could not pay XXXX at once, futhermore I requested that he send me written documentation to verify the debt and I would review for accuracy and try to set up a payment plan. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received email from XXXX listing the information/link to information on the alleged original loan and asking if I will planned to make set up a payment plan. The email listed the balance as XXXX which was the same information presented by the first representative. On XX/XX/XXXX, i responded and stated the following : " Yes, I am interested. I can do XXXX per month starting on XX/XX/XXXX. Payments of XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. To be continued on this same bi-weekly basis based on the above dates. I get paid on a bi-weekly basis so i mistakenly was calculating what I could pay based on my pay schedule but my intention was to basically pay XXXX per pay period. On the same day, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX sent me a follow-up email noting the confusion on the payment plan i emailed him and stated the following : More Information / Pay Online Account Information Creditor Account Number ( Last 4 ) Balance XXXX XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$10000.00} Consumer Information Williams & Fudge Consumer ID # Williams & Fudge Pin # Amount Due for Account ( s ) Listed XXXX XXXX {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX RE : XXXX XXXX XXXX, Thank you for the reply. You mentioned in the email bi-weekly payments but I think you meant every 4 weeks, correct? The dates you specified are every 4 weeks,  not bi-weekly. 

I will honor your request and set up {$100.00} to come out every 4 weeks starting XX/XX/XXXX. Payments are set up through your checking account by either your debit card account number and expiration date or ACH information ( routing and account number ). You can email the information to me or you can call me. I am at my desk until XXXX EST ( about 30 more minutes ). 

Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Direct ) XXXX ATTN : XXXX XXXX ( Fax ) On XX/XX/XXXX, I received the following email from XXXX : XXXX   XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$10000.00} Consumer Information Williams & Fudge Consumer ID # Williams & Fudge Pin # Amount Due for Account ( s ) Listed XXXX XXXX {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX RE : XXXX XXXX XXXX, The school sent my office an email pertaining to your balance and your new job. Please contact me so we can discuss this further. 

Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Direct ) XXXX ATTN : XXXX XXXX ( Fax ) I responded : m awaiting confirmation of the payment arrangement per our phone conversation. 
My debit card Information is as follows : " I have removed this portion due to it being my personal account information. 

I am authorizing only payments AFTER CONFIRMATION IN WRITTEN FORMAT OF the agreed payment arrangement. 

Shortly, after I sent this email, XXXX XXXX called me on the phone, which I found to be odd especially after the conversation ended. He basically said that XXXX contacted them and said that the XXXX dollars per month was not sufficient for the amount owed and based on my " new job '' I could pay more. This oral conversation is further corroborated by the above email from XXXX about the school contacting him about my balance. Please note all of this is AFTER he consented in writing to the payment arrangment I offered in writing and stated he would honor the payment arrangement. I mentioned this fact to him, and said that XXXX could not count my money and make assumptions about what " i can afford to pay '' based off of my place of employment and I stated especially considering that I work at a XXXX XXXX so salaries are not public so this was unfair and without any merit, furthermore I reminded him that I am a single mother with XXXX kids and daycare cost etc. I ended the conversation by stating that I would pay XXXX dollars bi-weekly based on my bi weekly payment schedule and authorized the payments to be automatically deducted on my paydays. On XX/XX/XXXX, I recieved the following email from XXXX : XXXX Creditor Account Number ( Last 4 ) Balance XXXX   XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$10000.00} Consumer Information Williams & Fudge Consumer ID # Williams & Fudge Pin # Amount Due for Account ( s ) Listed XXXX XXXX {$10000.00} XX/XX/XXXX RE : XXXX XXXX Hello XXXX, Has your debit card number changed? We are having problems processing your payments with the Visa card ending in XXXX. 

I look forward to your response. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Direct ) XXXX ATTN : XXXX XXXX ( Fax ) This communication is from a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. 
This collection agency is licensed by the Division of Banking in the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, www.wdfi.org. 

I responded via email : XXXX XXXX <XXXX> Mon, XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( 11 days ago ) to XXXX No my a Debit card has not changed. I hope this balance listed below reflects the payments you Have debited and I hope I am not being charged interest for an error on your part. 

Furthermore, there is no information on my bank statements that reflect declined payments. Also there would not be a decline considering the payment schedule for this account is set to debit and has debited from my account on MY PAYMENT DATES. Please also note that I have several recurring automatic draft payments from this same account and no problems. 

At this point I was livid and nervous because it was so confusing and upsetting and it was obvious that they had made an internal mistake and instead of not acknowledging the error, tried to make it seem as though I was at fault and had not honored my agreement, and were now just scurrying to cover their own backs. This was further substantiated when I did not receive a response from XXXX XXXX, however, on XX/XX/XXXX, Williams and Fudge debited my account, the same one referenced above for the XXXX but never sent proof of payment nor did they acknowledge their mistake etc. So I became very nervous and scared about doing business with them because this is so unprofessional and unethical and could have bad consequences for me. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received two emails email from XXXX which upset me and confused me because they listed the same account but two significantly different amounts and more owed and worded in away as though this was a brand new attempt to collect on a brand new and completely different debt. 
I responded via email : Please verify this debt information with the original documents. I only had one institutional loan through XXXX  XXXX University, so what is this? 

XXXX responded via email : with a link to download, what was the original loan documents that were no different from the documents provided in XXXX of XXXX. He did not state anything or try to explain to me what was going on. So I was upset and super nervous about this because I have already given them access to my account information and I have already consented to payment of this debt but this seems aggregious. So i called his direct number ( XXXX ) and it another representative stated that they took the call because XXXX XXXX was out to lunch. I proceeded to tell the person my concerns and confusion and stated I was upset about the deceit that my account was insufficient funds to pay the payment when there is nothing to support that and then they turn around and take a payment from the same account. I stated that it seemed that they were trying to be decietful and play me like I lacked basic common sense when it was obvious they were trying to create a fiscade to make it look like payments were rejected when in actuality they just make an internal mistake and didnt submit for payments. The representative proceeded to say he showed my card had been declined and I said please send me that information via email to which he then changed his statement and said he did see anything saying and that there would not be any proof becuase I listed my debit card and not my actual account number. I became upset and said that I would call my bank and verify that they were lying. The representative then proceeded to say '' well why dont you just take out a personal loan and pay it and get it over with ''. i told him he was out of line and cant tell me to take out a loan when i set up a payment plan and that he was being rude. He then completely just deflected from my question on how it is that I am responsible for William and Fudges mistake in not debiting my account for an Automatic payment deduction I approved. He then ended the call. Later that night at around XXXX, I called my bank and a representative confirmed that there was no proof that Williams and Fudge had submitted payments that were declined. She also confirmed the payments that had come out from XXXX and XXXX that totaled XXXX dollars plus the recent payment deduction from them on XX/XX/XXXX for XXXX that had cleared my account. So my bank representative then gave me the number for William and Fudge and advised to call them on the phone on three way to share that information and have them confirm any payments they showed declined. We spoke with one male representative who could not answer the questions or explain how it was that occured, so he put a manager on. The manager finally acknowledged she could see there was an error on their end and not mine. I requested that my account be reviewed completely from scratch, that the amounts of the alledged debt be reverified and proof provided via in writing, and that whatever, interest they were saying was now included that the client had submitted and had a right to include be outlined and broken down and proven where they could claim I owe one debt and then change the debt amount after i have already agreed to one amount. The manager assured me should would relay my request and review. I also requested that the calls be reviewed especially the call from earlier that day and that the representative not be coached but receive a more severe disciplinary action based on his rude and unprofessional comments. The next morning, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a email from XXXX listed the : XXXX   XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$7200.00} XXXX   XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$4700.00} Consumer Information Williams & Fudge Consumer ID # Williams & Fudge Pin # Amount Due for Account ( s ) Listed XXXX XXXX {$11000.00} XX/XX/XXXX RE : XXXX XXXX Good morning XXXX, When you have a moment, can you call me directly so I can explain what had happened last year on your account? 

Thanks in advance, XXXX XXXX Now this just infuriated me more because it could be inferred yet again that this was an attempt to not acknowledge anything in writing after I specifically requested this, and to be manipulative, which further supports my concerns about the ethics of this company and my ability to receive a fair and accurate statement that can be trusted and to not be swindled. 
My response : XXXX XXXX <XXXX> XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  ( 1 day ago ) to XXXX Please send all information in written format to my email and outline why this balance is completely different and doesnt reflect the payments made. 

Also please provide WRITTEN information explaining the right to change this balance. Also a written break down explaining whatever interest that has been added. 

I also am still awaiting information on the error on your end with regards to my automated payments and results of the review of the phone call from the first representative I spoke to yesterday first. 

Also information showing payments already made. 

He responded today : More Information / Pay Online Account Information Current Creditor Account Number ( Last 4 )  Balance XXXX  XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$7200.00} XXXX  XXXX UNIVERSITY XXXX {$4700.00} Consumer Information Williams & Fudge Consumer ID # Williams & Fudge Pin # Amount Due for Account ( s ) Listed XXXX XXXX {$11000.00} XX/XX/XXXX RE : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, I am working with the school to get all the information needed to explain everything you have asked for. Thank you for your patience. 


Regards, XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Direct ) XXXX ATTN : XXXX XXXX ( Fax ) This communication is from a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. 
This collection agency is licensed by the Division of Banking in the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX. 

This should not be the experience I have had especially when i have shown my valient effort to resolve this matter. More importantly, the original loan amounts were for XXXX and XXXX respectively at a 6 % fixed interest rate for the term of the loan. The loan outlines that repayment started for both XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, with monthly payments of the XXXX at 83 dollars roughly and the XXXX at 50 dollars roughly if paid according to terms and 0 % interest would be charged. Furthermore, the loan stated that a if i did not pay accordingly, the amount of the monthly payments would include interest ( 6 % ) and roughly total XXXX for the XXXX and XXXX dollars for the XXXX. Now all of a sudden the total owed is almost 12k and the amount listed on all communications until as late as XX/XX/XXXX were XXXX and on XX/XX/XXXX the balance document showed a balance of XXXX. This is very concerning because i have verified a debt that was already at XXXX and my loans totaled XXXX k and not they have increased that amount even more. Not too mention the loan period was for XXXX payments for both the XXXX and XXXX to start on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, so i have missed XXXX payments before the XXXX payment and those payments were for XXXX per month which was roughly 50 dollars more than if I just started and picked up the payments so that was money to go towards the missed payments. 
Williams and Fudge representatives have been deceitful and conniving by not honoring the written agreement for payment arrangement after confirming what i meant and being manipulative and calling me to try to increase and change a written agreement all be XXXX made an assumption on What they think I should pay because they saw where i am employed but do not know what I make at my job. Williams and Fudge was manipulative because instead of  acknowledging that they had already agreed to my payment arrangement and admitting fault to XXXX if they were not satisfied with the amount it was William and Fudges fault  because they should have verified what amount was acceptable before confirming my payments. Additionally, it has been placed with a collection agency so i dont see how the original debt collector is driving the terms of the payments or how they can just change amounts owed once they have confirmed and sent original documents.Nor does the significant increase make sense when the interest rate is fixed at 6 % nor has anyone been forthcoming about explaining this. The collection agency is changing amounts of debt and sending notices but yet they clearly dont even have an accurate accounting of this. The loan is not even due until XX/XX/XXXX so i dont even see how it could be a total amount owed of almost 12k even with missed payments.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation