Consumer complaint received 2021-08-27
Company: Monterey Financial Services LLC
State: IL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: Problem during payment process

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2021, I opened up a {$15000.00} credit line account with XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX. I opened this account to improve my credit score by reducing my debt/credit ratio, since they reported to all 3 credit bureaus. I made a purchase for {$340.00} and paid {$170.00} at the time of purchase. 
On XX/XX/2021, I received an email from Monterey Financial Services, LLC, stating that my account had been transferred to them from XXXX XXXX XXXX for servicing. They instructed me to register my account with them online, because that is where I would be able to view my statements and make payments, so I did. I was given an account number. 
On XX/XX/2021, I received a text message stating that my account was now being serviced by Monterey Financial Services LLC ( Monterey ). 
On XX/XX/2021, I received a phone call from a representative of Monterey, stating that my payment was due. I logged in to make a payment for the {$37.00} that was due, and paid {$38.00}. I have had my checking account hacked twice, so I stopped using it to pay bills online and would simply transfer enough funds to my XXXX  card to cover the cost of whatever I was paying. I made sure I had {$40.00} available to cover the payment. I received an email receipt from Monterey for the payment of {$38.00}, that stated the payment would not debit my account until two days later. However, on XX/XX/2021, I received an alert from XXXX that a payment of {$48.00}, not {$38.00}, was returned due to insufficient funds. 
I immediately called Monterey to find out why they charged me {$48.00}. I spoke with someone that said her name was XXXX. She told me that there was a {$10.00} service fee to pay my bill online. I let her know that I was not aware of that fee and my receipt did not state that they were taking {$48.00}. I asked her if there was going to be a penalty for the return and she said there was a {$25.00} fee for the {$48.00} being returned and that it stated on the site that the fee would be charged. I told her I didnt notice that statement. I then asked her if it was possible for me to have the fee waived, because I did not see the statement about the fee and that my receipt said my card would be charged {$38.00}, which is the amount I made sure was available. She said I would need to forward the email that showed {$38.00} instead of {$48.00} and she would call me back after reviewing it. I sent the email, but never heard back from her. 
On XX/XX/2021, I received a call from XXXX, who said he was with Monterey and was calling about the payment. I told him that XXXX never called me back. I explained the situation to him and told him that I never received a receipt showing that the {$10.00} fee was being taken out. I also expressed to him that I felt the {$10.00} fee being charged was exorbitant. He told me that I would have to put my payments on automatic debit in order to not have the fee charged. I then asked him if he could waive the {$25.00} fee. He said he couldnt so I asked to speak with a supervisor, and he transferred my call. 
I explained the situation to the supervisor, XXXX and, again, requested a waiver of the {$25.00} fee. She refused. I also told her that my receipt did not indicate that there was a {$10.00} fee being charged and I thought that the fee was way too high. I also told her that I didnt think it was legal for them to charge me a fee and not supply me with a receipt for it. She said I needed to put my account on automatic debit to avoid it. I told her I didnt think that was fair and asked for the receipt. She said she would speak to the tech department about it, but I needed to pay the {$48.00} plus the {$25.00} returned check fee. I told her that the funds were there and she could take the payment. She then asked me if I was going to sign up for automatic debit with her and I said no. She then processed the payment. I never received a receipt for the payment. 
On XX/XX/2021, I checked my XXXX account and it showed that {$77.00} had been deducted from my account by Monterey. {$48.00} plus {$25.00} should have only been {$73.00}. They had taken an extra {$4.00}. I attempted to login to my account to see if it showed what the extra amount was for. I was not able to login. I tried using forgot password and got the message that no account existed with my account number. I tried to register again, and got a message that stated my account was not allowed to be registered. I also checked my credit report and it had dropped 40 points! The reason given for the drop in score was that Monterey had REMOVED the account from my credit report. I then called Monterey.

The first representative that I spoke with identified herself as, XXXX. I told her that I couldnt login. She said she saw my account and transferred me to their loan servicing department. 
In that department, a representative named XXXX assisted me. I asked her why the account was removed from my credit report. She said that they stopped reporting it to XXXX  and it looked like my account had been paid off. I told her that it wasnt paid off. She put me on hold and then came back to the phone. She said that she had just been told that my account had been closed by mistake, and it would be corrected shortly. She stayed on the phone with me while I attempted to login. I was finally able to login, but when I went to check my payment history, I got a message stating that my account was closed. She said that it may take a few more minutes on my end for things to be corrected, and to try again. It still didnt work. She then told me that my account had been sent back to XXXX XXXX XXXX. I asked her why. She said that it stated in the notes that they requested it ( I do not believe that anyone at XXXX XXXX XXXX made that request ). We hung up. 
I then logged into my account at XXXX, only to find that there was no way to view my payment history, make a payment, email them or call. I now have no way of making payment correctly nor able to manage my account. 
At this point, I am completely fed up. It appears that XXXX decided to retaliate against me, the consumer, because I demanded a receipt and told her I thought it was illegal for them to not provide one to me. I believe that she has, purposely, damaged my credit, denied me access to my payment history and denied me the ability to make my payments on my account ( something that I think XXXX is fully aware of ) and it will damage my credit further if payment isnt made ; all of this because I dared to demand a receipt and not sign up with their automatic debit program. TO DATE, I have not received a receipt for the payment made.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief