Consumer complaint received 2021-04-16
Company: Account Control Technology, Inc.
State: AZ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
I received a notice of collection from Account Control Technology , Inc ( ACT ) at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX regarding an education debt due to XXXX University in the amount of {$5900.00}. After speaking with XXXX about this, they assured me that they did work directly with ACT regarding collections, and I was referred back to ACT to settle the debt. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called ACT and spoke with XXXX ( who refused to give last name ), who told me that they were authorized to offer me a settlement amount of 70 % of the total debt, which would then equal {$4100.00}. She said I would have about a month to pay this amount and that it would be reported to the credit bureaus on XX/XX/XXXX if not paid. I was also told that I could make payments online through the company website ( XXXX ). 
When I created an account on this site to make payments, it showed the original amount of {$5900.00}. As a test, I made a {$300.00} credit card payment on XX/XX/XXXX, to see if the payments would reflect on the account. When I checked a couple of days later, the payment did reflect, but the balance was still the original amount and not the 70 % balance. 
I then spoke with my father who is an attorney and he suggested that I call back and get this settlement offer in writing. I called back on XX/XX/XXXX, and spoke with XXXX, who claimed to be a supervisor ( again, no last name given ) and reiterated my initial conversation with XXXX and he acknowledged that the settlement offer was made and was valid ( 70 % ) and also said that if it was not paid by XX/XX/XXXX it would be reported ( negatively ) to the credit bureaus. I asked for this settlement offer in writing, as the original letter did not have any dates listed on it but was told that their policy was that they could not send any written correspondence out via email but that the call was recorded and there was a record of the settlement discussion. This made me hesitant, but I did not feel as though I had much choice. When I asked how I could know that the settlement offer would be honored if I paid the 70 %, he replied that I would just have to trust him because they were an honorable company. Again, what choice did I have, as I did NOT want to ruin my credit and they were threatening to report it if not paid. When I created an account on this site to make payments, it continued to show the original amount of {$5900.00}, less the {$300.00} credit card payment that I had already made. I asked XXXX about changing this number to reflect the settlement amount ( XXXX ) and he told me that they were not able to do that but once the 70 % was paid off, then they would zero out the account and mark it as settled. Again, this did not make me comfortable, but I continued making payments online ( see the three ( 3 ) attached transaction receipts ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I made a {$2000.00} payment, and then on XX/XX/XXXX, I paid the remaining balance on the 70 % settlement offer of {$1800.00} the total of all three payments equal {$4100.00} XXXX 70 % of {$5900.00} ). 
On XX/XX/XXXX, I called ACT one last time to make sure they received the payments, and that the debt was settled and would NOT be reported ( negatively ) to credit bureaus. I spoke with XXXX ( again, no last name given XXXX who said that she could see the previous conversations, including the settlement offer but there was an issue. The issue was that I made XXXX payments and the settlement offer was only valid if I made TWO payments?!?! I have NEVER heard of anything so ridiculous. I was offered a settlement amount to pay a debt, which I paid in full, and now at the last minute, they tell me that the deal was null and void because I made three payments instead of two! XXXX then said she could now offer me the same settlement offer ( 70 % ) on the remaining balance of {$1700.00}, which did not make any sense to me as I had paid the amount agreed in full already. I asked to speak with another supervisor and got XXXX ( again, no last name ) who informed me that I was only allowed to make 2 payments to fulfill the debt and 3 payments canceled the original offer. I told him that none of the people I had spoken with previously had told me that and it shouldnt matter because I paid the amount due. He said there was nothing he could do. I asked if I could just pay the balance of what their system shows as due ( {$1700.00} ) and he said that it was after XXXX EST and the payment would not reflect until Monday, XX/XX/XXXX and that the account would be reported ( negative ) to the bureaus on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX. This is preposterous! Not only did they renege on the original settlement offer that I paid in full as promised, but they told me that I would need to pay the whole balance but they could not guarantee that it would not report negatively to the credit bureaus. So, ultimately, even if I paid the entire balance originally due, it wouldnt matter. This makes absolutely no sense and I feel as though this was a complete scam from the beginning. I have no idea where my {$4100.00} went or even if it went to the debt owed to XXXX. 
XXXX said he could send a message to client services asking for the account to be marked as settled but he could not guarantee that it would be done by Monday, XX/XX/XXXX and that it still could report negatively on Sunday, XX/XX/XXXX. I asked if he could send me something in writing that showed that my payments were made and that he sent correspondence to client services and he said they were not permitted to do that! I asked to speak with HIS supervisor, and he told me that his supervisor did not take phone calls from clients, nor could his supervisor receive or reply to emails. NONE of this makes any sense and I feel I was completely scammed! Now I fear that I am going to get a huge hit to my credit, even though I honored the deal that was made and was completely misled and misrepresented. This company asked for and took money without any acknowledgment and once they went back on their offer at the last minute, they still asked for an additional amount to be paid but also would not accept a payment to completely settle the account! How does anybody win in this situation? It is as if they just WANT to ruin peoples credit! 

Also, after some additional research, I found that there have been MANY complaints against this company for similar reasons of misrepresentation and outright lying and I am prepared to sue them and fight this as far as it will go. I satisfied my debt, and this company just wants to financially hurt consumers at any cost! All I want is for my account to be marked as satisfied and not to be reported ( negative ) to the credit agencies for a debt I paid in full. Especially in this time of COVID and loss of job/income, it was hard enough to pay the settlement amount but I did because it was owed and I have very good credit that I do not want it to be destroyed. 

Information I found about ACT company through a XXXX search : " The XXXX has closed 59 complaints against Account Control Technology , Inc in the past three years, with 23 closed in the past 12 months. Most of those complaints allege problems with billing and collections, but several complaints about customer service have also been posted. Since XX/XX/XXXX, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) has received 60 complaints about ACT. Justia lists at least 10 cases of civil litigation involving Account XXXX XXXX. '' From XXXX : XX/XX/XXXX Customer Complaints 32 complaints closed in last 3 years 12 complaints closed in last 12 months *Let this correspondence reflect that as of XX/XX/XXXX, the settlement offer of {$4100.00} ( 70 % of {$5900.00} ) has been paid in full ( see attached receipts ). 
I will be filing additional complaints with XXXX and have consulted an attorney.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation