Consumer complaint received 2023-02-08
Company: SIMM Associates, Inc.
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive enough information to verify debt

Complaint:
Company Name : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX aka XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX. Company called repeatedly both during and after business hours from different phone numbers beginning around XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX. Company would reach voicemail and leave no message. 
XXXX. When I finally answered the unknown number, Company would not provide information about the Company, but demanded information, including PII from me. Company did say that they were part of XXXX unknown to me. 
XXXX. I initially refused to provide unknown Company with personal information, and asked for Company to provide partial information to verify that they had me as the proper contact, and to reduce the threat of fraud. Company refused. 
XXXX. I asked to speak to manager, who validated that they do not provide information until they verify my identity. Company would not provide type of business, or any other information on demand. After working in compliance, I knew that this seemed like a violation. 
XXXX. Despite feeling wrong to do so, I felt so much pressure that I provided enough personal information to the company that they told me they were a debt collector. 
XXXX. Company could not tell me where the debt originated, or from what purpose. 
XXXX. Company told me that I owed a significant principal balance, and that I was overdue. 
XXXX. Company told me that if I did not make a payment they would report negative credit. 
XXXX. Despite feeling uncomfortable, I decided to pay the amount they demanded to avoid negative credit impact. 
XXXX. Company required additional PII, including social security number and then payment information. 
XXXX. I paid 'past due ' balance, verified address and contact information, despite never knowing where this loan originated. I can not find the charge to my account -- anywhere. It is either mislabeled, parsed into smaller payments, or never happened. 
XXXX. Company never provided reasonable information despite asking, demanding, escalating my issues, and representative admitted to knowing that the order of events did not make sense. 
XXXX. As of today, Company claims I owe {$2800.00}, claims I am {$150.00} past due, and has submitted negative credit reportings creating a very significant XXXX point decline in my overall credit score. 

I made the payment, and never had a clear explanation of where the loan originated from, or the circumstances under which I assumed any type of financial relationship with SIMMSXXXX. Since providing all PII, I am now receiving bills with late fees, with nothing more than dollar amounts. The bills do have notices of CFPB protections. Most recent paper bill arrived XX/XX/22, with a notice that payment was due XX/XX/22. The bill also includes a notice that states I may owe more than what is reported on bill day-to-day. 

The payment methods of this Company were deceptive, exclusive, aggressive, threatening, and confusing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation