Consumer complaint received 2019-05-07
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: MD
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Used obscene, profane, or other abusive language

Complaint:
On Monday XX/XX/2019 around XXXX XXXX I received a phone call from a debt collector. The representative identified herself as XXXX from the Midland Credit Management Company. She advised me that the call was being recorded and that this debt will be sent to an attorney. In which I was a bit confused but however I continued with the conversation. She went on to explain about my debt with XXXX XXXX of XXXX and some odd dollars. Ms. XXXX then asked what could be done to clear this debt. I explained to her that at this moment I couldnt contribute anything toward this debt. However I did reach out to XXXX about a month of some ago to settle out this debt but was told that it was already charged off and sold to another company. Therefore the money I had was place on another debt account. But I will start working on paying this debt off next month. I explained that my income was limited due to a injury I sustained in an accident last year. This representative then started to get personal with asking me questions concerning what purchases did I make with this credit card? Have I been clear by my doctor, why I stopped paying this bill and so on. I began to get a bit frustrated and asked her why are you asking me these personal questions. She then stated because she was asking to get to know a little more about myself. I then told her that the questions she was asking have nothing to do with collecting money for this debt. She then went on stating that she was going to reach out to her supervisor to see what options that would be available for me to settle this debt. So I agreed to hold the line to explore my options. I was placed on hold for several minutes and then a male identified himself as XXXX supervisor. He went to asks why did I stop making payments on this debt. How can I make payments with other creditors and not make a payment on this debt. This debt isnt a priority to be paid because he have my credit report in front of him. That he can seen Im paying on other account but not this XXXX account. I explained to him that thats none of his concerns about what Im doing with my money. He then wanted to know why I was upset with the line of questions that were asked. I explained to him why, and that I feel as though that I feel like a victim of harassment. Also acknowledge that I was very patient with these two individual that question me for over eighteen minutes about a debt that I explained to them both that I was going to pay. I was extremely upset and ended the conversation immediately. Unfortunately, at that point I didnt find the need to continue on with this conversation. Because this matter couldnt be financially address until next month as I explained from the beginning of the conversation. I am very disappointed and upset with how I was treated by the individual that represent this company. Especially during this critical time of experiencing this financial hardship.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief