Consumer complaint received 2023-10-16
Company: Elite Recovery Group LLC
State: OR
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Rental debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
Elite Recovery Group, LLC has engaged in numerous violations of state and federal laws and regulations while attempting to collect an invalid debt from me ; this invalid debt has been reported to credit bureaus with an account number of XXXX and an initial amount of {$1600.00} under two different company names on two different credit reports ( see below ). These violations include : Using a name other than their true name when attempting to collect a debt : As noted above, on one credit report ( XXXX ) the invalid debt is reported as belonging to " Elite Collection Service '' ; however, this name was not an approved Assumed Business Name in the State of Oregon where I reside ( see attached documentation showing lapse of ABN registration in XXXX of XXXX ). They have continued to report this invalid debt under that name for at least the last year to XXXX, likely violating both FDCPA " true name '' regulations as well as Oregon statute ORS 648. The company has reported the invalid debt using their true name with another bureau ( XXXX ), apparently to deliberately create confusion as to who the alleged holder of the invalid debt is. As outlined in the following paragraphs, I believe they have done so to attempt to collect on the same invalid debt twice as two different companies and/or to obfuscate the fact that they have no legal right to attempt to collect said invalid debt. 

Providing false information to a credit reporting bureau : On or about XX/XX/XXXX I attempted to electronically dispute this invalid debt with both XXXX and XXXX, who later claimed to have " verified '' the debt ; I have subsequently submitted a second dispute via certified mail to these bureaus that is still in process. In addition to providing the false information that an invalid debt was " verified '', I also noted that the furnisher provided information allowing XXXX to update the address for " Elite Collection Services '' from the initial XXXX XXXX XXXX on the report I obtained in XX/XX/XXXX to a street address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, WA XXXX ) and to added a phone number. The phone number matches the one given on the National Multistate Licensing System report for Elite Recovery Group, LLC ; however, the provided address does match the address for Elite Collection Services , LLC. which NMLS claims to be defunct since XXXX ( in fact, defunct since XXXX ; see below ). I have confirmed as of XX/XX/XXXX that this address is now occupied by a different business known as XXXX XXXX XXXX ( see attachments ) and has been so for several months. Therefore, it appears that the data furnisher that provided information to XXXX ( presumably Elite Recovery Group, LLC itself, based on the updated phone number ) appears to have provided deliberately misleading and false information regarding the holder of the debt, possibly to continue the ruse that Elite Collection Services , LLC is still ( or ever was ) a legitimate and operational debt collector. 

Pursuing a debt they knew to be invalid : On XX/XX/XXXX, my ex-partner provided video evidence to an entity claiming to be " Elite Collection Services '' regarding the invalid nature of the alleged debt ( see attached statement ). When making payments the next day she reported to me her total balance of all accounts with the company had dropped from approximately {$2300.00} to {$0.00} ( see attached screenshots ) after paying them {$310.00} ; this final balance was so small their system refused to allow her to pay. She told me she believed the balance had been adjusted based on their review of the evidence and that the debt was thereby effectively settled as a result of their recognition of the debt being invalid. 

However, Elite Recovery Group, LLC/ '' Elite Collection Services '' appears to have either erred in failing to report the ( still invalid ) debt as paid or ignored their duty to reinvestigate a disputed debt under the FDCPA and simply reported the invalid debt as in collections. I would also note the supposed amount of the invalid debt on the invoice provided to XXXX XXXX by " Elite Collection Services '' of {$1700.00} does not match the alleged initial amount on either credit report of {$1600.00} ; I question, given this discrepancy, how " Elite Collection Services '' could have " verified '' or " validated '' this invalid debt. 

Pursuing a debt they have no legal right to pursue : As this invalid debt was originally reported to credit bureaus in XXXX of XXXX and Elite Collection Services , LLC was not incorporated as an LLC until XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX in the State of Washington ( see attached documentation ), they can not be the first collection agency to have reported the invalid debt. While the website for Elite Recovery Group, LLC claims they were " converted '' from " Elite Collection Services '' in XXXX, this is an untrue statement and one I believe that is deliberately misleading, intended to give the impression that debts obtained under a previous entity Elite Collections Group, LLC were legally transferred to Elite Recovery Group, LLC by this alleged " conversion '' ; however, no state records indicate that Elite Recovery Group was " converted '' from or legally connected to any previous entity in any way. In fact, Elite Collection Services , LLC, was not a valid business entity in its purported home state of Washington as of XXXX of XXXX due to voluntary dissolution by the owner, after which the company was never reinstated ( see attached documentation ). Instead, the sole member of the now-dissolved Elite Collection Services , LLC ( also, the apparent primary member/owner of Elite Recovery Group, LLC ) appears to have continued with normal business operations while dissolved, in violation of Washington law. To mask the fact he was operating illegally he appears to have intentionally failed to inform the State of Oregon that the Washington LLC was dissolved ; rather than properly incorporating as a domestic LLC in Oregon at any point, the owner used the said dissolved LLC 's now-invalid but still-extant foreign LLC registration in Oregon to fraudulently establish purportedly Oregon-based foreign LLC authorities in Washington and Nevada XXXX and to falsely claim to be Oregon-based to the NMLS system ( see documentation ; note in particular that the claimed formation date for the alleged Oregon-based version of Elite Collection Services , LLC in NMLS is XX/XX/XXXX XXXX which is in fact the date that the original Washington-based Elite Collection Services , LLC was granted authorization as a foreign LLC in Oregon ). He then used this fraudulent Washington foreign LLC registration to operate in Washington, all the while continuing to claim the now-dissolved Washington-based LLC was still valid to the State of Oregon, until forming Elite Recovery Group, LLC in XXXX and withdrawing the fraudulent foreign LLC registrations. To summarize : the Washington-based Elite Collection Services , LLC has been dissolved since XXXX and no Oregon-based LLC by the name of Elite Collection Services , LLC has ever existed , despite the information provided by the owner of the alleged business to the NLMS and the states of Washington and Nevada. Thus, it would not have been possible for Elite Collection Services , LLC, which had no valid legal existence in any state after XXXX of XXXX, to legally or rightfully obtain ownership of or rights to the invalid debt in XXXX, to report the debt to credit bureaus, or to transfer said rights to a legally distinct third party such as Elite Recovery Group, LLC, at any point thereafter. Any and all attempts to collect upon said invalid debt or transfer that debt to a third party by " Elite Collection Services, '' Elite Collection Services , LLC, Elite Recovery Group, LLC and any of their employees or officers have been, are and will continue to be invalid and illegal.

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