Consumer complaint received 2023-06-20
Company: ProCollect, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from XXXX XXXX at Pro Collect Incorporated informing me that I had a balance of {$250.00} for an application fee at an apartment complex in XXXX. 

I informed XXXX XXXX that I live in XXXX, have never applied to apartments in XXXX, and have recently been a victim of identity theft where the person who stole my identity applied to XXXX different apartments in XXXX using my information. 

XXXX XXXX informed me of Pro Collect 's Fraud Dispute process. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent an email to the address provided with all of the requested documentation ( copy of police reports in my home jurisdiction ( XXXX ), as well as XXXX, coloXXXX copy of ID, etc. ). 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Pro Collect put my account in collections and reported to all XXXX credit bureaus, even though at this point, their investigation was still ongoing, and according to the FCRA, they are prohibited from providing information to a credit reporting agency that they have reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. I called them and they said they still report to credit agencies even while an account is being investigated. I'm skeptical this is in accordance with the FCRA, but I said okay and just asked them to inform me of the status of investigation. 

By XX/XX/XXXX, I still had not heard back from Pro Collect, so I called them to inquire about the status of the investigation. I was told by the staff member who fielded my call that she did not have any information about my account in the system and that the only person who could help me was XXXX XXXX and that the only way to contact him was via email. I asked her who XXXX XXXX is and she said 'upper management. ' I said okay and emailed XXXX XXXX a copy of my email from XX/XX/XXXX following Pro Collect 's Fraud Dispute process, and he replied back XXXX sentence, " You owe XXXX its die in full. '' There was no information about the status of my investigation or if they needed any additional documentation. 

I replied back with the same documentation I had provided before, asking them to please follow the FCRA and let me know what other information they needed from me to prove that this debt is not mine. 

I got a reply from XXXX XXXX XXXX with a letter that said the debt was true and valid, but without any further information. I think my police report, the XXXX copy of my photo ID, and the fact that I can verifiably prove the information on the application they provided is false should be sufficient evidence that this is Identity Theft. If it is not, I am kindly requesting more information from Pro Collect on what would prove that this is Identity Theft. 

The information on the application from the apartment is verifiably false. It has a fake employer, fake income information, fake emergency contacts. 

I would like Pro Collect to provide more channels for communication with them. The fact that XXXX XXXX is the only person who can handle my account and we can only correspond through email seems very narrow and arbitrary. And I would like more information on how I can prove that this account is the result of identity theft. I have done everything they have asked, and this process has worked with the other debt collectors I am working with ( as I mentioned, the person who stole my identity used it to apply to XXXX apartment complexes, so at this point, I have dealt with XXXX debt collectors ).

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