Consumer complaint received 2023-10-14
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 XXXX different company names ( see below ). These violations include : Using a name other than their true name when attempting to collect a debt : In XXXX XXXX  XXXX, I contacted an entity claiming to be " Elite Collection Services '' which appears to have been associated with or a part of Elite Recovery Group, LLC, in regards to an invalid debt first reported on XX/XX/XXXX. However, this name was not an approved Assumed Business Name in the State of Oregon where I resided at that time ( see attached documentation showing lapse of XXXX registration in XXXX XXXX  XXXX ), so doing business under that name violated both FDCPA " true name '' regulations as well as Oregon statute ORS 648. They have also continued to report this invalid debt under that name for at least the last year to one credit reporting bureau while using their true name with another, creating substantial confusion as to who the alleged holder of the invalid debt is. In particular, when I attempted to contact " Elite Collection Services '' regarding this matter in XX/XX/XXXX their phone number and website no longer functioned. 

Using deceptive practices to collect a debt : During my discussions with " Elite Collection Services, '' I was told that I they would consider the video evidence I possessed demonstrating that the alleged debt was invalid only on the condition that I agreed to enter into a payment plan with them. I did so on XX/XX/XXXX, making XXXX payments totalling approximately {$310.00} in total ( see attached statement ). However, " Elite Collection Services '' should have recognized my intent to dispute the invalid debt and should have known I was within my rights to request they reinvestigate the invalid debt without any further obligation of any kind. Nonetheless, at the time I was unaware of my rights and so was coerced into agreeing to enter into said payment plan, though I made it clear that I did not admit to the validity of the debt and that I only entered into the payment plan with the sole intent of getting " Elite Collection Services '' to view my evidence that this was in fact an invalid debt.

Pursuing a debt they knew to be invalid : On XX/XX/XXXX, I provided the aforementioned video evidence to " Elite Collection Services '' regarding the invalid nature of the alleged debt. When making payments the next day I found that my 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 me to pay. Based on this notice provided by the company 's own billing system, I believed my balance had been adjusted based on their review of the evidence I had provided and that my obligations were thereby effectively settled as a result of their recognition of the debt being invalid, and I had no further communication with " Elite Collection Services '' after that time. 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. 
Misrepresenting the amount of a debt : When asked for documentation of the invalid debt, the invoice document provided by " Elite Collection Services '' indicated an initial total charge of approximately {$1700.00} ( see attached statement ), most or all of which charges I had evidence to refute in the aforementioned video. However, upon examination of my credit reports, I noticed the initial balance of the account was actually reported as {$1600.00} ; in addition, when the invalid debt was reported as in collections to XXXX in XXXX XXXX XXXX ( under the " Elite Collection Service '' name ) the amount reported of {$1900.00} reflected neither the unadjusted original balance from XX/XX/XXXX minus the {$310.00} I had paid, nor the {$0.00} their own billing system had shown as the total balance of all my accounts with the company as of XX/XX/XXXX. 

Failure to provide an itemized accounting : Though " Elite Collection Services '' provided the aforementioned invoice upon request, at no point did I receive any documentation itemizing interest, fees or other additional charges added to the invalid debt despite verbally making that request.

Pursuing a debt they have no legal right to pursue : As this invalid debt was originally reported to credit bureaus in XXXX XXXX  XXXX and Elite Collection Services , LLC was not incorporated as an LLC until XX/XX/XXXX XXXX  XXXX in the State of Washington ( see attached documentation ), they can not be the first collection agency to have reported the invalid debt, Curiously, the website for Elite Recovery Group, LLC claims they were " converted '' from " Elite Collection Services '' in XXXX, but this is a factually untrue statement ; no state records indicate that Elite Recovery Group was " converted '' or legally connected to any previous entity in any way. However, the entity which presumably did first report the debt, Elite Collection Services , LLC, was not a valid business entity in its purported home state of Washington as of XXXX XXXX  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 appears to have intentionally failed to inform the State of Oregon that their Washington LLC was dissolved and then used the said dissolved LLC 's now-invalid but still-extant foreign LLC registration in Oregon to fradulently establish purportedly Oregon-based foreign LLC authorities in Washington and Nevada, and to falsely claim to be Oregon-based in the National Multistate Licensing System ( see documentation ; note in particular that the claimed formation date for the alleged Oregon-based version of Elite Collection Services , LLC in XXXX 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 ) . All the while, the owner continued to claim the now-dissolved Washington-based LLC was still valid to the State of Oregon, rather than incorporating as a domestic LLC in Oregon at any point ; indeed, no Oregon-domestic corporation by the name of Elite Collection Services , LLC appears to have ever existed . Thus, it would not have been possible for Elite Collection Services , LLC to legally or rightfully obtain rights to pursue the invalid debt in XXXX or to transfer said rights to a third party such as Elite Recovery Group, LLC, at any point thereafter, as no such company as Elite Collection Services , LLC had a valid legal existence as an operational corporation in any state after XXXX XXXX  XXXX. Therefore, 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