Consumer complaint received 2022-11-10
Company: Aldous & Associates, PLLC
State: AE
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
I previously submitted this complaint, but you ( the CFPB ) mailed me a letter saying you thought someone other than me filed this complaint. I ( XXXX XXXX ) am filing this complaint and would like assistance in getting a response from the company because the company will not discuss this attempted debt collection with me and neither will the debt collection company. Please do NOT close this complaint as a duplicate. Please feel free to contact me by my personal email ( XXXX ) or my military email ( XXXX ) before you close it again thinking it is someone else!! 

I was contacted by email by a law firm, Aldous and Associates, claiming to represent XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX  in a debt collection attempting " regarding the past due balance as a result of missed payments according to your agreement with [ XXXX XXXX XXXX ] '' on Thursday, XX/XX/2022 in the amount of {$200.00}. The email stated it was a debt collection attempt, but it did not have all the required pieces for a debt validation letter as per the CFPB 's website. I was also suspicious because I have been in the process, as an XXXX XXXX military member that XXXX  to XXXX XXXX, of cancelling my membership and getting a refund for several charges they made during a period they had agreed my membership was frozen and then unfroze it without my consent or communication. XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX also was not consistently communicating with me despite multiple attempts on my part to go through the official communication channels they had directed me to. I would have to follow-up multiple times by email and phone call to the local manager to get him to respond, which he would do and apologize for the delay but would cause an additional charge to come in during the delayed response period, adding to this alleged " debt ''. I responded immediately to the email from Aldous and Associates disputing the debt and laying out the timeline below. It is very hard for me to deal with this debt collection attempt as I am an XXXX XXXX service member currently stationed in XXXX, XXXX, so I don't have easy time zones to work with or easy means of communicating with a XXXX agency. Here was my communication and timeline of the events regarding XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX : " I have had repeated communications with XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX ( specifically XXXX XXXX XXXX at XXXX ) regarding the freezing of my account, with little response and unsatisfactory results. I believed that this issue was still in the process of rectification, and I am surprised that it has been referred to legal channels as debt collection. The timeline of events is below : On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, I spoke with a sales associate at XXXX  XXXX XXXX  about putting a freeze on my account because I was in my XXXX XXXX of XXXX. I requested to restart my membership in XXXX, but the sales associate reassured me that they would put an indefinite freeze on my account and I could return when I felt ready. On XX/XX/2022, without my consent or any communication, the freeze was removed and XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX started to charge me again. I received a charge of {$40.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, {$20.00} on XX/XX/XXXX, and {$20.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I repeatedly tried to call the XXXX to understand why the charges were occurring and request a refund, but each time, the sales associate on the phone directed towards a XXXX XXXX XXXX, who I could not reach in the office. On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent XXXX XXXX an email to request an explanation of the situation and ask that they re-freeze my account. I received a response saying I do apologize for any inconvenience and misunderstanding. It does look like the account has been reinstated. I can speak to the details of the freeze because it happened prior to my arrival with the company. But it does appear that there was a freeze and it has been reactivated. In his response on XXXX XXXX, his language was misleading and unclear and I understood that the freeze had been reactivated. On XX/XX/XXXX, I acknowledged his email and requested an explanation for the {$40.00} charge on XX/XX/XXXX, when my normal billing was {$20.00}, twice a month. He did not respond. I sent another email on XX/XX/XXXX asking for a follow-up to my earlier email, and he did not respond. On XX/XX/XXXX, I emailed XXXX XXXX to inform him that the freeze had not been reinstated, because I was charged {$20.00} on XX/XX/XXXX. I then requested a refund for {$100.00}, which was the total of charges that had amounted while my account was supposed to have been frozen. I also informed him that I would dispute the charges as fraudulent with my bank/credit card issuer if we could not rectify the situation, because the charges were not what I and XXXX XXXX XXXX had agreed upon. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX responded saying Sorry for the misunderstanding. The membership was reinstated not freeze. This was set prior to me checking. Is there an email that you may have that shows the requested time frame for the freeze so that I may put in that refund request? I understood this to mean that there had been a mistake that he should have checked, and the freeze should have been reinstated. The fact that he was moving forward to process the refund also implied to me that there had been a mistake and the account should have been frozen. I responded later that day that I don't have an email because it was a phone call ( on XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX, if that helps ) with a XXXX XXXX XXXX associate, but it was supposed to be an indefinite freeze since I got pregnant and couldn't make it to the gym regularly. I originally proposed returning in XX/XX/2022 ( which would have been after my son 's birth ), but the associate offered an indefinite freeze until I was comfortable and anticipating I would need more time to recovery from the XXXX & XXXX  ( which he was right ). I received no further communication or contact from XXXX XXXX XXXX or XXXX XXXX. At that time, I disputed the charges with my credit card issuer and awaited further contact from XXXX XXXX. To be clear, I never once used the services of XXXX 's XXXX while I believed my account to be in a frozen status, through the entirety of my communications with XXXX XXXX, up until today. In fact, I am a military service member and received short-notice Permanent Change of Station orders to move myself and my family to XXXX in XXXX, where I currently reside. Through this stressful process, I continued to communicate with XXXX XXXX, even from XXXX, in an attempt to receive a refund for the fraudulent charges and settle the situation, before canceling my membership per my SRCA benefits. As a result, I hereby dispute this debt and will be printing, signing, and mailing this dispute to you per your link to the CFPB Debt Collection page. Please let me know if you need further information to process this dispute. I reserve the right to pursue XXXX XXXX - XXXX for small claims to ensure the disputed charges are refunded and any costs resulting from this invalid debt collection attempt. I can be reached at this email and if necessary, I can work out a time to discuss this over the phone or make a joint appointment with the XXXX XXXX assistance office so we may all discuss if you would prefer. ''

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation