Consumer complaint received 2023-11-06
Company: DCI Credit Services, Inc.
State: ND
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Sued you without properly notifying you of lawsuit

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX i received a letter from DCI Credit, headquartered in XXXX ND. The letter was a notification of garnishment of wages. this initiated an email chain between myself and a XXXX XXXX, an employee of DCI Credit. I have attached the email chain in its entirety between myself and XXXX XXXX. While they have provided very little information, even the attachment that XXXX XXXX said that she sent me which was said contain an itemized list of my 'accounts '. Although the email said there was an attachment - there was no file that i oould open. 

The email chain details all that I was able to learn from XXXX XXXX, based on what I learned from her this is what i was able to uncover on my own. 

InXX/XX/XXXX a default judgement was given to me saying that I owed DCI Credit more than {$1000.00}. From XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX I did not have a permanent residence though I did stay in the XXXX area with various friends and family, and i was no longer living the place I had through XX/XX/XXXXXXXX. This was due to the fact that in XX/XX/XXXX I fell victim to the downsizing the company for which I was working was going through. In XX/XX/XXXXXXXX I initially got hired by XXXX who had taken over a local hospital. 

Before I could sign any documents to proceed with employment, a family emergency had forced to me move back to XXXX as my parents were recently given temporary custody of the daughter of a girl with which I was previously involved. My parents are elderly and I did this to alleviate some of the work a pre-teen girl would be for them. I did this as I did not want to see her end up in XXXX XXXX. While I was inbetween places to stay I had my mail held at the post office where I would pick it up. 

So there was no place of employment, nor physical address where the papers notifying me of court could be given to me, and I was given a default judgement that said I was liable for the more than {$1000.00} DCI Credit said that I owed. 

Then in XX/XX/XXXX, a second case was heard where DCI claimed I owed them in excess of {$3000.00}. I was now living in XXXX with the court date set to occur in XXXX XXXX, and I was located in XXXX XXXX. So again it was impossible for me to be given papers saying that I had a court date to where I could respond to this claim. 

According to the North Dakota courts website, something interesting happened in XX/XX/XXXX. The first case against me was closed citing payment of the more than {$1000.00}. 

I asked XXXX XXXX for proof of this as I was stil unemployed at the time, so the payment could not have been made by myself. XXXX XXXX informed me, as mentioned in the email chain, that the debt was satisfied by garnishing the wages of my employer XXXX, a company that let me go 11 prior, and 4 months prior to the default judgement being given. 

So, it is obvious that the debt was not paid by garnishing my wages, I have asked XXXX XXXX if there is anything else she would like to add, or clarify, she replied no, the judgements are valid and I need to contact her as soon as possible to settle the debt and stop interest from accruing on it. 

It is now over {$6000.00} DCI claims that I owe them, and nothing was done with either case after the first one was updated to a status of closed. 

I did ask XXXX XXXX why 2 cases so close together, and if one was supposedly satisfied by wage garnishments why didn't they submit the second one right away instead of waiting 9 years to notifiy me of wage garnishments that they say have been submitted to a company i have not been employed with since XXXX. 

This is only speculation, but I am confident that corraborating evidence can be discvovered by a search of all court cases DCI credit has where multiple cases have been filed against a single individual, I can't believe that I was their guinnea pig in this endeavor. 

I am relatively easy to contact, a simple XXXX search of my name would show a XXXX profile in which my contact information could be retrieved, at the time I also had a XXXX account where i disclosed my relocation to XXXX. 

This would have been very easy for DCI Credit to uncover, as my XXXX and XXXX pages were publicly visible to anybody. When DCI Credit became aware that I was no longer in the area, I am unsure as to the validity of the more than {$1000.00} debt, but I am confident the more than {$3000.00} in debt was fabricated by DCI Credit knowing they would easily get another default judgement and I would be completely unaware more than 100 miles away. 

In XX/XX/XXXXXXXX the default judgement was handed down to me in absentia. In XX/XX/XXXX DCI Credit closed the first case as a way of providing proof that they were in contact with me and because of my inaction acknowledge that was indeed responsible for the {$3000.00} debt. 

The second case lie inactive, with no updates made to it for almost 10 years, and with just over 1 year to go before it would have faded into obscurity, I receive a letter at my place of residence in XXXX notifying me of the intent to garnish my wages from my employer, and now because of the passage of time the debt has increased to over {$6000.00}. 

I wonder how many lives are left in ruin by DCI Credit, strong arming those that are too poor to properly defend themselves and unaware of the assistance that is available.

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