Consumer complaint received 2021-05-15
Company: Mountain Run Solutions, LLC
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
I have a bankruptcy on my record that was filed in XXXX of XXXX and discharged in XXXX of XXXX. I have been patiently and diligently working on rebuilding my credit since then. 

In XXXX of XXXX I received an alert from a credit monitoring service notifying me of a new collections account that had reduced my credit rating. The amount owed was reported as {$120.00} and the Date account opened was reported as XX/XX/XXXX. 

I called the collection agency - Mountain Run Solutions - and their representative told me that the amount past due was for an alarm monitoring service from a home that I havent owned since XXXX. 

I asked for proof of the debt, and received a a contract for monitoring dated XXXX of XXXX, for a term of 39 months. The monthly payment was listed as {$44.00} per month. Further, after 39 months the account was to automatically renew on a month-by-month basis, and the service was permitted to increase the amount due by 5 % annually. A 30-day written notice was required for cancellation of service. The contract included the account number and routing number for my bank account ( which was my primary account until XXXX of XXXX ) alongside the option for autopay, which was selected. 

The contract further states that it may be cancelled in writing with 30 days prior notice. 

There is also a Limitation of Action clause which reads as follows : Both parties agree that no action that relates in any way to this agreement ( whether by Contract, Negligence, or Otherwise ) shall be brought against the other more than one ( 1 ) year after the accrual of the cause of action therefrom. 

The demand for payment was accompanied by an unsigned statement from XXXX - the original account holder - that the account was sold in XXXX of XXXX to Mountain Run Solutions. There was no reference to a past due amount or any prior past due status. 

An additional letter from Mountain Run Solutions confirms that the original cancellation request was received on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I initially forwarded the collection effort to my Bankruptcy Attorney, who had us send a letter stating that the supposed bill was included in my bankruptcy, and they were not to proceed with any further collection attempts. 

At the end of XXXX, Mountain Run made an update to all of the CRAs. The account status was listed as current, the account opened date was still reported as XX/XX/XXXX, and the collection account was still appearing as a derogatory collections account on my credit, and is listed as an item responsible for reducing my credit score. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called the agency to request that - as a matter of goodwill- they deleted the item from my credit report. I explained that my medical bills from a near-fatal accident earlier this year were extremely high, and that I had hoped to apply for a loan in order to pay them quickly. 

The supervisor I spoke to claimed that they never remove a collection account from credit report ( Because, then you would have perfect credit, and you filed bankruptcy because you didnt have money to pay ). She refused to change the date that the account was opened. She stated that she could not, by law, touch the account after I sent them the bankruptcy information. When I explained that I had yet to receive proof that I owed anything - no past due invoices or itemized bills - she reported that Mountain Run Solutions did have proof. I requested that this new proof be sent, and she refused - again stating that she would be breaking the law if she sent me the document. 

The supervisor then told me that if I wanted the collection removed from my credit reports that I needed to pay the bill. She confirmed the amount of the bill as {$120.00}. 

This collection attempt also seems to have been timed to have been executed almost exactly 5 years after my cancellation letter and what would have been my final autopay in XXXX of that year. Conveniently, banks are not required to retain bank statements after 5 years - which would make it difficult for me to show proof of payment. 

I believe that I have been targeted illegally by this company for several reasons : A ) The Automatic Renewal Period was on a month-by-month basis. 
B ) A 30 day notice of cancellation requirement was met. 
C ) This means that - in the unlikely events that an Autopay failed to debit, it would not be possible for there to be more than 30 days of Contract that I would have been obligated to pay. 
D ) The amount of {$120.00} is well over double the amount of automatically deducted from my bank account for my monthly payment for service. 
E ) The Limitation of Action clause prohibits ANY action towards either party more than one year after the initial cause of action - If the account was sold in XXXX, it was done so illegally. 
F ) The supervisor I spoke with claimed but refused to send me additional proof of the debt, and if they have said proof outside the original contract they failed to fully comply with my original request for that proof - which they were legally required to do. 
G XXXX The supervisor attempted to use this falsely reported account to extort me for payment on the account. I made a detailed record of the phone call on XX/XX/XXXX and can provide an verbatim account of the conversation. 

This agency is committing acts of fraud ( I do not believe for a second that this account was ever in arrears, and if it was the Limitation of Action clause made the sale of the alleged account illegal. They have parked the account on my credit report - illegally reporting the account as having been opened in XXXX of XXXX as leverage so that they can extort a payment that I do not owe from me. They have misreported the amount due and refused to provide alleged proof of debt.

Company public response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation