Consumer complaint received 2018-04-27
Company: Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc., GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO Branch
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Federal student loan debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
I was dealing with XXXX XXXX at Professional Bureau of Collections in Maryland, and he had me on a rehabilitation program to get my debt out of collections. I had auto draft enabled to make my payments. However, my debit card was compromised over the Summer of XX/XX/XXXX and I received a new debit card. I never heard from XXXX  or any representative from the Professional Bureau of Collections in Maryland notifying that the auto-drafts were not coming out. I didn't notify them of my new debit card as I was under the impression that it was drafting from my checking account number, not the actual debit card number. Regardless, you think that someone would have called me to let me know there was an issue with my payment. I didn't receive a call notifying me of this until around XX/XX/XXXX. It was a woman named XXXX XXXX. When speaking to her for the first time she notified me of my months of non payments and that I would have to start the rehabilitation program over from scratch. I asked why no one had notified me, she looked into the logs and did say that it was odd that no one had called me in quite some time. If I had known they needed the new debit number, I wouldn't be having to start the rehabilitation program over again. I am also having issues with communicating with the company as a whole and getting the documents to lower my payment, which is delaying the whole rehabilitation program.

As for XXXX XXXX : I had consolidated my loans to XXXX. Mid- XX/XX/XXXX I was having trouble making my payments due to low income. I received an email on XX/XX/XXXX stating that they had defaulted and that they would go delinquent if I did not call in. The email stated that they can help. I called in XX/XX/XXXX and talked to a man about lowering my payments. He was very helpful and was to send me documents to fill out to ensure we got my payments lowered. I asked him, if I should make payments until we got the due amount lowered. He stated, not to pay until after I received my documents, mailed them back in, and got approved for the lower amount. I never received the documents. I called back in XX/XX/XXXX letting him know I hadn't received them. I took his advice and kept waiting on documents and not paying. I went to get a car loan in XX/XX/XXXX. As I was attempting to secure the car loan, the lady told me that there was something on my credit that I needed to check in to and that I couldn't get the loan. I looked into it and saw that XXXX  had marked me as delinquent and sent my balance to collections. I called XXXX  immediately and spoke with a lady and told her that I had been talking to the guy on getting the paperwork and that he had told me not to pay until it came. She went back and listened to our recorded conversation. She apologized that the man had given me wrong information and that there was nothing she could do. She then told me, " If it makes you feel better, he was let go from the company ''. No, that does not make me feel better because now my debt in is collections, I can't get approved for a car loan, and it impacted my credit immensely. I now have issues with the collection agency ( Professional Bureau of Collections in Maryland ) and communicating with them.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation