Consumer complaint received 2018-04-26
Company: ECMC GROUP, INC.
State: VA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Private student loan debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I was notified by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX that my XXXX XXXX serviced by XXXX XXXX was sent to collections. It stated that I owed : Total Principle- {$8900.00} ; Total Interest on Principle- {$1500.00} ; Total Collection Fees- {$2900.00} ; Total Balance Due : {$13000.00} ( See Appendix A : XXXXInfo_Redacted ). I have been in correspondence with 1 )  XXXX XXXX and 2 ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX XXXX of XXXX XXXX, XXXX to pay off amount remaining {$2400.00} on my loan in collections. Spoke to XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) first. The second person who verified a pay-off payment in the amount listed above was XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX via phone call. I spoke to a female who confirmed a payment of {$210.00} was last received on the account. She said once paid in full payment has been received the borrower and co-signer will receive a Letter of Satisfaction 30 days after payment from XXXX XXXX and she confirmed that the pay off payment should be made through XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX via XXXX Contact Form Request on webpage. Requested a letter of satisfaction to be mailed regarding the account status to verify loan has been completely paid off. XXXX ( XXXX Customer Service Representative ) responded saying the request can not be met, because the loan was not in my name. Evidently, she entered my note/loan number as my account number and it showed me not as the borrow or the co-signer ( See Appendix B : XXXX Contact Form Request ). On XX/XX/XXXX I contacted XXXX XXXX via phone call. Spoke to XXXX to ask why my request can not be met and why I was not listed as a borrow. XXXX confirmed that my account number is different than loan number. She alerted me that there is {$710.00} principle left on the loan amount and that a Letter of Satisfaction can not be mailed, because the account is not paid off. However, when I log into the XXXX website I can not find out loan detail, current balance, due date, or status ( See Appendix C : HomeScreen XXXX XXXX Online Acct ). XXXX placed a review on the loan on XX/XX/XXXX. She stated it would take 3-5 business days for her to contact me via phone regarding this loan. Also, I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX to confirm the loan has been paid off and out of collection. XXXX confirmed the account has been closed and has been paid off. She said her supervisor said to call XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX for a 'Letter of Satisfaction '. When looking for a number for XXXX, I was unable to find a number. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX is linked to XXXX ( See Appendix D : XXXX Privacy Notice ). XXXX has a phone number linking to XXXX. When I called XXXX in the past, they have provided me with a letter stating that I do not have a loan with them ; they only deal with federal loans and this is private loan ( See Appendix E : Educational Credit Management Corporation Letter ). In reviewing prior paperwork I noticed that I received a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX from XXXX stating that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ), is transitioning your existing XXXX XXXX Locan to XXXX XXXX. ( See Appendix J : Appendix J-XXXX XXXX   to XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) ). Furthermore, on a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX I received from XXXX XXXX stating that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) has made the decision to transition the servicing of your XXXX loan to XXXX XXXX ( See Appendix K-XXXX XXXX to XXXX XXXX ( XX/XX/XXXX ) ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I was able to download payments received by XXXX XXXX. I printed a pdf of the payment history XX/XX/XXXX and exported to an XXXX file. File shows that XX/XX/XXXX has been altered from the original time I download XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX. There is a payment processing error, it appears, in XXXX XXXX 's payment history ( See Appendix F1 :  XXXX Payment History ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX/XXXX. He said that the principle amount is {$710.00}. The payoff ( as of this day- it continues to grow interest daily ) is {$710.00}. I asked about the payment that was reversed ( See Appendix F1 : XXXX Payment History ) and he said it appears that payments had issues in XX/XX/XXXX. The conversation was 30 min long. I alerted him that the call was being recorded. He forwarded the loan to a Leadership Review. He was inquiring about 1 ) The payment issue in XX/XX/XXXX 2 ) Why XXXX XXXX says I have paid off the collection account but yet XXXX still has {$710.00} on the account and 3 ) What was the original amount that was sent to XXXX to collect on ( See Appendix A : XXXXInfo_Redacted ). He said he would follow up with me on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I called XXXX XXXX at XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX. I advised her that I had not received a follow-up phone call from XXXX as stated per phone conversation with him on XX/XX/XXXX. I asked is the account under a Leadership Review like XXXX had said. She alerted me the request was made for a leadership review. She could not provide me any outcome of the review. I asked what I could say when I call XXXX XXXX and she said that I needed to say XXXX XXXX has not submitted documentation that the accounted is closed and paid off. They have not sent a payment confirmation. XXXX requested for leadership to contact XXXX regarding the account. She said should would follow-up with me by calling me during business hours on Friday XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I also called XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX at XXXX XXXX and spoke with XXXX ( pronounced XXXX ). I first asked if there was a balance on the account. She said No balance on the account. I said that XXXX XXXX, the loan servicer, is saying that XXXX XXXX has not submitted documentation that the accounted is closed and paid off. They have not sent a payment confirmation. May I please request that documentation be sent to XXXX XXXX regarding this account. XXXX spoke with her manager and advised me to contact XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). I told her that my XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) loan is now being serviced by XXXX and XXXX XXXX is the company that needs the payment confirmation from XXXX. She told me she would speak with the client relations department on XX/XX/XXXX regarding the servicer XXXX XXXX and I should call her back XXXX to XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. She is unable to call me, because the debt collection account is closed. I am not waiting any longer to report this. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. says my debt collection account has been paid off, but they have not provided me anything in writing. All I have is my bank statements and an audio recording, along with the confirmation number. XXXX XXXX is claiming I owe a principle amount of {$710.00} even though I have paid a total of {$13000.00} out of my bank account to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. XXXX XXXX continues to claim they will call me back with follow-up phone calls on the requests made, but no one ends up calling me. I do not owe an additional {$710.00}.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation