Consumer complaint received 2023-04-14
Company: HW Holding, Inc
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX : We signed a one-year-lease with Trails of XXXX XXXX ( then managed by XXXX XXXX XXXX  ) in XXXX, Texas. 
XX/XX/XXXX : We entered the office notifying one of the clerks of our intention to leave six months later ( XX/XX/XXXX, to be exact ) and signed a lease extension ( from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX ), which included a {$200.00} raise in our rent for the duration of the extension. 
XX/XX/XXXX : We received a note on our door offering us to extend our lease a second time as its termination was approaching ( for another {$200.00} raise ). Via email to the manager, we responded to this offer, declining it, as we were packing and getting ready to leave the country -- just as we notified them in the last XXXX ( we have already bought our airline tickets in XX/XX/XXXX ). 
End of XX/XX/XXXX : Airline travels were cancelled ( XXXX ), but we have found a temporary shelter at our friends ' house while hoping to rebook new tickets. 
XX/XX/XXXX : We paid our last rent, prorated ; but as they sent us a new raised bill ( as if we took their offer for another extension ), we sent an email to the manager ( they never answered their phone ) asking her to prorate our rent, for we were leaving in six days as planned. When no response arrived by XX/XX/XXXX, we prorated our rent and paid it off. 
XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX  : We entered the office of Tails of XXXX XXXX, handed our keys and said our goodbyes. 
XXXX XXXX : Our travel plans were cancelled three times (! ), until we gave up trying and settled in a friends house in XXXX. Sometime during XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX we began receiving bothersome phone calls from a collection agency in XXXX, FL. As we've been scammed in the past year, we ignored these calls at first ( we had no business in XXXX whatsoever! ). Once we dared ask for their information, the agent across the line was extremely rude and claimed we owed money. To our astonishment he said that XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX are charging us penalty fee in the amount of {$1800.00} for braking the lease!! What lease?! We exclaimed, we left on XX/XX/XXXX, just as we told them five months beforehand... 
Once we called the company personally, the manager across the line was very rude and unfriendly, not listening to our side of the story, but kept repeating, according with our company 's rules, you broke the lease. I assured her that we do not agree with this claim and were aiming to dispute it. 
Our past attempts to dispute this false charge/claim ( XXXX, Credit Bureaus ) were not effective, this collection agency ( Hunter Warfield ) is still bothering us, and that collection account marks a big dark spot on our Credit Report for no true fault of our own. XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX never attempted communication with us in any way, no letter/email/phone call, before assigning this collection agency on us as if we were running-away criminals. The attitude towards their past residents who were struggling during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic just like the rest of them, shows no care, no honor, and no fair trade. We ask that their false claim be removed from our record. 

Respectfully, XXXX XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation