Consumer complaint received 2018-05-16
Company: AFNI INC.
State: AL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
My dispute is with claims put forth by AFNI their case # XXXX for XXXX XXXX XXXX / XXXX XXXX for an unpaid balance due of {$160.00} As supported by a letter from another collection agency XXXX ( copy of letter attached ) which could not substantiate the charges or reply successfully to my dispute letter filed directly with them they dropped the claim and stated that they would request the removal of any such claim from my credit report. 

AFNI was supplied the same records - but have refused to answer any of my inquires or disputes and continue to seek collection for money I do not owe. The charges represented have ( 1 ) already been paid in full. ( 2 ) Account closed ( 3 ) Charges being pursued are fraudulent and a result of miss leading, deceptive and fraudulent marketing and sales tactics and have been reported to the XXXX, FTC and appropriate State and Federal agencies as a result XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX had ceased collections prior to being turned over to any collection agency. 

I have addressed this with numerous collection agencies as well as gone back to XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX and had all of this matter resolved and then XXXX attempted collection and I supplied them with detailed explanation and they replied with attached letter stating unfortunately we are unable to provide the requested documentation within a reasonable time frame and as such XXXX has ceased all collection activity. Further we have requested the account be deleted from any consumer credit reporting agency files this because I DO NOT OWE THE MONEY. 

Brief History : I had an XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX account in XXXX for over ten years, I transferred for employment to XXXX  and rented a house. I called XXXX XXXX XXXX and set up an account for the XXXX   address ( still maintaining the XXXX account at the same time ). Same scenario with XXXX other than when I asked about the two year contract explaining I may only be in XXXX for 12-18 months I was told that was not a problem, that all I had to do was call them and merge the accounts to my XXXX account since I was a long time customer in good standing. As long as I merged the accounts before I closed the XXXX account there would be no cancellation fees. 

After a year I found I would be in XXXX longer than expected ( all the time maintain both XXXX XXXX XXXX accounts and both XXXX accounts in good standing paying on time consistently. I decided I would buy a house in XXXX  and inquired about moving my XXXX account to a new address XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX had merged and the same or like services were NOT available in the area I was moving to. So I instructed them that I wanted to merge my accounts as previously instructed and I was told we dont do that I spoke to numerous managers and finally they agreed to cancel the XXXX  account without penalty I paid both the final XXXX XXXX XXXX bill and XXXX XXXX over the phone for the XXXX  account. Returned the equipment and kept maintaining the XXXX  accounts for a few more months. 

Once the move was complete I cancelled the XXXX accounts paid the final bills over the phone on both XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX and returned the equipment. Some months later I received additional bills which I questioned and it was explained that they were charges made and due after my final payment had been made but were due prior to that billing date seemed reasonable so I paid them over the phone. After a few months I received additional billing which I disputed providing XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX with full payment information only to find the charges were for early cancellation which had been previously waived by a manager. I refused to pay. Upon further investigation I realized they were billing me not only for cancellation but also fees already previously paid. I provided them with proof I had over paid by {$78.00} and requested an immediate refund all correspondence ceased until a few collection agencies began sending bills. I responded to all of these with the proof the account had been properly paid ( actually over paid ) and that any demand for payment would be tied back to early cancellation fees which I was not going to pay due to the fraudulent marketing tactics and misrepresentations made by the series of managers that took them off my bill. 

All was quiet for about a year and then I got collection letters from AFNI and XXXX about the same time I responded to each identically and eventually XXXX acknowledged that they had no grounds for collection and could not dispute with proper documentation my claims against the collection. AFNI has refused to acknowledge nor respond to my dispute and as a result have filed negative information on my credit report causing a negative reflection on my credit score - their tactics and false claims should not be allowed to continue. All three credit reporting bureaus have been notified and all have removed this same collection report from my credit prior as claimed by other agencies - but not AFNI - though I just recently submitted new disputes for this same claim.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation