Consumer complaint received 2023-05-11
Company: ProCollect, Inc.
State: MS
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
We informed the Reserve at XXXX XXXX of the job offer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on XX/XX/XXXX. They said since the job was with the military that we would only have to give a 30 day notice instead of the regular 60 day notice and that we would not have to pay any fees associated with terminating the lease early. The terms we agreed upon were that we would only be required to pay the last month 's rent {$910.00}, utility bill {$87.00} and cleaning fee {$350.00} if the apartment was not cleaned to the standard outlined in their policy. We agreed upon these terms with the property 's manager and our tentative move out date was set to be XX/XX/XXXX. 

We turned in all keys and cards on XX/XX/XXXX to the assistant. We moved out early due to the start date of the new job being set as XX/XX/XXXX. The job location is in XXXX, MS which is approximately 3 hours away from the location of the Reserve at XXXX XXXX. She made no mention of conducting a walkthrough with us as required by their policy and said, " Okay you all are set, just go online and pay the last month 's rent and utilities, and cleaning fee if needed as agreed to and you all are good to go. '' On XX/XX/XXXX we received an email notifying us to forward our military paperwork to avoid any fees associated with terminating the lease early. Also the cleaning fee of {$350.00} had been added to our account. 

We forwarded the official offer letter from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, including the start date, to the Reserve at XXXX XXXX via email on XX/XX/XXXX. We then received a call from the Property Manager stating that the job had to be " Military Uniform Service '' in order to qualify for the termination fee ( s ) waiver and 30 day notice. This stipulation is not included in the lease agreement nor was it communicated to us during the meeting where we discussed our notice and terms. At that point the apartment complex then said we are liable for the termination fee ( s ), the last month 's rent, utility bill, cleaning fee ( s ), and other fees. 

We contacted ProCollect, the debt collection agency, in XX/XX/XXXX to discuss the debt and find a resolution. We spoke with XXXX XXXX and he gave us a breakdown of the debt that was submitted by the Reserve at XXXX XXXX. He then told us that we could file a dispute at www.procollect.com. However, when we visited the website, there was no option for payees to file a dispute. There was no option for payees to utilize the website at all. Seems that we were given misinformation intentionally. 

We called back a few days later to notify ProCollect that the website did not include an option to file a dispute. The agent then gave us the proper directions to filing a dispute and gave us another breakdown of the debt. That breakdown is listed below. 

Rent - {$910.00} Cleaning Charges - {$350.00} Late Fee - {$91.00} Court Cost/Attorney Fees - {$85.00} Water - {$16.00} Sewer - {$16.00} Pest - {$5.00} Garbage - {$5.00} Cleaning Fees - {$350.00} Termination Fee - {$2000.00} Not Milltary Owes 60 day not 30 - {$1100.00} Final Bill - {$43.00} Lease Term - {$1000.00} We then took the proper steps to file a dispute with ProCollect by emailing them on XX/XX/XXXX containing the sequence of events, justification for dispute, and documentation. They responded via email XX/XX/XXXX stating " Our client contends that this is a true and valid debt and has enlisted our help in recovering their lost. To avoid further collection efforts please forward payment in full by return mail immediately ''. They only attached a copy of charges, the first page of the lease agreement, application details, signature pages. 

We called ProCollect back to inquire about the thoroughness and extensiveness of their investigation of our dispute. We asked what process was used and did they actually take our claims into account when questioning the Reserve at XXXX XXXX. They then proceeded to recite the debt breakdown then hang up the call abruptly. We called back and they repeated the same act of reciting the debt breakdown then hanging up abruptly.

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