Consumer complaint received 2018-10-09
Company: Paramount Recovery Systems, L.P.
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
I am directing my complaint against " Paramount Recovery, '' whose company address is listed at [ XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, TX XXXX ] for violating my consumer [ protection ] rights. Paramount Recovery conducted unfair and illegal business practice ( s ) because it ( 1 ) failed to provide me with ANY notification, written or verbal, of 'a debt ' in general ( 2 ) failed to provide me with written notification of my right to dispute the ( alleged ) debt, ( 3 ) failed to provide me with written notification of my right to address and/or correct the ( alleged ) debt, ( 4 ) failed to provide me with written notification itemizing and validating the ( alleged ) debt, ( 5 ) illegally and maliciously took negative action against me by reporting said ( alleged ) debt to my credit report, where derogatory remarks are showing in all major credit reporting agencies ( CRA ), including, but not limited to, XXXX and XXXX , ( 6 ) failed to notify me in writing after taking negative action against me ; and as a result, Paramount Recovery ( 7 ) deliberately deprived me of my due process rights, ( 8 ) deliberately engaged in illegal business practice to coerce me to repay 'a debt ', ( 9 ) deliberately caused significant damage to my credit report, and ( 8 ) deliberately caused me XXXX and embarrassment.

Paramount Recovery did all of the above in bad faith. It engaged in abusive and deceptive behavior against me and stands in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) *** for their failure to provide a formal notice about the debt prior to reporting negative information to a credit reporting agency, *** for their failure to provide notice within 30 days after reporting negative information to a credit reporting agency ; and, per FDCPA, *** for their failure to NOT report a debt to a credit reporting agency unless and until they have validated it ( with the consumer ).

Therefore, Paramount Recovery has broken numerous federal statues, including, but not limited to : Section 603 ( p ), 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 7 ) ( A ) ( i ) failed to provide consumer with written notice ( in general ) and prior to reporting ; Section 603 ( p ), 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 7 ) ( B ) ( i ) failed to provide the notice required under subparagraph ( A ) which shall be provided to the consumer prior to, or no later than, 30 days after furnishing the negative derogatory information to a consumer reporting agency ; 15 U.S.C. 1692g ( a ) violated consumer 's right to have debt validated ; U.S.C. 9.501 violated commercial law that all notices were timely and properly given by dated certified mail receipt. A strong presumption of receipt applies when notice is sent by certified mail, because it creates actual evidence of delivery in the form of a receipt ; see XXXX. XXXX v. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX ( XXXX XXXX. XXXX ). Per Section 807 ( 11 ) violated consumer 's " Mini-Miranda '' rights by failing to contact consumer in writing five days ( or XX/XX/XXXX ) prior to placing this derogatory item on consumer 's credit reports ; and, per 15 U.S.C. 1692 ( g ) 809 Failed to give consumer written notice within five days after initial contact on XX/XX/XXXX. I understand that according to FCRA, failure to provide this notice can result in a penalty [ up to {$2500.00} ] that can be enforced both by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) as well as the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ) ; and, that my state attorney general can also enforce this with a [ {$1000.00} ] penalty. 


TIMELINE OF EVENTS : On XX/XX/XXXX, I retrieved my ( free ) credit report and to my shock and dismay found that ( 1 ) my 'excellent ' credit score had sharply and significantly tanked ( in excess of -80 points as of this writing! ) on all major CRAs, and ( 2 ) I had a debt collection account from " Paramount Recovery, '' which I had never heard of or been aware of prior to this day, in the amount of {$770.00} which they posted to my report on XX/XX/XXXX. In other words, it had been sitting on my credit report for over two ( 2 ) months without me ever being contacted about it, either prior to the posted date or thereafter. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Paramount Recovery by telephone, and spoke to a lady who ( without being prompted ) confirmed my current mailing address -- which is both curious and appalling, because it proves that despite having my address on file, they deliberately deprived me of my " due process '' rights and reported said debt on my credit report without having validated the debt with me beforehand. 

I was told said debt is over four ( 4!!! ) years old, and without giving me a chance to exercise my right to verify said debt ( in writing ), she pressured me into repaying it -- - this despite the fact that I clearly told her in the beginning of the conversation that I only came to know of said debt on the same day of the call and through a derogatory remark on my credit report. When I attempted to hang up the phone, she continued to exert pressure on me. As I attempted one final time to end the conversation, she speedily mumbled something to the effect of marking the debt as disputed. This is causing me XXXX XXXX and XXXX, as prior to the above date, I had no knowledge of being in debt at all. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, Paramount Recovery has failed to report the debt as " disputed '' to all CRAs. 

As of XX/XX/XXXX, Paramount Recovery has still failed to contact me in writing to validate said debt. 

I'm exercising my right under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( a ) ( 8 ) ( D ) to dispute the collections account that Paramount Recovery posted in bad faith on my credit report INSOFAR that it deliberately misleads all CRAs of my alleged failure to repay 'a debt ', and hence of my alleged " credit unworthiness ''. I ABSOLUTELY DEMAND THAT THEY FURNISH WRITTEN PROOF OF SAID DEBT, AND REMOVE [ ANY TRACE OF ] THE COLLECTIONS ACCOUNT AND/OR DEROGATORY REMARK FROM MY CREDIT REPORT ON ALL CRAs AND/OR ANYWHERE ELSE THEY MAY HAVE REPORTED SUCH INFORMATION TO AS THEY NEVER ALLOWED ME TO ADDRESS OR CORRECT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

IF the debt is legitimate, I am willing to find a solution with Paramount Recovery to correct it. However, prior to this, Paramount Recovery must absolutely agree to in writing and furnish written proof that : ( 1 ) they are a licensed debt collections agency, and state their license # and the account # used by them ( 2 ) they have a legal license to collect said debt in the State of New Jersey ( if not, say why not. If yes, provide date of license, name on license, license #, and a name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license ) ( 3 ) they own the debt in question ( 4 ) if the debt started with a different creditor, state the name and contact details of the original creditor, provide account # used by that creditor and the amount owed to that creditor at the time of transfer. Also state when you obtained the debt ( 5 ) they shall cease collection of said debt until they furnish proof that they attempted to notify me by certified mail of this debt, and furnish proof that they allowed me to dispute and correct the debt 30 days prior to reporting it to the CRAs ( i.e. at least 30 days prior to XX/XX/XXXX ). 
( 6 ) they will immediately report this debt to all CRAs as " disputed '' and " under discussion between parties involved '' ON THE SAME DAY they receive notice of this complaint, AND more importantly, ( 7 ) because their abusive and deceptive action had an unnecessary and significant negative impact on my credit, they will have the debt and any traces thereof REMOVED from my credit report, by ensuring that they immediately and without fail contact all relevant credit reporting agencies and any other applicable institutions or forums where they would have posted said derogatory information on me once and for all.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation