Consumer complaint received 2018-12-08
Company: Professional Bureau of Collections of Maryland, Inc., GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO Branch
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Federal student loan debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Seized or attempted to seize your property

Complaint:
I called them to start repaying my defaulted student loans. I told them that I wanted all further communication in writing. I made my first payment and set up auto pay. The next payment apparently got declined, though it shouldn't have since there was money in the account. Instead of contacting me in writing as I asked them to, they began calling my phone. I only found out later that it was them when I spoke with them on the phone. I do not answer the numerous sales calls I receive on a daily basis, so if I don't recognize the number, I am not going to answer it. Then in early XXXX I answered the phone at work and it was them. I was livid and told them they had no right to contact me at work and jeopardize my job. I again told them communications needed to be in writing. I filed a complaint with the XXXX. Just before XXXX I received the only letter from them I've ever gotten, dated XX/XX/18 but I didn't receive it till over a week later. It said they received the complaint, and to contact them to make my payment. They said the only reason they'd called my work was to try to start garnishing my wages (! ) Just days after one declined payment and zero attempts to communicate with me in writing! I called them on XX/XX/18. The first call I was repeatedly asked my info, put on hold and transferred until finally talking to someone who told me I had been sent out for wage garnishment on XX/XX/18. She told me she needed my last two pay stubs and then maybe she could stop it. I told her I just wanted to pay what I owed, and she said she could take my one missed payment and my XXXX upcoming payment but there was no guarantee the wage garnishment of 20 % of my wages would be stopped. I asked to talk to a supervisor, and she put me on hold for 30 minutes then hung up on me. I called back and asked for a supervisor and again spent a long time being put on hold, transferred and asked the same questions by multiple people. Finally I got through to who was supposedly a supervisor. She told me the wage garnishment went out on the XXXX and there was nothing I can do to stop it. Like the other person, she said she could take my payment over the phone but it wouldn't stop the garnishment. She was extremely rude and refused to help me or let me speak to someone above her. I finally just hung up and researched what I could do to stop the garnishment. It is ridiculous that I contacted them to start repayment and I'm trying to pay them and they are telling me they're going to garnish my wages, which is scary and humiliating. I talked to my boss about it and still to this day we have not received a wage garnishment, and it has been 24 days since they claim it went out. In the meantime I'm sure my already over-inflated student loan has gone up with penalties and interest. They already garnish my federal tax refund yet my 16 year old $ XXXX loan is still over {$7500.00} despite them receiving at least $ XXXX in payments and garnishment over the years. They told me there was nothing I could do to stop the garnishment except paying my loan in full for {$5800.00}. The only way I can get {$5800.00} is from filing last years taxes, but thry will just garnish that and I will still owe $ XXXX which will continue to go up via interest and penalties. It is ridiculous that this corrupt company is essentially refusing to take my payment with the threat of a wage garnishment that was never actually sent, and as a result will further financially benefit by tacking on more unfair penalties and interest. I wouldn't put it past them to have deliberately messed up my auto pay to further profit off of me. They should be communicating with me in writing like I requested, not be making false threats or any threats of wage garnishment when I am making an effort to pay, and definitely shouldn't profit off their shady and illegal collections practices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation