Consumer complaint received 2018-01-24
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: IL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly
Sub-issue: Talked to a third-party about your debt

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, 2017 at XXXX XXXX ( CT ), I received a voicemail to my cell phone from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ) about an alleged debt ( which I have disputed ). During this voicemail, the representative from XXXX disclosed personal information about other individuals from whom they are trying to collect payment including names, status of payment ( disclosing the bankruptcy status of one individual ), and medical information of another individual. I believe this was a purposeful, threatening tactic with the implication that if I did not pay them ( even though it is a false and disputed charge ) or engage with them on any level, they will disclose my name and personal information to other people that they call. As I have a unique name, I believe I was singularly targeted for this action. 

Additionally, when I disputed this debt via certified mail to XXXX on XXXX XXXX, 2017, I never received a response from XXXX. Instead, however, I did receive a letter from another company -- XXXX XXXX XXXX ( MCM ) -- stating that they did not have enough information to investigate my inquiry ( I made the inquiry to XXXX not MCM, who I had never heard of at that point ). After I received this letter from MCM, I disputed the same alleged debt again ( via certified mail ). In none of the correspondence from XXXX or MCM was there any reference to the other company however, both mentioned their parent company, XXXX XXXX. The confusing correspondence from two entities of the supposed same corporate parent regarding the same matter leads me to believe that they are trying to extract a double payment for the same alleged debt. 

My concerns are multiple : 1 ) XXXX XXXX ( via their affiliated companies ) is using threatening tactics by implying they will disclose my personal information to others if I do n't pay their alleged debt ; 2 ) They have been calling a cell phone number which I never gave them permission to use ; 3 ) They are sending confusing correspondence requesting payment from two of their corporate entities ( with vastly different names/addresses ) in the hopes that I pay them twice for the same debt ( which I have now disputed with both of them ) ; 4 ) I feel like I am playing Whack a Mole, disputing the same debt over and over again to various entities of XXXX XXXX. Its confusing ( I have no idea who these companies are when the contact me ), time consuming ( writing dispute letters & dispatching them to the post office ), costly ( sending them certified return receipt ), and annoying ( having my cell phone ring multiple times a day ). Not to mention what it is doing to my credit report. 

As a side note, in one of the letters from MCM, they mentioned their Consumer Bill of Rights, which can be found on their web site. They state that the Bill of Rights applies to ALL of the companies of the Encore Capital Group ( which MCM and XXXX are a part of ) and I applaud them for providing one but, in my case, they violated several tenets of their stated bill of rights including : In our written correspondence with consumers, we provide clear communications, straightforward disclosures, To protect the privacy of the consumer, we do not systematically leave unsolicited messages on a consumers voice mail [ I received 15 calls and 5 voicemails in a 9-day period on my cell phone ALL unsolicited ], and We take all reasonable steps necessary to protect the security of confidential consumer information, including Social Security Numbers, defend against anticipated threats, and prevent unauthorized use of or disclosure to third parties of that information. What is the point of having such a bill of rights if they are consistently violated? 

Evidence attached includes : MP3 file from XXXX disclosing personal information, Privacy notice from XXXX stating they have safeguards in place to prevent this ( which they obviously do not have ), Two letters from XXXX asking me to pay them ( with no mention of MCM ), Two letters from MCM asking me to pay them ( with no mention of XXXX ), and the MCM Bill of Rights ( which apparently also applies to XXXX ) that they have consistently violated. I have highlighted and notated within the documents ( where appropriate ), information I refer to in this complaint.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief