Consumer complaint received 2017-07-26
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: OK
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Sued you without properly notifying you of lawsuit

Complaint:
For the first part of my complaint, please see attached PDF titled " FTC Settlement '' XXXX XXXX, XXXX failed to comply with the FTC settlement for " time barred debt '' that it would not " sue to collect '' requirements highlighted in red in the PDF - I have no record of the steps outlined having been taken and multiple violations of the other requirements and was in fact sued. Second part - please see attached PDF titled " PROOF '' On XX/XX/XXXX Process server XXXX XXXX allegedly handed my ex wife XXXX XXXX ( falsely stating we were married, we divorced five years prior ) and wrote her name down as XXXX XXXX - she had by then legally changed her name back to XXXX. XXXX XXXX did not reside at my residence and in fact we had not lived together in over five years. I never received the summons. I submit that the court summons was in violation of OK Statute Title 12 Section 2004 and should never have been enforceable or been filed legally. Third part - Please see attached PDF titled " DEFAULT '' On XX/XX/XXXX a default judgement and order was filed in the district court of XXXX county in favor of XXXX  XXXX, XXXX. Again, I was totally unaware of my need to be in court or even have the opportunity to defend myself or even respond to the petition since I was never served. Fourth part - Please see attached PDF entitled " AGREEMENT '' On XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with someone at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( attorneys for XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) who had been harassing me incessantly for over a year at this point to discuss what was then determined to be the default judgement I had no knowledge of. The person I spoke with insisted that " the service was good '' even though I explained that the person they served was my ex wife and I had never received the summons to the petition. I was told my wages could be garnished, that my credit was ruined, etc. and that they would require the full judgement amount plus on going interest which all totaled was around {$7500.00} and change. Since I had started a new job and was fearful of this affecting my job I agreed to a lesser amount of {$5800.00} at that time to be paid in installments - I planned to contact an attorney after that to seek relief. It is my understanding that at this time, under OK Statute Title 12 Section 95 the debt was well past the time barred debts statutes, especially since I was completely unaware who XXXX XXXX was prior to that and what the debt was for, etc, as described above and should not have been enforceable. The debt, I have recently learned, was charged of by XXXX XXXX XXXX in XX/XX/XXXX - so nearly five years later, outside of the scope of the law to recover, I was being coerced into an agreement. Despite that, I began making payments and continued to do so beginning XX/XX/XXXX for {$100.00}, XX/XX/XXXX for {$100.00}, XX/XX/XXXX for {$300.00}, XX/XX/XXXX for {$100.00}, XX/XX/XXXX for {$300.00}, XX/XX/XXXX for {$300.00} totalling {$1200.00} at that time. It must be noted that my son went into the hospital XX/XX/XXXX for a XXXX XXXX illness which kept him hospitalized until XX/XX/XXXX. Since my insurance did not kick in until sometime in XX/XX/XXXX I was facing in excess of {$50000.00} in medical debt. I explained this to the law firm at that time seeking a reprieve. Part five - please see attached PDF 's titled " GARNISHMENT '' - " PAYMENTS '' and " PAYMENTS2 '' On XX/XX/XXXX a garnishment order was sent to my bank. I had previously contacted the law firm representing XXXX  XXXX, XXXX listed above to make them aware that I had lost my job in XX/XX/XXXX - despite that they issued a garnishment order to my bank. Further, I was never served any documentation that I was facing garnishment order prior to my bank account being seized. I believe XXXX and/or XXXX XXXX, XXXX is required to at the very least provide me with a certified letter, which was never received. I have been working contractually since XX/XX/XXXX and receive, as pay, an advance or " draw '' against future commissions to the tune of {$1500.00} per month. I reached out to XXXX ( the law firm representing XXXX  XXXX, XXXX ) on or about XX/XX/XXXX to attempt to remedy the situation. XXXX refused to accept the {$1200.00} I had already paid, which would have reduced what I " owed '' to {$4600.00} and instead demanded the full original {$5800.00}. I agreed at that time to {$200.00} per month beginning XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX collected {$39.00} from my bank accounts, leaving me no money whatsoever. Total collected by XXXX on behalf of XXXX XXXX, XXXX = {$1400.00}

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation