Consumer complaint received 2018-06-08
Company: I.Q. DATA INTERNATIONAL, INC.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX, my sister, dad, and roomate applied for an apartment in XXXX XXXX -- which was located on XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, at the time. When we signed the contract to our lease, the contract mentions that we had to pay a {$500.00} in Security deposit ( Photo1 ), and {$400.00} in pet fee ( but contract described pet fee as animal deposit ) ( Photo2 ). That same day my sister paid the security deposit of {$520.00} dollars ( Photo3 ) and in XX/XX/XXXX, I got a dog and paid XXXX {$430.00} ( {$400.00} in animal deposit, and {$35.00} in same day pet rent ) ( Photo4 ). In the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX, my sisters and I completely moved out of XXXX XXXX. Prior to moving out, XXXX systematically bills the residents a few days before the actual month of payment. So, on XX/XX/XXXX, my sister paid for the month of XXXX, and the owners of XXXX at the time, told her that her resident ledger ( Photo3,4,5, & 6 ) was her final statement for the month of XXXX. Believing that her ledger was her final statement, my sister believed that she was set to move into her next apartment. However, during her stay at XXXX XXXX XXXX, she was receiving calls from the new owner of XXXX, XXXX XXXX and accused my sister of owing XXXX {$470.00}. On XX/XX/XXXX, my sister visited XXXX XXXX, to confirm with XXXX that, according to the previous owners of XXXX, her ledger of XXXX states that she has fully paid off their fees. Then, XXXX mentioned that she was going to contact the debt collectors ( IQ Data International ) and  make that change. That same day, XXXX printed a copy of the actual move out statement that XXXX had on file. My sister was not informed by the previous owners that there was an official move out statement. In addition to that, my sister was also not informed by the owners, before, or right after we finished moving, that we owed XXXX {$35.00} ( Photo7,8 ). Since then, my sister was constantly harassed through phone calls, by IQ Data International,  for collecting our debt. On XX/XX/XXXX my sister requested IQ Data International to send her their statement of our debt ( Photo9 ). After reviewing their statement, my sister asked for the reason of the charge. I.Q ( XXXX XXXX ) claimed that the charges were due to the wear and tear damage in the carpet. My sister argued to him, that we initially payed XXXX {$500.00} worth of Security deposit and {$400.00} worth of pet deposit to pay for any damages that were left in the apartment. XXXX argued that the terminology of the contract changed deposits into fees, meaning that the animal deposit we paid would no longer be returned. My sister then brings up that that our resident ledger shows the input of our security deposit, but XXXX insisted that, with all fees included, there was still a {$470.00} debt to pay, and again, he asserted this without specifying why the {$470.00} was owed. Secondly my sister argued to him that she spoke to the XXXX, and XXXX acknowledged the error that the previous owners made on our move out statement, and would contact I.Q. Data International to change the {$470.00} debt into {$35.00}, but XXXX claims that this note was never made, and that XXXX never contacted I.Q. to make that change. 

After 2 years of not knowing of my sister 's situation, I started building my own credit and a year later, IQ Data International started showing up as a derogatory on my Fico score as well. On XX/XX/XXXX I contact them, and asked how I can resolve this claim. I spoke to a women who calls herself XXXX, admitted that I am who I am, and she asserted that I pay the {$470.00} debt. I admitted to owing XXXX {$35.00}, according to the copy of the move out statement, then asked, " how did my {$35.00} debt turn into {$540.00}? ". She casted off my argument, and argued that the {$35.00} had nothing to do with the {$540.00} debt that we owed. I asked her once again, " Then what is the reason to this debt? ", and she responded " the {$540.00} is owed for wear and tear damage on the carpet when we lived in XXXX ''. I argued with her that we paid {$900.00} worth of security deposit for any damages made in our apartment room, and even pointed out that I have the move out statement in hand, where it clearly states that {$360.00} was charged for carpet replacement and {$210.00} dollars was charged for paint damages. I reinstated that the {$500.00} security deposit and the {$400.00} animal deposit should have been sufficient for the damages, but she kept insisting that the {$400.00} pet fee was cancelled out, since it shows as - {$400.00} in statement ( photo.13 ). Then, I questioned, " If we paid {$900.00}. worth of security money and you are claiming that debt is due to damages to the room, then what happened to the money we paid? ", she dodged the question and replied, " You're confusing us with XXXX, we are just a debt collection agency ''. 

In all, I suspect that I.Q. Data International is attempting to collect an incorrect amount of debt from us. In addition to that, IQ Data International refuse to  show us legal documentation of why, when, or how, XXXX stated that our debt of {$470.00} was the correct amount.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief