Consumer complaint received 2019-07-02
Company: Carter-Young, Inc.
State: PA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
From XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX I was XXXX in the XXXX XXXX XXXX, serving with a unit stationed at XXXX XXXX, Texas. During my XXXX to XXXX XXXX, I leased a one bedroom apartment at an apartment complex called " XXXX XXXX '' in nearby XXXX, Texas. I had a one year lease, and I paid all of my monthly rental payments and utility bills to XXXX XXXX in full and on time. I had no problems, and I made no complaints to my landlord during the term of my lease. 

When it came time for my lease to end, and for me to XXXX and return home in XX/XX/XXXX, I thoroughly cleaned my small, one bedroom apartment, and I took a number of photographs to document the cleaning I did and the very good condition of my apartment when I left it. 

Before I left, someone at the management desk of the apartment complex told me that tenants had to also have a cleaning service come in to clean their apartments when their leases ended. I didn't see any such requirement in my lease, but I did not argue with them - I only asked if I could hire a cleaning service of my own choosing. They said I could, and I did. I hired an apartment cleaning service and paid them {$55.00} to again clean my apartment ( which I had already cleaned myself ). I made arrangements with the apartment complex management for them to give the cleaning service people keys to my apartment so they could go in and do their work after I left to return home at the beginning of XX/XX/XXXX. The folks at the desk at XXXX XXXX let the cleaning service people into my apartment, and I confirmed with them that the cleaning service came in and cleaned my apartment again. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX contacted me by email, stating that I owed them {$190.00}, comprised of {$64.00} in the form of a final utility bill, and a {$130.00} " cleaning charge '', supposedly for an apartment cleaning service that XXXX XXXX  hired to AGAIN clean my already twice-cleaned-out apartment. 

I called XXXX XXXX and told them I would be happy to pay my final utility bill, but that I did not owe them a {$130.00} cleaning fee, and I sent them a copy of my cleaning service invoice and offered to send them pictures of my apartment all proving that my apartment was clean and in very good condition when I left. I also went back through my lease and confirmed that there was no lease provision that allowed XXXX XXXX to charge me any such cleaning fee. When I asked XXXX XXXX to explain the basis for the " cleaning fee '' ( in the terms of my lease ), they did not respond. When I asked them to send me an apartment inspection report detailing any damage or issues they observed with my apartment when I left it, again, they did not respond. Nothing in my apartment was damaged in any way when I left, and I left the apartment cleaner than I found it. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I sent XXXX XXXX a check in the amount of {$65.00} to cover my final utility bill. My bank records show that XXXX XXXX deposited my check on or about XX/XX/XXXX. I called XXXX XXXX again ( sometime in XX/XX/XXXX ) to confirm that they received my check, and that I did not owe them anything more, and they told me not to worry about the supposed cleaning fee, they would take care of the issue. 

Instead, in XX/XX/XXXX I received a credit alert that XXXX XXXX  had sent my account to a collections agency called Carter-Young, and that they were still claiming I owed them {$190.00} comprised of the {$65.00} final utility bill ( that I paid in XX/XX/XXXX ), and the same, fictitious {$130.00} cleaning fee that they said they were taking care of. 

I looked over my credit reports, and sure enough, my good credit had taken a big hit because Carter-Young reported it as a bad debt in collections. I was ( still am ) upset that XXXX XXXX and Carter-Young caused this to be done to my good credit rating all based on a supposed {$130.00} cleaning service fee that I never owed, and on the supposed nonpayment of a final utility bill that I promptly paid to XXXX XXXX back in XX/XX/XXXX. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I called a representative from the Carter-Young collection agency, and explained all of the above to them, and I sent them a copy of the {$65.00} check I paid to XXXX XXXX back in XX/XX/XXXX for my final apartment utility bill, and a copy of my paid invoice for the apartment cleaning service that I hired for {$55.00}, and I also offered to provide them with copies of the photographs I took of my apartment when I left it. 

I asked Carter-Young to promptly restore my good credit rating, and to remove the false report of a bad debt in collections that they submitted, on behalf of XXXX XXXX, to the major credit reporting agencies. Instead, on XX/XX/XXXX Carter-Young sent me a written statement that the supposed debt was verified, to which they attached a copy of my lease. Carter-Youngs written statement said nothing about the {$65.00} check that I paid back in XX/XX/XXXX for my final utility bill, and again, said nothing about how XXXX XXXX could charge me a fictitious {$130.00} cleaning charge when I left my apartment in immaculate condition and even hired my own cleaning service to clean it again after I left. 

I am contesting this false debt/collection report to clear my good name and credit, and I am filing this complaint in the hopes that the CFPBs involvement will prompt XXXX XXXX and Carter-Young to finally do the right thing. Thank you for your time and anticipated consideration of my complaint and substantiating documentation ; I would be happy to discuss this matter further with you by telephone or email, and to answer any questions and provide any additional substantiating documentation that you may require.

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