Consumer complaint received 2023-03-14
Company: PINNACLE RECOVERY, INC.
State: IA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Written notification about debt
Sub-issue: Didn't receive notice of right to dispute

Complaint:
We are members of the XXXX XXXX XXXX and also owners of a XXXX XXXX timeshare. As owners of the resort property, we are required to pay annual maintenance fees. The maintenance fee for the year XXXX was due on XX/XX/XXXX, and the bill for it was generated on XX/XX/XXXX. However, we were unable to pay the bill by the due date, and as a result, late fees were assessed to our account three times in XX/XX/XXXX and once in XX/XX/XXXX. 

The billing and collection policy of the XXXX XXXX XXXX allows delinquent owners to request a payment plan before their account is referred to an outside collection agency. As such, I contacted XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and requested to set up a payment plan. I paid {$100.00} as the initial installment toward the payment plan during that phone call. XXXX informed me that my account would be forwarded to a third-party, their financial services provider XXXX, which would open an account for me directly with XXXX. I was informed that I would be billed monthly by XXXX until the payment plan amount was fully paid off. The payment plan consists of equal monthly charges and does not include any interest fees. To avoid missing any monthly payments, I was recommended to set up automated payments with XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received my first letter from XXXX, which was not a bill. Since I had already made the initial payment of {$100.00} over the phone on XX/XX/XXXX, there was no stated payment amount in the letter. 

As a result, the letter from XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX was simply a notification that they had opened an account for me. The first bill I received from XXXX  was dated XX/XX/XXXX, and was received in early XX/XX/XXXX. This invoice specified a total amount of {$200.00} and a due date of XX/XX/XXXX. On the bill, I was given the option to sign up for automatic payments on their website, which I promptly did. However, due to my busy schedule pursuing a XXXX XXXX XXXX, I do not check my bank account on a monthly basis. I did not receive any notification from AXIS or XXXX regarding a missed payment until I received a recent letter from a collection agency in early XXXX. 

To my surprise, the letter dated XX/XX/XXXX, was from Pinnacle Recovery Inc. 's collection agency, stating that my account had been sent to collections. The collection statement included the remaining amount of the XXXX maintenance fee, plus interest ( even though the payment plan was supposed to be interest-free ), XXXX 's late fee, and Pinnacle 's collection service charge fee, totaling {$330.00}. This amount is equivalent to 40 % (!!! ) of the balance of XXXX 's debt. It is important to note that I was not informed by XXXX or XXXX that my account would be sent to a collection agency. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX to inquire about what had happened with my autopay enrollment and why I had not been alerted of a past-due payment. They informed me that my XXXX  account was closed immediately following a missed payment, and my account was transferred back to XXXX to resolve the overdue balance. Additionally, they told me that they were unable to retrieve any information regarding my autopay enrollment because my account had been closed. They recommended that I contact XXXX directly. 

When I called the billing department of XXXX, I informed the XXXX that I would be recording our phone conversations as they do. However, a XXXX staffer informed me that it is against company policy to engage in conversation with a client who is recording it and that only they are able to record phone calls. She then abruptly ended the call, which I found to be rude and unacceptable. I believe that such a policy violates my human rights. 

On my second call to XXXX 's billing department, the XXXX spoke to me in an irritable and impolite tone, barely letting me speak. He informed me that after 120 days of missed payments, XXXX, under its policy, is not required to notify the client that their account will be turned over to collections. However, I believe this is a violation of my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I enrolled in the payment plan on time, paid the first installment, and my payment plan was transferred to a third-party organization. Therefore, legally, when my account was transferred to XXXX, I was under the new payment policy of a third-party organization, XXXX, which was responsible for managing my payment plan agreements on behalf of XXXX. XXXX had never informed me about its policy on overdue payments. 

Additionally, it's important to note that I informed the XXXX XXXX that they had illegally turned over my account to a collection agency, which has had a negative impact on my credit history. Despite the fact that my account was subject to a different payment policy since its transfer to XXXX, XXXX 's policy itself states that they can turn over delinquent accounts to a collection agency after a 120-day balance has passed due. However, in my case, only 58 days had passed from the date of my first installment payment towards the maintenance fee on XX/XX/XXXX, to the date on the letter, XX/XX/XXXX, that I received from the collection agency, Pinnacle. 
Unfortunately, the XXXX XXXX refused to listen to my arguments and insisted that XXXX was unable to recall my account from the collection agency. He instructed me to contact Pinnacle Collection Service instead. After that, I called XXXX 's customer care number to file a claim regarding the illegal action taken against me as a XXXX XXXX member, and I was unreasonable denied this right. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted Pinncle Collection Services to inquire about the legal document that they used to accept my debt for collection. Despite only 58 days having passed since my most recent maintenance fee payment, Pinncle argued aggressively that they were complying with XXXX 's billing policy regarding 120-day-past-due payments. I formally requested that Pinncle halt collection efforts on this disputed debt, but they refused to do so, violating their own policy stated in their letter : " call or write to us by XX/XX/XXXX, to dispute all or part of the debt. ... [ and ] we must stop collection on any amount you dispute ... '' They refused to listen to my reasoning and aggressively demanded full payment of their bill, including {$330.00} in their fees. They threatened me that if I don't pay off my account with Pinncle, my monthly charges will constantly increase. 

I believe that Pinncle 's actions are in violation of collection service regulations and ethical standards. Pinncle failed to perform their duty to verify the legality of all required documents and evidence from the client seeking to collect debts before accepting the debt for collection. Their actions make me suspect that Pinncle is trying to unjustly enrich themselves by engaging in this wrongdoing.

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