Consumer complaint received 2019-08-22
Company: Franklin Collection Service, Inc.
State: MS
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Indicated you were committing crime by not paying debt

Complaint:
I called into Franklin Collection Services in XXXX Mississippi on XX/XX/XXXX. I called because I saw on my credit report that they reported the same delinquent account 6 separate times to my credit report. The dates areXX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX. The amount of the debt reported is {$430.00} and the original creditor is XXXX XXXX XXXX. The address that was on file with them was an old address so I gave them all of my updated information. I explained the reason for me not knowing that the debt was owed and that I was calling to get it resolved. I asked for a verification of debt letter, and I that I would gladly pay the debt in full and wanted to know if they could delete all the reports to the credit bureaus considering the situation. I also asked why the same debt was continually being reported just days apart, and I was told XXXX XXXX XXXX lets them re-report the debt every 3 days. These continuous report dropped my credit score dramatically, over 100 points. All the while, I didnt know about the debt because they didnt have my correct info. XXXX XXXX was the representative I was speaking with that night, XX/XX/XXXX. She told me she would call me back the next night to confirm with me that the letter was sent out to the correct address. The next night I received a call and missed it but called right back at XXXX pm, and the date was XX/XX/XXXX. I dont recall if if XXXX said the letter went out or not because the conversation escalated rather quickly. She told me her supervisor said that if I paid the balance in full they would remove it from my credit. I asked if I could get a letter mailed stating that they would follow through on that agreement, and at that point they become very ugly. From this point forward the rest of the call was very combative. They refused to send me anything about the agreement in writing which was a big red flag for me. I told them that I have learned that if its not in black and white it didnt happen. XXXX started telling me that I was going back on our deal, but still to this day, we have not come to any agreement. She was saying that I had wasted her time because I wouldnt pay them right then ( I had not received the verification of debt letter, so at this point I didnt know if this was a legitimate debt or not ). The rest of the conversation is kind of a blur as to who I was speaking with because it was a loud aggressive tone from their end, but I was transferred to two other people, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX. Between XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX, I was told that had to pay them right then or they wouldnt deal with me at all. They were demanding I give them a check over the phone or card information right then. I kept trying to tell them that I had not received the verification of debt letter yet, but they would not acknowledge that or even give me enough time to get it out of my mouth. They just kept telling me that they dont send the terms of an agreement before before they get paid ( big red flag for me ) and that I just dont want to pay they because Im not getting my way. At one point I was told that they used to mail the agreements out to consumers but dont any more because consumers wouldnt pay them after getting the agreement. Then I was told that it had alway been their company policy to never give consumers a written agreement. Now for the lie, The last person I spoke with, XXXX I believe, said that it was illegal for them to send a written agreement before being paid in full. They kept saying they can send the agreement after I paid them. I asked if it was company policy or illegal because the last person said it was company policy. I was then told it was illegal because the fair credit reporting act said that it was illegal. He kept saying that it was illegal and they wouldnt send me an agreement because it was illegal, and they dont do anything illegal. The person I believe to be XXXX not only was lying to try to get me to pay them right then, but talked to be like a complete dog, belittling me, and would not let me say hardly anything at all. I attempted to tell him several time the situation and that there was no agreement yet, and that I had not received verification of the debt, it was all him practically yelling through the phone. I finally got to the point that I was done speaking with them and said thank you for your text me and hung up the phone. XXXX called me again the next day and asked if I had tried to call her that morning, and I said no and we got off the phone. I received another call from them today, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX  and missed the call but called back at XXXX. On this call they told me that if I pay half then they would send me the agreement but wouldnt delete it from my credit until the other half was paid. I am not sure of this persons name. When I asked about the last call me being told that because of the fair credit reporting act it was illegal to send a written agreement, the question was side stepped and I was to that they dont delete anything, that they were doing me a favor. Once again there was not an agreement reached because I couldnt get a written agreement before making payment and at this time I still have not received the verification of debt letter. I told them that I had not gotten the verification of debt letter yet, so wasnt willing to make any payment until I received that and the written agreement. I also told them that since they were unwilling to send the agreement, I had to go with my safest option, calling the original creditor and trying to arrange payment with them so that the collection agency would have to delete the because because they had not rights to the debts. They didnt seem happy about this and told me that I couldnt do that because the creditor wouldnt pull the debt back. They then terminated the call. During the calls, I told them that I needed a written agreement so that I could hold them accountable for their end and they said they would have to hold up their end because the calls were recorded. I told them that I didnt have the ability to record the calls, so that didnt really do me any good. The reason I asked for the agreement in writing is because I dont actually trust that they will follow with the deletion once being paid. Being told that I can get the written agreement after I pay them sounds like a complete scam to me. The last time I was told I get the agreement only after paying was from an extended car warranty scam. The names given in this statement are names that XXXX XXXX from Franklin Collection Services gave me to night after the original call was terminated and I called back in to get the names of the people I have spoke with. She told me that they do not have any employee ID numbers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation