Consumer complaint received 2018-10-30
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: IN
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Frequent or repeated calls

Complaint:
I only chose this option as it was the one that best fit what I am currently going through. My complaint is against XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a subsidiary of XXXX XXXX XXXX. Through Midland, I owe a debt from a charged off credit card issued by XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. This charged off account was due to a medical emergency I found myself in due to a no-fault car accident on XX/XX/XXXX. I was notified that this account had been placed with XXXX XXXX XXXX, and then subsequently with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( a subsidiary of XXXX XXXX   ). When navigating the XXXX XXXX XXXX   website, they do not allow for me to make any payments online even though they display the debt information. When navigating to the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX website, there is no way for a customer/borrower to log in and view/pay the account. 

In early XXXX, I called the offices of Midland/XXXX to make payment arrangements since the websites would not allow for me to do so. We agreed that I would make a one time payment of {$300.00}, and then bi-weekly payments of {$25.00} until the debt was satisfied. No interest would be charged. 

Flash forward to XX/XX/XXXX. I scraped together enough money in order to pay the balance in full for {$1000.00}. I called the number XXXX listed on the letter I received from XXXX. I continued to get transferred to a voicemail for the " account agent '' I was supposed to deal with. Unable to make my payment, I called XXXX XXXX at XXXX, which is the number given to me by the original creditor, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX. When calling Midland directly, they were able to see my account, view the details, advise that their subsidiary was servicing the account, etc. When I told them that I wanted to pay my account in full, they advised that they were not able to take any payment from me since their subsidiary had the account. Even though I was calling them on a business day ( Friday XX/XX/XXXX ), during normal business hours ( all calls took place between XXXX and XXXX EST ), they indicated that there was no way for them to accept any payment from me because my " account rep '' was not in the office. 

Incredibly frustrated, I asked to speak to the customer service representatives supervisor. He said that he would get them on the phone for me, but he would not be able to complete anything for me. I waited on hold for 15+ minutes only to find myself transferred to the customer service representatives voicemail with whom I had been reaching the entire time. This agent did not get his supervisor on the phone, never came on the line to advise he wouldn't be able to do so, and just dumped me into a voice mailbox that he knew I was not wanting. 

It was my full intention on Friday XX/XX/XXXX to have this debt paid in full. Not settle the account, not go back on my word when I secured the initial payment arrangement, not to skip out on the debt, but to actually pay it in FULL. I am dismayed that I was not given the opportunity to do so, even though the funds are available to do so. Below, I will provide screenshots of the calls I made on XX/XX/XXXX and their duration. I will provide pictures of the letters I received from the creditor to validate that payment was made as well as verify the numbers I called were those that were provided. I will also show screenshots of the website that I went to for XXXX XXXX and prove that it does not allow for me to make a payment, even though all payments previously arranged were posted successfully. 

I believe that XXXX XXXX XXXX and their subsidiary XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX make it unreasonably difficult to make payments so that they can continue to charge interest, unfairly report derogatory and inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies, extend the timeline that debtors have to pay them, and make the most amount of profit on the debt that they buy.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation