Consumer complaint received 2018-11-28
Company: Phoenix Financial Services LLC
State: VA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
Phoenix Financial Services ( hereafter referenced as " Phoenix '' ) is continuing to harass me with an invalid collection bill, months after it was paid in full. I would like them to cease contacting me or my family, with the exception of a written statement showing that the bill has been paid. 
In XX/XX/2018, Phoenix phoned my wife and me several times about a collection bill for {$430.00} for medical services from creditors XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX. We explained that we needed to investigate, because we believed that the original creditors had already been paid. Nonetheless, Phoenix threatened to report the debt to credit agencies unless we paid them, and offered a " discounted '' amount to resolve the issue. I declined, and explained again that if the debt was valid, I would pay, but that we needed to investigate the validity of the debt before paying. 
On XXXX XX/XX/2018 @ XXXX XXXX XXXX, because of my concern about a negative mark on my credit report, I paid Phoenix the full amount through their online system at phoenixfinancialsvcs.com. I continued to investigate the original alleged debt, but business travel in XXXX 2018 hampered my progress working with the original creditors. I have confirmed via my bank ( and bank statement ) that Phoenix received payment from me on XXXX XX/XX/2018, in the amount of {$430.00}. 
I then received another letter from Phoenix, dated XXXX XX/XX/2018 more than a month after I paid their bill again requesting payment of {$430.00} for a debt that remains outstanding, and offering a discount offer of {$280.00}. 
I called Phoenix on XXXX XX/XX/2018 @ XXXX am to ask why they sent me a letter when the bill had been paid months earlier. The Phoenix staff member indicated that it could be a mistake, but she couldnt see any record of payment on her side. She asked me to email or fax her my bank statement, which I declined to do for privacy reasons. She transferred the call to who XXXX, XXXX ( sp? ). 
During my conversation with XXXX, I asked her who at Phoenix could look up the record of transactions to find the payment, since she stated that she could not. She answered no one. I expressed disbelief. I ended the call, and called back minutes later to state on the record that I would transition to written communication only to address this issue going forward. I am concerned that these aggressive tactics may be a common business practice of Phoenix, to get people to pay invalid debts multiple times. 
I request that Phoenix consult their financial systems to verify receipt of payment of {$430.00} from me in XX/XX/2018. I would like them to send me written acknowledgement of the payment, confirming that there is no outstanding bill. After that, I would like them to cease contacting me or anyone in my family neither by phone nor by letter regarding this issue. 
Warm regards. Thank you!

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