Consumer complaint received 2020-01-31
Company: I.C. System, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
I didn't really want to file this complaint but at this point I have no other choice. On XX/XX/XXXX I called IC systems because I tried applying for a vehicle loan and my bank informed me that I had a XXXX collection on my credit report and my loan would not be optimal. IC Systems was the name of the collector. Because I check my XXXX XXXX religiously, I was confused and shocked since my credit score is in the mid 700 's and my XXXX  and XXXX XXXX report have no collections reporting on there. 

I went back to the bank and asked which credit bureau they use. They informed me they use XXXX. I opened an account with XXXX and saw there was in fact an IC Systems collections for {$84.00}. I decided to call IC systems because I had no idea why there was a collection on my report due to the fact that I was never notified a collection was being placed on my report. 

At first I spoke with a collector, and informed the collector what was going on. I advised them that I didn't know what this collection was for and I was curious why they claimed I owed {$84.00}. They told me it was for a XXXX account. I acknowledged that I had an account with XXXX but I did not acknowledge that I owed them any money. In fact, I stopped doing business with XXXX years ago and fulfilled my contractual obligations. 
I asked the collector why I was never contacted about this account by XXXX or IC Systems. The collector told me the account had been in her office since XX/XX/2019 and they sent me various letters. I advised her that I never once received a call or a letter from XXXX or her company. I was again confused and shocked because what she was telling me and what actually occurred were two different things. In order to avoid a lengthy call and spend time unnecessarily, I simply asked the collector if I could pay the account in full and have it removed from my report for various reasons. 

The first reason was I fulfilled my obligations with XXXX. The second reason was XXXX never notified me a pending balance was owed. The third reason was IC Systems never sent me a notice saying there was a collections to XXXX. The fourth reason was I never received a call from IC Systems. The fifth reason is that short of this collection, my credit was otherwise perfect because I pay all my bills. I do not run or hide from my debts so I am being truthful when I say I have never received any notice about this debt. She then informed me that she sent notices in XXXX and XX/XX/2019. I finally pointed out to her that unfortunately, my house burned down months ago and I am currently living with my mother while the insurance, the fire department, and the city decide what it will take to repair my house back to code. Even if they did send notices to that address, there is a good chance I didn't receive it. After a long argument with her I finally get transferred to a supervisor. 

The supervisor I spoke with was XXXX. I basically repeated the same thing to him that I did to the previous collector. I offered to simply pay this account to have it removed from my report but he refused. He said that they called my number several times and I hung up on them. He said that many notices were sent to the address on file. I informed him that never received any notices and my credit was otherwise perfect therefore proving that I am not someone who skips their bills or hides from debt. He then said something in a manner which insinuated I was a deadbeat and really offended me. He asked " do you open up all your mail? '' He then said something else which again really offended me and insinuated I was a deadbeat. He said, " At this stage of collections we are the 4th agency to handle this account. '' Basically he stated that this was already with three other collectors and therefore implied that my accounting of what happened was not believable and that I was therefore a liar. When I finally called him out on what I believed to be just a fabrication on his part he did seem to " backpedal '' on his statement. He said he couldn't guarantee that three other collectors touched this account but that generally the account when it reaches his office is at the stage that they are the 4th to collect on it. I advised him of how my house burned down and I am technically homeless and at the mercy of my peers and he said " I am sorry to hear that but we did our due diligence. '' Because I hung up on them there was nothing he could do. 

At this point I was extremely upset. I felt like I was being treated unfairly. I don't recall ever being called by an IC Systems. In fact, the supervisor acknowledged that they never even informed me about this debt because I would hang up before they even got the chance to. I did tell XXXX that I get multiple spam calls, robo calls, and scam calls on a daily basis. I don't remember anyone telling me they were calling for XXXX but if I hung up on them it's because I am uncertain of who is trying to con me anymore. Regardless, I was still never notified of this debt. I was also the one who called them and I was even willing to forgo fighting this account that I do not owe simply to avoid this lengthy dispute procedure. Instead, I am insulted, patronized, and implied to be a liar and a deadbeat. Please help me with this. I can't believe that something like this is actually causing me to not be able to obtain a fair loan. My house already burned down and I am homeless and now I can't even obtain a car if I don't pay a premium simply because of a debt that XXXX never told me about because a collection agency thinks I'm a deadbeat? Please help me in getting IC Systems to remove this account from my report. As I told them, I am even willing to pay this bill even though I don't owe it.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation