Consumer complaint received 2018-04-17
Company: McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX, McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff mailed me a debt collection notice about the amount {$540.00} the original creditor XXXX XXXX forwarded to that company. They are claiming that I owe that amount because I previously disputed a credit card charge of that exact amount. 

After receiving that collection notice, I called the agent at McCarthy , Burgess & Wolff, XXXX XXXX, explaining that I would like to dispute this amount and I really don't owe XXXX XXXX since the last invoice I received from XXXXXXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX has an " amount due '' of XXXX, and that last invoice I received from XXXX XXXX was for a refund to me because I only used a one day rental, while XXXX XXXX charged me for 3 day rental. XXXX XXXX didn't want to hear my plea, and just told me that for this type of customer like XXXX XXXX, there would be no dispute, and it is going straight to active collection. I emailed XXXX XXXX at the email address provided on their collection notice, XXXX, and forwarded them the invoice I received from XXXX XXXX. On that invoice, it is clearly stated that I only used a one day rental and that was why XXXX XXXX refunded me ( for 2 days charge ). Why would XXXX XXXX refund me when they think I still owe them money? And if XXXX XXXX determined I truly only used a one day rental while they charged me for a 3 day rental, why would they say I still owe them XXXX when they have already charged me XXXX in another credit card transaction that I did not dispute? 

I did dispute the XXXX charge with my credit card company ( XXXX ). Because XXXX on top of the XXXX I already paid is ridiculous for a one day rental for the two pieces of equipment from XXXX XXXX. On the last invoice I received from XXXX XXXX, one day rental for the two pieces without any discount before tax should be XXXX {$300.00}. XXXX XXXX had made the mistake of over-charging me because they didn't have the driver available to pickup the equipment on time. I am still not sure why XXXX XXXX tried to charge me XXXX on top of the XXXX I already paid. Maybe they thought I did a 3+2 day rental? XXXX XXXX ' own debt collection center contacted me on XX/XX/XXXX about that disputed XXXX charge. After I explained my situation to that XXXX XXXX agent, they contacted their local branch ( in XXXX, CA ) to investigate this. And that was why I got a refund and that last invoice showing XXXX amount due from XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. On that last invoice, it was clearly stated that " CUSTOMER USED RENTAL FOR 1 DAY '', and the reason for the refund is " OVER BILLED DAYS CREDIT ''. Again, McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff has all this information. 

Now, XXXX for a three day rental is indeed cheaper than the daily unit prices of XXXX multiplied by 3, which is XXXX. I got charged by the online discounted price for the 3 day rental, but the refund issued to me was based on the non-discounted price for the 2 day over-charge. So I could see that XXXX XXXX might have over-refunded me. And I did offer to pay for the difference to get to the real cost of a one-day rental. However, that difference is definitely not {$540.00}. The {$540.00} charge is never explained or validated by XXXX XXXX, and I have never seen a break down of that {$540.00} charge, nor did I ever agree to that charge. It is a separate charge on top of the XXXX charge I already over-paid for a one day rental. 

Today, on XX/XX/XXXX, two agents from McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff called me while I am at work just before XXXX local XXXX XXXX time, and reminded me of their active collection. They did acknowledge that they had received my email and the XXXX amount due invoice from XXXX XXXX I forwarded to them via email on the phone. ( They never emailed me back to confirm receipt of my email of formal written dispute for that charge. ) They told me that because I disputed the XXXX charge with my credit card company, I need to pay that amount. When I asked why would the amount due on the XXXX XXXX invoice show XXXX, and why would XXXX XXXX refund me when they think I owe them money, the McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff agent told me because XXXX XXXX had forwarded the debt to his company, and therefore making the amount due on XXXX XXXX invoice XXXX. That is just a lie. The XXXX amount invoice was generated and sent to me on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX XXXX never informed me on XX/XX/XXXX that, I would still owe them money, or the reason the amount due is XXXX, after a refund was because XXXX XXXX had forwarded the XXXX to McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff. Besides, why would McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff wait a month to send me the debt collection notice on XX/XX/XXXX if the XXXX amount was already forwarded to them on or beforeXX/XX/XXXX? 

There is confusion between XXXX XXXX debt collecting department and their local XXXX branch of exactly how much should be charged for a one day rental. And there is further confusion between XXXX XXXX and McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff about what exactly is that XXXX charged for. Actually, they probably don't care what XXXX is for. According to the McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff agent I just talked to on the phone today, as long as I did dispute that amount with my credit card company, I owe them that. Doesn't matter what the charge was for, or if it was a valid charge. 

The agents I talked to were professional, in the sense that they didn't use any profanity or made any direct threats or implied any threats. However, they were definitely not interested in learning about or looking into the true situation. And some of what they told me was clearly false, like the reason they gave me for the XXXX balance due on the XXXX XXXX invoice.

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