Consumer complaint received 2019-05-29
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: TN
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged

Complaint:
XX/XX/XXXX, MCM ( Midland Credit Management ) began proceedings to collect {$1800.00} for a XXXX Credit Card debt. My XXXX credit card was activated XX/XX/XXXX with a limit of {$1200.00} the credit card usage was stopped at approx. {$730.00} for non-payment ( being 3 months in arrears ) in XX/XX/XXXX. I immediately contacted XXXX ( in XXXX XXXX ), knowing I never purchased {$1300.00} worth of merchandise, requesting statements with purchase information for the months of XX/XX/XXXX thru XXXX of XXXX but I was told MCM bought my account ( XX/XX/XXXX ) & they no longer had that information but MCM has a Recovery Dept that can send the information I request. I then contacted MCM and MCM 's Recovery Dept. ( XX/XX/XXXX ), requested information for purchases made from XX/XX/XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX. They sort-of complied, I was mailed XXXX statements " starting from '' XX/XX/XXXX, INSTEAD, with the beginning balance of {$1300.00} balance leading up to {$1800.00}. I have attached a copy of these statements : XXXX-MCM.pdf ( please be advised that this is not what I asked for ). Needless to say this was not what I requested and oddly the statement showed a previous {$0.00} balance, interest and late fees for the month of XX/XX/XXXX. Within the same month ( of XXXX. ) I filed the a dispute with XXXX, requesting MCM to show proof of purchases. I received no reply. I called XXXX XXXX  Consumer Dept ( I'm not sure if that's the right name ) & was suggested to contact XXXX and XXXX ( who owns XXXX accounts ) for a resolve but upon contacting them again I got same answer from both.. " my account was sold to MCM and they had all the account information '', I'd have to contact MCM. I filed a 2nd dispute In XX/XX/XXXX, with the same request, and in XX/XX/XXXX the 3rd & last dispute was for MCM to show purchases " prior to '' the {$1300.00} balance, leading up to that balance and accrued fees that total {$1800.00}! XX/XX/XXXX, MCM 's letter reply was ; " ... we sent the information you requested and we don't understand what you are disputing. Send a letter with your request or contact us. '' Are they playing games? They had not sent what I asked for & numerous times I disputed them requesting time & time again with no resolve! During XXXX credit cards were being breached ( XXXX, XXXX XXXX & XXXX ) and I strongly feel, unless MCM is fibbing about what I owe, at that time I may have been a victim of credit card theft. This is why I'm requesting proof of purchases. It's unfair to charge & make me pay for a thieves debt. In XXXX my XXXX XXXX credit card was breached and used while I was in the store & he checked out the same time I did just one register over!! If the Customer Svc. Department at XXXX XXXX hadn't compared the time & purchase on my receipt to the thief 's, I'd been held liable for that crooks purchase ( s ). 

I have also noticed actions taken by CFPB in XXXX against this company for trying to collect on debts using deceptive tactics. For example : 1-Attempted to collect on unsubstantiated or inaccurate debt : ... ..balances that sellers claimed were approximate or that otherwise did not reflect the correct amount owed by the consumer ... .Some sellers also represented that documents were not available for some of the accounts .... '' 2-XXXX XXXX  Associates falsely claimed an attorney had reviewed the file and a lawsuit was imminent : The companys collectors, who identified themselves as from the Litigation Department, misrepresented to consumers that litigation against them was planned, imminent, or even underway. In reality, in many cases, an attorney had not reviewed the account and the company had not decided whether to file suit. The list goes on and on about these heinous practices and I strongly feel this is happening to me now!! 

Now, early XX/XX/XXXX, I received a FINAL NOTICE ( please see attached FINALMCM.pdf ) from MCM threatening me with lawyers, court and garnishing my wages and bank account ( Example 2 ). I never even received what I asked for and now they're moving forward with actions against me to hurt my livelihood and to damage my credit? Is MCM so reputable that they can ignore, walk over and force me to blindly pay this debt without question? If at all possible, please help!

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief