Consumer complaint received 2019-04-25
Company: AmerAssist A/R Solutions, Inc.
State: MD
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Frequent or repeated calls

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2019, I submitted a dispute against a debt collections agency named Amerassist AR Solutions, the debt in question was called, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, with an account balance of {$2500.00}. I made the dispute because I believed there were errors on the report on the collections account. On XX/XX/2019 a couple of weeks later, I received an email alert from XXXX, a credit reporting app that updates daily & informs consumers when a credit report changes. This email alert indicated that the Amerassist AR Solutions Collections Account was removed & that the {$2500.00} had fallen off of my credit report. With the collections account falling off of my credit report, my credit score increased by " 40 '' points. I wanted to be assured that this in fact was the case, so I used two more credit reporting apps to verify the collections account, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  had fallen off of my credit report, those credit apps were XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. All three credit apps indicated that indeed my Collections account did fall off On XX/XX/2019 & that there were no errors found. Five days after my collections account was successfully disputed and removed, On XX/XX/2019 the collections agency Amerassist AR Solutions fraudulently added a hard inquiry to my credit report stating in the inquiry report that a lender had requested a copy of my credit report for an installment loan. The inquiry went even further and stated that every time that I would apply for credit, a hard inquiry would be placed on my credit report and it may stay on my report for 25 months. The very next day after I saw this fraudulent Hard Inquiry added onto my Credit Report, I quickly called XXXX On XX/XX/2019 to question why was an installment loan being processed under my credit report by the very same collections agency that I had recently had a collections account deleted from. XXXX, The representative of XXXX informed me that it did look like fraudulent activity could be taking place through the Amerassist AR Solutions Collections Agency. XXXX informed me that I should call my local law enforcement to file a report for fraud by the Collections Agency which I have not done yet. XXXX also highly recommended me to add a fraud alert onto my XXXX Credit Report so that all lenders would have to call me before any financial transactions would be completed. I added a personal statement on my XXXX Credit Report asking all financial lenders to call my cell phone number and verify my identity before extending any credit. XXXX also highly recommended me to call the collections agency Amerassist AR Solutions to find out why was this fraudulent Hard Inquiry placed on my Credit Report & furthermore find out if someone was actually trying to open an Installment loan using my social security number at the Collections Agency. Well, as soon as I got off the phone with XXXX, I immediately called Amerassist AR Solutions, A representative by the name of " XXXX XXXX '' as he claimed on the phone answered the call and informed me that he had never saw a hard inquiry of that manner in which was displayed on my Credit Report ever being sent to a consumer. XXXX XXXX XXXX then explained that it could have been a mistake or a problem with the IT department. XXXX XXXX then asked me if I could send him a copy of the email alert or the alert from XXXX so he could send the copy to his IT department. XXXX XXXX indicated that he would call me back once he could confirm the issue. Im still awaiting that call today. I have not heard from him since, although the same very day I made the phone call to him, the fraudulent Hard Inquiry fell off of my credit report. I have received no emails or calls of apology from the Collections Agency. The very worst part of this whole ordeal, the very next morning, On XX/XX/2019, I received an email alert indicating that my old collections account that was successfully disputed and removed was now back on my Credit Report. The new email alert indicated that my Credit Score had been hit again by this same old collection account and has brought my credit score back down " 40 ''  points. I really do believe that Amerassist AR Solutions used this very deceptive tactic of adding a Fraudulent Hard Inquiry to my Credit Report in order to gain more information from me to try to be able to collect on this very old collection account. I don't know anyone who would just let a fraudulent account stay on their Credit Report especially if it could harm the consumer for more than two years. Im sure Amerassist AR Solutions knew this and used this deceptive tactic to their benefit. I will again be disputing this collections account on the merits of all the harassment and deceptive tactics that this company has been making me endure. The harm has been taking a toll on my Credit Health and has caused me to add an extra layer of security on my XXXX Credit Report. I do have a copy of all the phone transcripts should I need to submit them as evidence in the future. Should any further action be pursued by Amerassist AR Solutions against me, they will give me no further option but to pursue legal action against them in a court of law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) both work in tandem to protect all consumers from negligent and deceptive behaviors that can cause lasting damage to a consumers Credit Report and individual liberties.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation