Consumer complaint received 2019-05-21
Company: Convergent Resources, Inc.
State: OR
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter from a debt collector, Convergent Outsourcing. The letter was a notice of debt owed to XXXX for the amount of {$270.00}. I do have a XXXX account, but use it very infrequently, maybe once a year ... maybe once every two years. I did not recognize the sum and the letter was surprising. It looked like junk mail, I'm glad I opened it. 

I went online and checked my XXXX account. The account was normal, in good status, a XXXX   balance, all payments in the history tab had cleared. I assumed at that point the Convergent Outsourcing letter was junk, a scam, etc. I was ready to toss this piece of mail, but did a online search for " XXXX Convergent Outsourcing '' and boom, a whole slew of hits popped up dated from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX. Clearly this same scenario has been played time and time again for nearly a half decade ; and it continues today. 

At this point I called XXXX ( a one hour wait for every call and transfer ). The XXXX rep confirmed that my account was in good standing, saw no suspicious activity, and knew nothing of the collection letter or had any answers for me. 

I called the number on the Convergent Outsourcing letter. I talked with a Convergent rep. At first the rep appeared to be helpful in solving this problem, but after a short time I felt I was being baited into saying " yes I have used XXXX before '' and " yes I do have a XXXX email account '' ; in this day in age it's like saying " yes, I breathe air ''. I said I felt uncomfortable with the call and was going to hang up and did. But before I hung up I did deny knowing anything about the debt or the XXXX account used to create it. What I did get out of the conversation is that my NAME and ADDRESS were used to create a XXXX account and the fraudulent XXXX account was linked to a XXXX account ( I don't believe my credentials were used to start the email account ). I also got the impression a bank account that was not mine or in my name was used to link to the fraudulent XXXX account. 

XX/XX/XXXX I did find time to once again call XXXX to remove my name from the debt and get some answers. After a few transfers I was able to talk to one rep in the fraud department who was able to use on of the account numbers on the Convergent Outsourcing letter to pull up the fraudulent account information. The rep was able to confirm what I had learned from Convergent ; which was this : XXXX allowed : 1. A second XXXX account to be created in my name with the use of two pieces of information about me : my NAME and physical ADDRESS. 
2. A new XX/XX/XXXX and Bank account ( not in my NAME ) were linked to the fraudulent account. 
3. The fraudulent XXXX account was then used to make one or more transactions. Then the XXXX and Bank account were then closed. 

After some Q & A with the XXXX rep, I was told the fraudulent account and debt would be escalated in the fraud department for further investigation, but that I was clearly not a part of this scam. The rep assured me that the account and debt would be cleared with Convergent ; and this process could take 3-4 weeks. I would be notified via email when the issue was resolved. 

By XX/XX/XXXX I still had not received such an email or any other communication from XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received a second letter from Convergent Outsourcing. The body of letter stated that Convergent had received my claim of Identity Theft and had forwarded it to the original creditor ( XXXX ). The creditor responded and indicated the Identity Theft claim was not valid. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I called Convergent Outsourcing. The rep confirmed that XXXX had denied the Identity Theft claim and the debt account was still open ( and Convergent is still attempting to collect the debt from me ). 

Later on XX/XX/XXXX I called XXXX again. After many hours of holding, transfers, and callbacks seeking a qualified rep who had the aptitude to understand the issue and trace down the fraudulent account, I was able to speak with someone who ( once again ) said they would escalated the account to the XXXX Collections department for another look. I did get a direct phone number for XXXX Collections ( not an easy feat ) so I will follow up with that number tomorrow. What I did find disturbing about today 's conversation with the XXXX rep, is that the fraudulent account was still active ... the rep froze it for the first time today. 

It's disturbing to me that this loophole in the XXXX system has been exploited for over a half-decade and XXXX is turning their clients who are in good standing over to debt collectors.

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