Consumer complaint received 2021-11-20
Company: Avant Holding Company, Inc.
State: FL
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Other problem

Complaint:
In XXXX of 2021 i applied for a credit card with XXXX, LLC and was approved. I had to submit and upload a copy of my license and a representative reached out to me and called me to verify more information and told me when to expect my card. Since then i have made all my payments on time and always paid extra before my due date, i also have auto pay set up and Avant has faithfully withdrawn {$25.00} out of my account every month on the XXXX of every month for the past XXXX months with no issues. On XX/XX/2021 right before XXXX XXXX  i logged into my account to submit a payment for {$100.00} before my autopay payment was due to come out and i noticed the top of the screen said " Thank you for recent Avant credit card application, after carefully reviewing your application submitted on XX/XX/2021 we are sorry that we can not provide you an Avant credit card at this time ''. After that I immediately called customer service and asked what was going on and told them what i was seeing on my account, the customer service representative then told me that someone did in fact make an attempt to submit and application in my name just an hour prior to me calling at XXXX XXXX that same day. I asked her if they were able to see where it came from or if there was an IP address logged so i could try to escalate this, she told me it looked like the application was submitted from an " organic website '' and couldn't tell me much else but assured me that there was no card issued because i already have the card and that's why the application was declined, she told me that she was going to forward the case to the fraud department so they could look over it because they would be able to see more than she could and would be able to help me resolve the matter, she asked me how i would like someone from the fraud department to reach out to me by email or mail, and i said email, she never gave me the option of by phone which i would have preferred and would have been more professional considering the situation. The next day i get an email from the fraud department Thanking me for contacting them and the email stated... 

Dear XXXX XXXX, Thank you for contacting Avant. Your account has been forwarded to us because you have indicated that you do not believe you applied for a credit card through Avant. Avant has been able to locate an account in your name ( Customer ID # XXXXXXXXXX ). It is important to note that the application in question has been approved and a credit card has been issued. An inquiry may have been initiated by XXXX and Avant into your credit profile. Inquiries can affect your credit score and are visible to third parties viewing your credit report. If you still believe you have not applied for credit through Avant, please take the following steps : 1. Print and complete the attached Identity Theft Victims Complaint and Affidavit ( Affidavit ). The Affidavit should explicitly mention Avant. The Affidavit ( item XXXX on page XXXX ) should be witnessed by a Notary Public. In addition to the completed Affidavit, we request that you also file a Law Enforcement Report, described in item XXXX on page XXXX of the Affidavit, or an XXXX referral form. The law enforcement Report or XXXX referral form should explicitly reference Avant. Filing a false Law Enforcement Report may result in criminal prosecution with penalties up to a felony conviction. 

2. Deliver the Affidavit, Law Enforcement Report or XXXX referral form and any other supporting evidence of identity theft you may have, to Avant via email, fax or mail. 

Email : XXXX Fax : XXXX Mail : Avant , LLC ATTN : Fraud Department XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, IL XXXX Avant will conduct its investigation to validate the claim. If the investigation concludes that the application was submitted falsely, Avant will begin the process of notifying the appropriate credit bureau ( s ) to remove the credit inquiry and associated credit history from your credit report. Without the completed and notarized Affidavit and Law Enforcement ReportXXXX referral form filed in connection with the identity theft claim, Avant may not be able to remove the inquiry and tradeline. 

The XXXX referral form stands for Internet Crime Complaint Center. This is a governmental online service administered by the FBI that allows an individual who believes they are a victim of identity theft to file an online complaint. As internet crime complaints are reported online, the data is compiled. The complaints are researched by trained analysts and the information is dispersed to the appropriate local, state, or federal regulatory agencies. The XXXX referral form can be filed and used in place of the Law Enforcement Report. The XXXX referral form can be found at http : XXXX. 

Please contact us at XXXX and reference the Customer ID above with any additional questions or concerns. 
Please note, if an investigation discovers no evidence to support the identity theft claim and paperwork is not submitted within XXXX days, collection efforts may continue. 

Additional information regarding identity theft may be found at the Federal Trade Commission website : http : //www.ftc.gov. Fraud alerts can help prevent further cases of identity theft. If you have not already done so, you may request the nationwide consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. They may be contacted at : XXXX : XXXX ; http : XXXX XXXX : XXXX ; XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX *** Avant branded credit products are issued by XXXX, member XXXX *** -- Avant Fraud Department XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, IL XXXX Email : XXXX Phone : 1-855-XXXX Monday - Friday : XXXX  am - XXXX pm CT Saturday XXXX Sunday : XXXX am - XXXX pm CT Fax : XXXX So when i received this email on XX/XX/2021 the next day i knew right then someone on Avants end had messed up there communication somewhere because i can't legally go down and file a police report for a card that i called about and that i own and that i have legally and willfully occured debt with, thats illegal i would go to jail for that. The customer ID they included in this statement does belong to me, so i didn't file the police report and tired to get ahold of someone to fix the issue and couldn't get ahold of anyone. On XX/XX/2021 i still submitted a payment of {$100.00} and then on XX/XX/2021 Avant still took {$25.00} from my account by ACH for autopay, after they took there payments they then locked my card and told me to call XXXX Since then i have made NUMEROUS attempts to reach out to Avant to try and resolve this but i have gotten nowhere, no one will return my call, i called XXXX 's yesterday on XX/XX/2021 and explained the situation and the severity of it each time and the XXXX time i was told a supervisor will call me right back, hours went by and nothing so i called back again, and was told that someone would take care of it and nobody did, a few hour later i called back again and explained myself AGAIN and was told this time that someone would contact me by mail in XXXX days. I have also requested a copy of my application and nobody will give me one because the personal information ( phone number ) they have for me on file is wrong, i have repeatedly asked them how they got that phone number and they will not give me an answer, nor will they update it correctly online, so as of now i have unenrolled them from autopay and i will not be making any more payments on that credit card until a live person can contact me and fix this, as a consumer this is totally unacceptable, they can not expect someone to pay on a card that they locked due to there own mix ups and then nobody from that company is even willing to properly communicate with me, its very bad business practice and now because they have locked the card some of my payments that are connected to the card are going to be declined which will negatively effect my credit long term and they are putting me at risk still for identity theft by leaving the wrong phone number on my account, that's not the phone number i signed up with they have never verified that phone number with me

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation