Consumer complaint received 2022-11-30
Company: Io, Inc.
State: DE
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
At XXXX on Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX I placed a call to Receivables Management System. After selecting XXXX for operator I was connected to XXXX XXXX, XXXX, with XXXX. In discussion of my medical collection with their agency I proposed a settlement on the account. I was told a settlement was not available. I inquired if that was a company policy or if it was because of a decision made my the original account holder ( XXXX XXXX ). It was at this time I was very rudely told that a collection agency doesn't have to offer a settlement. To which I asked again, " Okay, but I'm trying to understand if this is because of company policy or at the discretion of XXXX XXXX? '' During XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX repeated response that a settlement does not have to be offered I interjected and stated I would like to file a dispute for the account. Per 1022.43 ( a ) ( 2 ) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting act, I as a consumer have a legal right to dispute the balance of an account. XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX initial response was directly " no '' followed by asking me what I even wanted to dispute. I explained that I am disputing the balance she is stating I owe on the account because additional fees and interest have been added to the original balance. I added for clarification that additional fees and interest can only legally be added to a collection account if a contract was signed with the original account holder authorizing this. To which, I do not recall any such contract being signed and therefore dispute the accuracy of the balance on the account that is being reported to the credit bureaus. 

At this time XXXX XXXX further denied that I was able to do a dispute because she stated that I did sign the contract. I inquired if she had the contract on file with her since she is proclaiming that I did in fact sign one. To which XXXX XXXX responded, " No but I can requested it from Patient First because I know you signed it. '' My response to this statement was to ask for a manager. XXXX XXXX, raising her voice to the point of shouting, denied this request stating she was the manager. I rebuttled that I was not going to be yelled at over my legal ability to do a dispute and wanted to speak to a superior. XXXX XXXX claims there was no one above her I could speak to. I began explaining that this was in fact the third time I've called XXXX and on my previous call I requested to speak to Legal or Compliance regarding the issue of additional fees and interest being collected on a monthly basis. XXXX XXXX states she attempted to return my call 3 times and received voicemails. Note : I am able to provide documentation of my outbound calls and will confirm with my phone provider about inbound calls. However, I can confirm no voicemails were received regarding this matter. 

At this time I repeated that I am disputing this account as per my consumer rights under the federal FCRA further explaining she can not legally deny me of this right and in doing so it would be a legal violation and grounds for a lawsuit. She states " fine I'll do your dispute is there anything else you need? '' I asked what else is needed for my dispute because she was about to terminate the call without asking further details and she states she doesn't need anything from me she'll look at my file. At this time I requested a mailed copy of my dispute information and XXXX XXXX stated " it's not something mailed but I'll see if someone can mail it to you. '' I asked again, " so you're saying you're doing a dispute but I'm not allowed to receive a mailed copy? Is this call recorded on your end because I'm also going to start recording after several FCRA violations have already happened and you're also legally not allowed to deny my request for a written communication. '' XXXX XXXX states yes this is recorded and asked me if I was recording. I stated yes and XXXX XXXX stated that since I recorded she is terminating the call. 

Aside from the several federal FCRA violations, please note that there are several states in the US that are one-party consent states and consent to record is not required from the individual on the other side of the call. 

I encourage RMS to review audio record of this call that ended at approximately XXXX EST. 

At XXXX EST I placed another call to XXXX I spoke to XXXX XXXX explaining the situation and asked for corporate contact information. XXXX connected my to XXXX XXXX, Supervisor. I spoke to XXXX XXXX explaining the reason for my call and again requesting corporate contact information. In discussion with XXXX XXXX about my call with XXXX XXXX, I explained that once a consumer states they want to dispute the accuracy of an account with a consumer reporting agency, which XXXX is categorized as, the statement to dispute can not be denied without reinvestigation. XXXX XXXX confirmed this to be true. XXXX XXXX resolved the call and advised the only way to speak to upper management was through the Contact Us feature on their website. XXXX XXXX provided the company website to use and also provided their corporate mailing that documentation can be mailed to. This second call was concluded at approximately XXXX EST.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation