Consumer complaint received 2017-05-18
Company: Penn Credit Corporation
State: GA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was paid

Complaint:
In   XX/XX/XXXX  I r eceived a bill from The  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  of New York  (   XXXX   XXXX   )  -- after I closed my account with them due to having moved -- for {$1500.00} citing that DESPITE HAVING PAID each and every bill on time, that I somehow owed them more money for a billing period spanning   XX/XX/XXXX  -  XX/XX/XXXX .      In essence what happened it this : -- Beginning with the   XX/XX/XXXX  [  monthly ] billing cycle until the closing of my account in    XX/XX/XXXX      XXXX   XXXX   failed to do their job and read the meter for my electricity. Note* it was not my obligation or responsibility to do their job for them and read the meter as it was underneath my building and I did n't have access to it -- If I received a paycheck from   XXXX   XXXX     I would happily have read the meter for myself and even the whole building ( please excuse the sarcasm ).       XXXX   XXXX     managed to fail to read the meter for  26 c onsecutive months and then upon moving out miraculously deduced that I used  3-4x the a mount of electricity than billed for and somehow owe on average {$70.00} more per month ( already billed and paid ). By comparison to the folks I know in the same neighborhood -- in which  XXXX   XXXX  has a monopoly -- my " estimated '' bills were already 2-3x higher than theirs and the extent of my electricity usage was a re frigerator, window AC Unit ( sporadically, 3-4 months a year ), energy efficient light bulbs, and a television. What   they are implying I used is enough to provide service to a  XXXX  foot home when I only lived in a small apartment.     Upon moving out I received a final bill for {$1500.00} with a 2 month notification for {$130.00 } (    XX/XX/XXXX  -  XX/XX/XXXX  ) . I paid the {$130.00} and they promptly cashed the check . A week or so later I received a new bill for {$1600.00}, and after that a bill for {$1700.00} ( which includes an audacious { $25.00} late fee ).     -- When I contacted  XXXX   XXXX  to ask where they are getting their information about the meter and their exorbitant bills they disclosed to me that NONE OF THEIR employees in fact read the meter. I did not read the meter. The landlord did not read the meter. The new tenant did not read the meter. So, this apparent meter reading came from thin air. Additionally, being as they admittedly have n't so much has seen the meter, there is no telling if it is working properly. With their admitted negligence there is no way to know if the meter was ever working properly or if some other nefarious tactic were being employed where my electricity were being siphoned OR even if the correct meter had been read for correlating apartment.     -- Each month a bill was sent and I paid the bill in full and on time. This situation reeks of a racket that begs investigation for a probably class action suit. From a consumer 's perspective you ca n't go to a restaurant and order a hamburger, eat it, receive & pay a bill, and then have the restaurant manager chase you down in the parking lot to attempt to renegotiate the price of the burger in order to correct a mistake the staff made. No where in the agreements with  XXXX   XXXX  is anything of the sort mentioned. At best, on their website, it does mention that failure to see the meter read will result in " over estimations ''. Based on all the mathematics I have done, I was actually expecting a check from   XXXX   XXXX   to around the tune they are trying to bill me for!     -- Upon receipt of this inane bill, I immediately contacted  XXXX   XXXX  and they, for lack of a better term, gave me the runaround.     -- They routinely responded with incomplete " mis '' information, they would bounce me from " customer service '' representative to representative and offer me the same stock answers to my concerns over and over again. I was in contact in a repetitive and revolving manner with  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX   XXXX , and  XXXX   XXXX  and the attempts to resolve this went absolutely no where -- in essence they were just messengers 'doing their job '. Somehow, someway all  XXXX  of them managed to fail to inform me of the  Final Bills Department which I learned of on my own by  calling some numbers and poking around. Eventually I reached  XXXX   XXXX  in   XXXX   XXXX      XXXX    Final Bills Department ; I needed to speak with someone for fear this outfit would try to damage my credit.  XXXX   XXXX , much like the rest of the people provided misinformation. He informed me that  XXXX   XXXX  had an internal Collections Department and that if I were to write to him directly that we could attempt to solve this problem. On   XX/XX/XXXX  I m ailed a letter of dispute directly to the address he provided and never received a response.     Not much later I was contacted by the  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  -- an external collections agency -- as they were attempting to claim this fraudulent debt. The  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  received a letter of dispute from me with all of the juicy details by Certified Mail (   XX/XX/XXXX    ).  Of course, they failed to return the Certified Ma il Receipt Request - - and  one  could assume they found validity in my dispute being as they were unable to succeed in claiming the money from me that  XXXX   XXXX  is not entitled to.     Recently, however,  XXXX   XXXX  has tried again, this time with a new lackey, the Penn Credit Corporation, and I have sent along all the same correspondence on   XX/XX/XXXX   ... they did at least return the Certified Mail Receipt Request. The letters of dispute, which I can share with you, HIGHLIGHT my claims, proof of my paying bills on time ( as  XXXX   XXXX  has records, too ) / my having satisfied my obligations to  XXXX   XXXX  via  XXXX  and Satisfaction, not to mention  XXXX   XXXX    XXXX   repeated violation of  XXXX   XXXX .     With the letters to  XXXX   XXXX   I  also used language much like the collection agencies attempt to use with me in that failure to respond to me as admittance that all  (  so-called ) debts are absolved. Penn Credit Corporation has an underhanded tactic of dating their letters of attempt on a given day, and ensuring you receive it aroun d 7-10  days later, in which your response in writing is due within 30 days of the original date on their letter. Their aim is to create quagmires. Also, they use language much like I initiated with  XXXX   XXXX  at the onset with the  Final Bills D epartment as I just highlighted.      XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  ignorant and lazy tactics are bordering on being harassment. My credit is in danger due to their inability to work with me and resolve the issue & accept the fact that they sent me bills and I paid them. I satisfied my end of the bargain during our entire provider-consumer relationship -- they did not.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation