Consumer complaint received 2015-04-01
Company: JH Portfolio Debt Equities, LLC
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not mine

Complaint:
I had a XXXX and the XXXX XXXX representative sold me an online advertising renewal on XXXX XXXX, 2013. She also had me sign an annual renewal on our print advertising that was NOT due to renew for 6 months, but she found it convenient to go ahead and have me sign both at the same time. Please see Attachment pages XXXX, in which I signed in XXXX for the contract which should have been signed in XXXX ( for print ads to start in XXXX of same year ). 

The XXXX was sold in XXXX 2013, and the new owners decided to not renew the print advertising contract. I have attached an excerpt of the sales contract, " Schedules '', which has the XXXX shown as a contract that will transfer to the new owners. I have attached an email from me to the XXXX agent XXXX XXXX, in which I am trying to verify when the contract would renew and inform her that the business has been sold. She did not respond. Apparently, because I had signed in the distant past, XXXX to print the advertising in their new book. 

I had many phone calls with the XXXX XXXX XXXX rep assigned to the case, but whenever I called in response to another collection notice, the answering agent seemed to have no access to the last phone call discussion and we had to start all over again. Unfortunately, since most of this occurred over phone I have no written proof. 

XXXX the pre-mature contract renewal came to light, and after multiple discussions, XXXX admitted that the billing problem all happened because of the early signing, which was not their usual way of operating and probably done solely out of convenience to the sales person. They admitted that they should have verified the contract before printing the XXXX XXXX. XXXX agreed this was their wrong and said they would not hold me or the new business owners responsible for that contract. 

NOW, about a year later, I get a letter from a collection agency ( which turns out to be XXXX but does not use their name ) trying to collect {$1300.00}. I again called to fill them in that this is not my business anymore, and that XXXX has agreed that they do not have a valid contract, and that they probably just failed to do good record keeping. I was transferred to XXXX XXXX, who was rather aggressive, and that the account was in " pre-legal '' and that if I did n't pay I could just go to court to settle it. I was trying to explain to her the circumstances of the sale of the business, and she said the debt was in my name and it was mine and I was gong to have to pay it. 

When I asked for information regarding who would be the appropriate governing body to which I would file a complaint about inappropriate collection efforts, she said there was none. I rephrased that I would like the contact information for someone to which I could file a complaint, and she insisted there was no regulation of commercial collection accounts, but I was welcome to XXXX it. I feel this can not be true.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation