Consumer complaint received 2015-08-25
Company: Southern Management Systems Inc.
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Used obscene/profane/abusive language

Complaint:
To Whom It May ConcernRe : Complaint about unethical conduct of employees/possible owner ( s ) of Southern Management Systems , Inc. [ FEI/EIN # XXXX ] I have an apartment collections from XX/XX/XXXX and am in the process of finding a new place to live. On Tuesday [ XX/XX/XXXX ] I sought advice from the owner of the company I work for about how to pay a collections, i.e. what documentation to ask for, how to pay, etc. She offered to call and speak on my behalf. I found the name of the collector on creditkarma.com and gave the contact information to my boss. She called and the person who answered the phone informed her that I would have to call and give authorization for her to speak on my behalf. I called and spoke with someone named " XXXX '' who I gave my information to and permission for my boss to call about my collection. 

On Wednesday [ XX/XX/XXXX ], I spoke with my boss, and she told me about the conversation she had with " Extension 150 ''. I do not know the man 's name because he refused to give one. I will not try to recount exact quotes from the conversation because I wish to only give facts. It would be best to contact my boss directly to get a statement which she would happily provide if requested. The gist of it is that the man she spoke with was unbelievably rude and uncooperative. He made inappropriate comments about the quality of the apartment I currently live in due to having a collection on my record, implying that I live in a dump. He accused my boss of lying when she stated that I did not " put her up '' to calling on my behalf. He was very aggressive and demeaning and did not present any options for me to pay my debt. He did not state the amount of the debt or who the original collector was. He did not discuss the details of my collection and spent the majority of the conversation hurling insults. He was very unprofessional and hung up the phone on my boss who then immediately called back and requested to speak with the manager. The woman who answered the phone refused to identify " Extension 150 '' or a supervisor/manager and would not transfer my boss to anyone other than " Extension 150 ''. 



According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 806 : '' A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : ( 2 ) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader. " The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 802 also states : ( a ) There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy. 



( d ) Abusive debt collection practices are carried on to a substantial extent in interstate commerce and through means and instrumentalities of such commerce. Even where abusive debt collection practices are purely intrastate in character, they nevertheless directly affect interstate commerce. 



It is my understanding that the FDCPA was intended to eliminate abusive debt XXXX and to protect consumers from them. I am now afraid to contact this company to try to pay my debt because to me if a person is able to speak to customers in such an abusive manner, it must be a fake company. If XXXX was n't listed in Florida 's XXXX of Corporations, I would think this man was a scammer. If you read reviews about this company on the internet, you will find countless incidents of unprofessional and unethical behavior by employees of this company. XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX They even have an F on the Better Business Bureau.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation