Consumer complaint received 2016-01-21
Company: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT  SOLUTIONS (NY)
State: ME
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:
In XXXX of XXXX, my husband mailed a check to someone who was doing some plumbing work for us at our rental property. This man called and told my husband he had not received the check. Anxious to start the project, he asked my husband to give him a cash card instead. My husband cancelled the check and gave him the money. However, unbeknownst to us, this guy HAD received the check and had cashed it at XXXX ( even though we had stopped payment on the check ). Last XXXX ( XXXX ), we received calls from a XXXX XXXX XXXX trying to collect the debt from XXXX. My husband produced proof that he had cancelled the check prior to it being cashed and we thought the matter was resolved. The person he spoke to admitted that they had tried to pursue legal action against the guy who had cashed the check, but were unable to get money from him. So, apparently, they hoped that they might be able to try to sucker us into paying it. So, we had assumed this had all been resolved however, yesterday I was contacted by someone at FMS Inc., who are now attempting to collect on the debt -- -AGAIN. I do not have the name of the first person I spoke with, but he was incredibly rude and verbally abusive. I repeatedly explained that I thought the issue had been resolved, I told him that he would need to speak with my husband, I asked for his information and a call back number. He continued to berate me : he said that they had made numerous attempts to contact us about the matter ( which was untrue ) and that we had been " evasive '' and been ignoring them therefore if I did not resolve it today, they were going to submit it to the Maine Attorney General and that I would then be responsible for the fees and legal charges, he told me my name was on the check ( which it was not ) so I was legally responsible, he told me that I had committed fraud, and he told me he would file a complaint with the XXXX under my company name ( which is not the company from which the check was written ). Understandably, I became very angry and upset. I then asked to speak to his supervisor. His name was XXXX XXXX. Initially, he was very cordial on the phone. I explained to him that he would need to speak with my husband on the matter and could I get his phone and the case reference number so my husband could call back. He proceeded to be very accommodating, said we could get an extension, then left the conversation and came back and said " no, we can not do that ''. I also explained that my husband was travelling and might not be able to respond immediately. They asked if I wanted to give them the name of our lawyer, if we wanted to get our lawyer involved. Eventually, I calmly explained to him that there was no way I could resolve the debt immediately. I told him I needed to speak with my husband, or our lawyer. I asked, again, for his phone number and for the case number, which he gave me. I hung up the phone. I was shaking and upset. I called my husband and explained what had happened and forwarded him the info. Now today, my stepson called to tell us that an XXXX ( sic? ) from " XXXX XXXX '' had contacted him on his cell phone at work about this same debt. Also today, I received a message from XXXX XXXX Director of Operations at FMS -- who has called 3 times on my home phone and twice on my cell. We have not spoken to them as they clearly are unreasonable and unwilling to listen to what we have to say. However, I am concerned about what lengths they will go to to harass us -- and our friends and family. They have obviously bought this debt and are trying to squeeze money from us, even though this issue was resolved a year ago. Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I will also pursue a complaint with the XXXX. These people need to be stopped!

Company public response: Company disputes the facts presented in the complaint
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation