Consumer complaint received 2022-04-21
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2022 i contacted Midland Credit Management, about a account that existed without my knowledge. Prior to contacting Midland, I was receiving repetitive notices from local lawyers dealing with debt management. I contacted one of the law offices, to my knowledge I did not know of any open cases I may have. I contacted XXXX at local law firm in XXXX Florida. When i contacted this law office i was told they were unable to view the case. I directly spoke with Midland credit that same evening on XX/XX/2022. I spoke with a representative named XXXX and had my call escalated to XXXX who represented herself as a manager for Midland Credit. The debt was incurred from XXXX XXXX Bank, for a debt that was incurred in the peak of the pandemic shut down. The debt is {$1100.00}, with new additional charges with the buyer of this debt account, the new debt has risen to over {$1800.00}. on XX/XX/2022 I agreed to pay a debt I feel was wrongfully incurred. XXXX  XXXX during the time of the pandemic was not reflecting my active payments toward my account. Instead, i continued to incur new fees and numerous payments were made that did not reflect. With the stress of the pandemic financially and emotionally, the account to my knowledge i stopped receiving updates on the account when it was understood i would not be able to make payments due to the impact of covid on the economy. On XX/XX/2022 i was haggled into agreeing to pay {$25.00} bi-weekly to pay of this debt, the agreement being that legal action would be stopped immediately against me. XXXX assured me after the payment arrangement was setup she would connect with the legal department to stop any further legal action of being sued. The first payment was set for XX/XX/2022. I provided the manager XXXX with checking account info for my Daughter 's account who authorized the payment to be debted bi weekly from her account. the routing and account number were taken and everything seemed to be almost squared away. As i monitored to see if the payment ever was received i contacted Midland on XX/XX/2022 and spoke with a representative who agreed the payment had been received and my account was in good standing. On XX/XX/2022 I received a summon from the court to appear, as midland credit is still in its interest of suing me. I spoke with a XXXX manager at midland credit, who did not address my concerns, but rather bullied me into new information I was not aware of. Speaking with XXXX and XXXX almost seemed like speaking to completely different companies. As XXXX informed me that the account that was provided could not be used. However, the account used is a bill payer account that is actively and widely used by companies. I gave a new card on file to continue the payment arrangement. The issue is false representation from the representatives at this company and a complete lack of ability to address concerns. All calls are recorded and monitored at Midland credit. My hope is that all my attempted calls made to midland credit are heard. This lawsuit over a petty credit card debt seems more targeted due to my age and assets than it is for actual financial damages. This has caused me an immense emotional and financial mental burden. Constantly feel financially inadequate to support my family. I made the attempt to handle my debt, it should not be chasing the debt collections company to pay my debt. There should be some acknowledgment and notice that there is a debt to collect. And should a debt attempt to be collected no amount should be turned away in this economy. Midland credit in essence has caused me a lot of stress, along with XXXX  XXXX. With the unprofessionalism and lack of documentation for clients dealing with sensitive information, midland credit should be reprimanded.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation