Consumer complaint received 2016-09-27
Company: EZCORP, INC.
State: WI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Payday loan
Issue: Taking/threatening an illegal action
Sub-issue: Threatened arrest/jail if do not pay

Complaint:
On XXXX XXXX, XXXX, my father, step-mother, aunt, and friend were contacted by XXXX XXXX. She disclosed that she was looking for me regarding a federal investigation. She used the word federal investigation and claimed it was very important that she talk to me. I never received a call from XXXX but called her back as requested. She insisted that I lived in XXXX or had moved back to XXXX from XXXX because she had received a tip that I was living in XXXX. I 've never lived anywhere but XXXX. She then went on to tell my that I was being investigated for writing a bad check to EZ Money Loans on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX, which I did not have a recollection of. She became irritated and suggested that I was n't cooperating which is false ; I was trying to obtain the information on the debt she was referring to but she could n't give me an account number or any further detail. She said that if I did n't comply a report would be filled in XXXX to take me in to custody for writing a worthless check under statute XXXX and also my car would be red flagged so that the police would know I have an active warrant. She said that I would be jailed for 25-29 days until I could see a judge. To comply I would need to send {$2800.00} to EZ Money by XXXX that day. I was XXXX as I did not want to be arrested for a debt that I could n't confirm at that moment that I owed. She was very hard to talk due to the threats of issuing a warrant for me. I asked that she send me a verification of debt before I sent any money and also asked for her information and company she worked for. She claimed she was self-employed however throughout the call the background noise was that of a call center. A debt verfication was emailed to me but it did n't appear to be official or anything I wanted to use to send money too. I am unemployed, which I told her, and did n't have the money to send her so I asked if they would be willing to negotiate in which she said no, that if I did not pay by XXXX I would be arrested. I asked for some time to think about everything and she advised I could call her back but if she did n't hear from me she would issue the criminal court report. I was terrified as I am a single mom with no family in the area and was worried about my daughter if I was arrested. After doing some online research as well as talking to a friend in law enforcement I found that this debt practice is illegal and was advised to send no money whatsoever. I never returned her call and I was not arrested however the stress and emotions this caused me was absolutely unwarranted. Nobody deserves to be threatened and I feel bad for the people who may send money out of fear. I also believe it was unlawful to contact my family and friends and to disclose any information to them regarding this manner, especially when using the words 'federal investigation. ' Through my research, I found that XXXX aka EZ Money was ordered to pay XXXX for illegal debt practices, which they continue to do! They clearly do not feel or care that they need to follow the law when collecting debt. This practice scared me to the point that my XXXX XXXX XXXX came on full force for the rest of the day and days to follow. This company needs to be stopped and held accountable for their illegal antics.

Company public response: Company believes complaint caused principally by actions of third party outside the control or direction of the company
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation