Consumer complaint received 2021-12-06
Company: ProCollect, Inc.
State: TX
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
ProCollect Inc is the collections agency representing my previous apartment complex, XXXX XXXX XXXX  ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Texas ). I was a resident of XXXX XXXX XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX until XX/XX/XXXX. I gave notice of my intent to move out to the XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, on XX/XX/XXXX. Since my lease agreement had expired on XX/XX/XXXX, and as per the lease contract states XXXX XXXX of the attached agreement, my lease was automatically renewed month-to-month after that. Upon vacating the premises, the apartment complex allegedly mailed a final account statement to my permanent address on file. I did not receive the original bill nor subsequent reminders. I was also not contacted via email or phone, both of which the apartment complex had previously reached me at. It wasnt until I ran my credit report in XXXX of XXXX that I discovered a {$2800.00} amount in collections with ProCollect listed as the collections agency for the original creditor, XXXX XXXX XXXX. My first course of action was to reach out to XXXX XXXX XXXX directly to inquire about the charges. I spoke with a representative who informed me that the apartment complex had recently been sold to a new management company and she did not have access to previous tenant records and final account statements. I then reached out to ProCollect and spoke with an agent who informed me that this was a true and valid debt that they intended to collect the full amount on. Months later when I was in a financial position to settle the debt, my wife called on my behalf to request a final account statement with a detailed list of the charges. When we still had not received the documentation 21 days later, we called once again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke to XXXX XXXX and request the documentation be sent via USPS. He was rude and borderline aggressive in his tone. His demeanor was cold and he insisted that the documentation had been mailed out just that day. Shortly after this conversation, my wife and I investigated ProCollect online and what we discovered was shocking. There are hundreds of reviews online dedicated to warning consumers about this particular collections agency and the apartment management companies that they work with in addition to the hundreds of thousands of complaints listed on the CFPB website. 

Once we received the final account statement, it was apparent that the apartment complex had violated its own lease contract and added an additional {$2400.00} charge labeled early term fee. I sent a debt settlement offer outlining the above information and a proposed new amount for {$1100.00} to ProCollect via Certified Mail on XX/XX/XXXX. This settlement amount offer included cleaning and maintenance fees that I do not dispute as well as a {$520.00} reletting charge. I did not hear from ProCollect as requested and sent a follow up email on XX/XX/XXXX inquiring about my offer. XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX for ProCollect, refused my settlement offer despite the fact that they do not have a legal right to collect the amount stated in their list of charges.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation