Consumer complaint received 2020-04-23
Company: Colony Brands, Inc.
State: NJ
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: Store credit card
Issue: Problem when making payments
Sub-issue: You never received your bill or did not know a payment was due

Complaint:
I was extremely ill during the months of XXXX through XXXX, back and forth to various doctors for multiple XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX  and XXXX. At the same time I was paying all my bills on time and also at the same time we were in the midst of a pandemic, making things extremely difficult if not impossible to maneuver. I received a negative mark on my credit report in XXXX for missing a payment of {$25.00}. In the meantime I had applied for and was qualified for a mortgage. I had no late payments ever and did not know that there was an issue with this particular credit card. I was not notified by mail, email or phone call from them that there may be and ultimately was an issue. According to the company they called me multiple times and left messages. I assured them that this was not true and I added that if there was a call to me and it came in as a Potential Spam or unavailable then I would not answer. I explained that if their call fell under either category then they never left a message and that since they claim that they record all conversations then there should be a record of any message that was left on my phone number. They did not answer to my speculation and claim. They claimed that they emailed me but when I asked them to confirm my email they had the wrong email for me then they stated that regardless it is my responsibility to make sure the bill is paid on time. In the meantime my mortgage company has since pulled me from the program I was in for the mortgage because the credit reporting agencies have lowered my score substantially between 50 and 100 points and I now do not qualify for the mortgage. Had I known that there was a payment missing or late prior to them reporting me as late I would have paid that payment immediately. I pleaded with them to reconsider and to give me any instruction that could reverse the negative and they told me they would not help me at all. The company should be more sensitive during this time of the pandemic in which I lost about 15  friends and family to the XXXX. and the XXXX  from all that is going on is enormous, then this company decides to allow my credit to be destroyed and I am not even saying I could not pay that bill but only that I did not know it was late if I missed it. I paid it within 2 minutes of learning it was late. I even offered to pay the account to $ XXXX but they were not open to anything. All my bill monthly are about {$3500.00} and without hesitation they are all paid every month. This bill is only {$25.00} and it is costing me the $ thousands of dollars I put down on the house because I signed a contract that I would forfeit my deposit if I did not close when it was time to do so. The company is not concerned that there are extenuating circumstances that many people are experiencing, they are cold. In addition I am researching my various bank accounts to see if payment was made prior to the issue, in the meantime I made the payment they claimed I missed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation