Consumer complaint received 2015-09-15
Company: Atlanticus Services Corporation
State: MA
Product: Consumer Loan
Sub-product: Personal line of credit
Issue: Account terms and changes

Complaint:
Opened a line of credit with Fortiva Servicing ; however, the line of credit was reported as closed to all credit bureaus. I 've submitted a compliant with XXXX credit reporting agency but have not yet heard back regarding the results. I did contact Fortiva Servicing regarding the reason why the account was closed and it was stated to me that due to the account being inactive for 3 months, the account was reported as " closed at consumer request '' since I had paid off the balance to avoid incurring additional interest charges. I stated to the representative that I never authorized for the account to be closed and that it was negatively impacting my credit report ( due to the account still being considered " new '' and being closed in a short amount of time, as well as bringing down the amount of open lines I have ) and they stated to me there was nothing they could do. I stated to them this is not something that is in my terms and conditions ( account closure within 3 months due to inactivity ) and that it is misleading to the customer to not provide crucial terms information that could impact their credit report and the most they could do ( after the XXXX attempt at contacting them for a resolution ) was tell me I would need to call every 3 months after the account is closed to have it reopened. 

This account was opened at a XXXX spa ( XXXX XXXX ) to pay for services used there, as needed. Upon contacting the merchant, they also stated this was something they 've never heard before but due to privacy reason, they was not much they could do as Fortiva Servicing is a third party vendor. 

The concern is, how can a company close out an account due to reasons a customer was never notified about nor agreed to upon signing the contract terms and conditions? Had I known that a line of credit would be closed due to inactivity after 3 months, I would have never agreed to opening the account. Additionally, as I am currently pregnant, XXXX is not advisable during the term of the XXXX so I can not feasibly use the account until after delivery anyways ( I volunteered this information to them, all XXXX times I called them ). They stated to me, if I do not call to have the account reopened or if too much time laspes between the time the account is closed by them and the time I call them to reopen it, I would need to reapply for a new account to be open. ( again, another impact to my credit report ). 

I spoke to XXXX different representatives, all providing me with different information. Ultimately, upon speaking to a supervisor ( after being on hold for almost XXXX minutes ), was when they agreed to reinstate my account but that I would need to continue calling every 3 months to reinstate the account each time. 

The XXXX time I called, I was told without any evidence of negative impact, there was nothing that could be done. The XXXX contact ( this time via email ), I was told that if I did not use the account within 3 months, I would need to reapply for a new account and the account would reactivate only if used within 3 months and ultimately, upon the XXXX call to a supervisor, was when the account was agreed to be re-reported to the bureaus as opened and active, but only for 3 more months. The supervisor checked the terms and agreement while I was on the line and agreed, this condition ( maintaining the account active for 3 consecutive months ) was not stated anywhere.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed