Consumer complaint received 2020-10-07
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: RI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
Hello I am writing in reference to a fraudulent attempt from XXXX XXXX services to try and collect a debt that they are stating I owe from the state of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX today XXXX called and I spoke with the XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX and I explained to them that I received a response from XXXX XXXX on the XXXX XXXX website stating that the reason they are unable to provide an update to my complaint is because of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a delay in this agency being able to provide a response I spoke with the agency two day I spoke to two different people the last of them being XXXX XXXX his phone number is XXXX XXXX XXXX he is the executive administrator for the XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX and he said that is absolutely false that because they are an XXXX XXXX XXXX  that handle emergencies within the state they are considered essential workers and therefore are actually working in the office he also advised that he has received a multitude of phone calls from people calling their office and stating they have received notification that they owe this agency money when in fact they do not XXXX at the XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX XXXX has told me that this is a scam I do not owe the state of XXXX XXXX  any money he said the only way that I would have a debt owed to their agency is if I were a vendor that they use to purchase product or if I had completed work for them and didn't handle it properly he confirmed that they do not under any circumstances house any medical debts in their office that is not what they do and that is not what they are there for he confirmed that this is a scam he confirmed that what XXXX  has said to you is fraudulent I recorded our conversation and I would be happy to play it for whoever wants to hear it I would also direct you to contact the state of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX yourself and try to ask them if I owe them any money it's pretty sad that an agency that is trying to help the state deal with a national pandemic emergency is having to be bothered with these types of phone calls he explained that his staff has received these phone calls within the past week and he does not know where they're coming from and they do not have any medical debts in their office I am writing to request that this debt be removed from my credit report effective immediately because this is fraudulent an it is inhibiting me from purchasing a home and with this pandemic going on you an your agencies are responsible for making sure that consumers are not being taken advantage of in the midst of this pandemic I have tried to contact the XXXX  be myself they are refusing to escalate my phone calls I will continue to harass anyone I can until I receive notification that this bill and debt is removed from my credit report this needs to be removed from my credit report effective immediately or I will take both legal and criminal action against the credit agencies as well as XXXX XXXX XXXX  thank you See my initial complaint below : Hello, I am writing about two new items that have been added to my credit report by XXXX XXXX XXXX. There are two items that they have added to my credit report 1st- {$170.00} and 2nd {$600.00}. I  contacted the credit reporting agencies and they have advised that this is valid. Which is ridiculous - as the representative could not even tell me which hospital this is for. I called and spoke with their office on XX/XX/XXXX I spoke with XXXX XXXX @ XXXX. I asked for some proof that this is infact my debt he was unable to provide me with the basic information necessary. He told me, " to think about possible hospitals I have visited in XXXX. '' How is this possible? I then contacted the credit agencies to advise and they are telling me this is a valid debt. How is this possible? They can't even confirm the original creditor? or hospital? Please help me. thank you, XXXX XXXX response is fraud they are lying : COMPANY 'S INTERIM RESPONSE *Please be advised, a Validation of debt letter was sent to Ms. XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX. This letter provided the name of the original creditor, current creditor, date of service, recipient of services, amount of debt, and all other disclosures as required by the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act ( FDCPA ) and applicable State law. Upon receipt of Complaint XXXX, we reached out to the current creditor for additional validation. Due to the current national COVID-19 emergency, with many staff members working remotely, businesses are experiencing delays and disruptions and there may be delays in facilitating complaint processing. We will submit a response as soon as we hear back from the current creditor. We thank you for your patience  and understanding during this time. Best regards, XXXX XXXX, Legal/Compliance Dept. **This is a communication from a debt collector. 

I have voice recordings from my conversation with the XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX XXXX system. They are a government agency and do not house medical debts. They are also not experiencing any delay due to covid!! They are working in the office due to the pandemic!!!! The above statement is simply not true!!!! Remove this from my credit report immediately. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX  - the website for your reference!!!!!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation