Consumer complaint received 2019-01-09
Company: American First Finance, Inc.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation
Sub-issue: Attempted to collect wrong amount

Complaint:
This complaint is regarding my credit report. Back in XXXX, I began trying to resolve my past debt with creditors and collectors who I had defaulted with the last couple of years. So far, I've been very successful in resolving most of my debt. I am down tot the last 2 accounts, but I ran into a brick wall with one of these creditors. 

Back on XX/XX/XXXX, I called American First Financial to try and negotiate an account that was past due. My credit report said that the account was originally for {$370.00} and that I currently owed and was past due {$330.00}. I figured no problem. Surely American First would be willing to negotiate on this balance. Truth be told, they were willing to negotiate. When I spoke to them however, I was told that the balance was {$740.00}! Because I stopped paying less than a year and a half ago, I thought the amount was outrageous. I understand there is interest on accounts that go into default, but for the balance to be more than double what the credit report says I owed sounded absurd. During the conversation with American First Financial on XX/XX/XXXX, I began asking questions. What I heard just kept getting worse and worse. 

Besides being told that the balance was far more than what the credit report said I owed, the representative I was speaking to said that all the numbers on the credit report were wrong. The representative told me that the original balance on the account was {$410.00}. I had to do a double check on the credit report I received on XX/XX/2018 and sure enough, the original balance reflecting on the report was only {$370.00} and not {$410.00}. Since there were so many discrepancies I decided to ask if it was even the same account we were speaking about. The representative confirmed it was. I offered a settlement based on what the report said originally but the representative refused. She said that thy would accept a settlement but only for half of the balance they had. At the time, that was {$370.00}. 

The conversation with American First Financial really upset me. Offering me a settlement of {$370.00} on a balance which the report said was {$330.00} owed was almost like a slap in the face. I began asking why they were misreporting the account and the representative began arguing with me. I know I owe money to them, and I had every intention in coming to an agreement with them, but this company is taking advantage of me without remorse. Just because I owe money does not mean that American First Financial gets to misreport information on the credit report. And truth be told, I don't think they are really misreporting.I think I am being swindled out of several hundred dollars. 

I did everything I could to have American First Financial listen to reason or come to a better settlement offer considering the balance being reported to no avail. I even tried disputing the account with the credit bureaus and it came back as verified even though it was impossible to verify the balance was only {$330.00} when I am being told I owe {$740.00}. Which one was it? Is it really {$740.00} in which case either the credit bureaus are lying to me in that they completed an investigation or is American First Financial committing fraud by reporting and verifying the correct balance of {$330.00} to the credit bureaus but is then trying to extort me for more money when I speak to them?

I don't know what to do. I would like to work out a deal with American First Financial, but I also don't want to be taken advantage of. Also, American First Financial should not be allowed to break the law in misreporting or verifying false information on the credit report. That is against the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I am asking that regardless of what happens with my deals with American First Financial, they remove the account from my credit report for the mishandling and misreporting of this account. To prove this, I am sending you a copy of the report given to me on XX/XX/XXXX as well as a report I just pulled today on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Thank you for your assistance on this matter.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation