Consumer complaint received 2015-11-06
Company: J R Brothers Financial, Inc.(Closed)
State: AZ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Medical
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Used obscene/profane/abusive language

Complaint:
My husband and I had a debt from a medical bill we were calling to take care of. Unfortunately this bill got lost along the way as my husband had XXXX and been admitted to the hospital for XXXX and my son had also been in the hospital, but we were in the process of making sure all payments to all Dr. and facilities were being taken care of. My husband had tried to set up an automatic payment arrangement and get a letter stating the arrangement. We first of all did not receive the letter to sign giving them permission to pull the money from our account and agree too payment or their fees until after they had already pulled the first payment from our account and at that point we never did sign it. Then 2 weeks later they pull the amount again which originally cleared our bank. Unfortunately we had a bank error and our check was returned. There was still money in the account and therefore our bank refunded our NSF fee and apologized. We then contacted J.R. Brothers to make sure the final payment would be completed. She then told us we had to pay an additional {$25.00} now on top of our original amount due to the check getting returned. Again I never signed a paper stating I would pay any of their additional fees and it was a mistake on my banks behalf. My bank however is not going to refund me money for another company trying to tack on fees. My husband tried to speak to XXXX about this and even explained we can send a copy of our bank statement indicating that this was not our fault. She was very rude and told him he needed to pay the full amount then asked when he would like to do that. When he answered that he was n't sure now that they are tacking on fees that we never agreed to she then became irate and increasingly rude and told him that she would be making sure the credit bureau know that this was a refusal to pay issue and that she would make sure it would XXXX his credit. He then tried to get her manager on the phone of which she then claimed she was the supervisor and he could not speak to anyone else. He again tried to get her superior on the phone but she refused. We know she is not the head person there so there is someone else she could have allowed us to speak to however she in turn just kept telling my husband that he needed to pay their new amount and that by not doing so she was going to make sure it ruins his credit, hanging up on him when he said no again. When he called back she then refused to speak to him saying that he was the one with the " filthy mouth '' yelling at her and hung up on him again! We are happy to pay the amount of our original bill but not a penny more to a company that is obviously just out to harass and bully people. Had she been a little more respectful and empathetic we might have actually paid the fee and everyone would be continuing on without any issue. Instead she feels the need to belittle and threaten us so I will make it a point to file a complaint with every available agency that handles these matters as well as speak to my lawyer about any and all action that can be taken against the company and even XXXX personally! NO ONE deserves to be treated like this. 

The original letter sent to give them permission to pull the money from the account and to agree to their fees is attached. This form was never signed or sent back to J.R Brothers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation