Consumer complaint received 2019-11-13
Company: National Credit Systems,Inc.
State: KY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
In XX/XX/XXXX I moved into an apartment at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. It was in the lease that if I moved out before a year there would be x amount of charges to be paid to end the lease dependent upon the date of termination. In XX/XX/XXXX I received an opportunity to move into a much larger home for the same price. I contacted the office and set an appointment to speak with someone about terminating the lease early. We met and agreed upon prorated rent for XX/XX/XXXX plus 2 additional months rent to meet 75 % of the payments agreed in the lease. I purchased a money order for XXXX and agreed to be out by XX/XX/XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX, the locks were changed with a good portion of my belongings still in the apartment. These items were extra clothes, cleaning supplies, food, and home decor. I went to the apartment after hours so I left a voicemail. The message said I would receive a response within 2 business days. I worked the hours that they were open for business. On XX/XX/XXXX, the third business day, I called the office to see what was going on since I had agreed to have my stuff out on the XX/XX/XXXX. The woman said the office manager had to handle it and she was out of the office but she assured me I would get a call by the end of the day. I never did. I called off work for the morning of XX/XX/XXXX to go to the office. The manager was not there again. However the wan who was working said the manager left a message that we had only agreed to be there until XX/XX/XXXX and that we also had to pay the remaining 25 % rent as well as the locksmith fees. I asked for a master 's number or the corporate location information. I was told that information isn't allowed to be given out and the only way to receive my belongings was to pay {$3000.00}. At the time, I had just started a new job a was still settling into my new home. I took the nelomgomgs as a loss since they were necessities and decided to pursue the issue on a corporate level. Calls went unreturned, I was bounced between voicemails, emails, and points of contact that were supposedly in charge of " those issues ''. Eventually, I received a call from a secretary with an out of state zip code that informed me that the debt had been sold to a collection agency and it was out of their hands. National Credit Systems placed a collection account on my credit for {$3300.00} in XX/XX/XXXX. I  contacted the collection agency directly to inform them of the situation. They stated there was nothing that could be done besides paying the balance in full or settling on payments or a different lump sum amount. If o chose the latter there would still be a derogatory mark on my credit on all 3 credit bureaus. I have been disputing this with the collection agency since then to no avail. I have contacted lawyers who said it was civil and I could pay out of pocket to go to court, but that hasn't been something I am able to afford time or money to as of yet. The most recent lawyer directed me to the CFPD to file a complaint on the company as well as the collection agency I'm regards to the false debt and the actions of the company. I strongly believe they treated me the way they did solely due to my age. I was young, naive, and vulnerable and they manipulated this to their benefit. This has caused long term problems for me in many different ways.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation