Consumer complaint received 2020-01-11
Company: FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC.
State: FL
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged

Complaint:
I ( XXXX XXXX ) am urgently seeking the assistance of the CFPB to help resolve a business dispute with a debt collector/collection agency called Fair Collections and Outsourcing ( FCO ), located at XXXX XXXX XXXX, # XXXX, XXXX, MD XXXX. They were hired by my prior lease mgmt company " XXXX XXXX '' ; whom I had entered into a repayment agreement with along with FCO after voluntary ending my lease 5 months earlier than scheduled. 

However, after collecting over {$700.00} in scheduled payments, FCO decided to return over {$600.00} in check payments that were being mailed and instead escalate the debt and report to the credit bureaus in violation of the repayment agreement and has thus caused irreparable harm to my credit and impacted my ability to secure credit. 

Background : On or about XX/XX/XXXX, I, XXXX XXXX, referred to as the consumer/customer entered into a mutually agreed re-payment agreement with the collection agency ( FCO ) to repay the amount totaling {$2300.00}, over a period of 25 payments of a minimum of $ 100  monthly as exhibited in " Exhibit 1 ''. The original debt was generated when the consumer ( XXXX XXXX ) terminated a residential lease 5 months prior to its scheduled end date. The consumer ( XXXX XXXX ) proceeded to honor the re-payment agreement with XXXX XXXX and FCO and effected monthly payments over several months totaling {$700.00}, which the original creditor ( XXXX XXXX ) and collection agency ( FCO ) both acknowledged and processed as evidenced in the debt validation letter " Exhibit 2 '' dated XX/XX/XXXX which showed a remaining balance as of XX/XX/XXXX of {$1700.00}. 

On or around XXXX of XXXX, the consumer XXXX XXXX XXXX ) noticed that check payments were suddenly being returned by the debt collector and learned shortly thereafter that the creditor would no longer accept payments in accordance with the prior mutual agreement, and was now seeking repayment in lumpsum. 

The consumer was shocked to learn this and reached out to the original creditor 's XXXX XXXX office at XXXX, located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, FL XXXX to enquire about the original repayment agreement and was informed to just continue sending payments as i had been doing previously to " XXXX XXXX '' and they would forward to the new creditor ( FCO ). The consumer proceeded to continue to submit check payments from such time totaling a total of approx {$1300.00} in submitted payments to date as evidenced in " Exhibit 3 ''. Many of the checks were cashed by XXXX XXXX and FCO and several were not deposited and instead returned to the consumer seeking full payment. Copies of some of the subsequent refused payments which were not cashed and returned to the consumer can be seen as evidenced in " Exhibit 4 ''. 

Many of the subsequent check payments from XX/XX/XXXX through XX/XX/XXXX, were refused by FCO and the checks were returned to the consumer. 
Furthermore, the creditor ( FCO ) proceeded to escalate and report the entire remaining debt to the credit reporting bureaus as a " delinquent collections account '' ( Exhibit 5 ) which has subsequently reduced the consumers ' ( XXXX XXXX ) credit score & irreparably harmed his credit rating. 

The consumer ( XXXX XXXX ) views the creditors refusal to honor the original payment agreement dated XX/XX/XXXX as a breach of mutual agreement on their part and the further escalation and negative reporting to the credit reporting bureaus as a " capricious '' and retaliatory action and further failure of FCO to negotiate & conduct business in good faith. 

Additionally, the actions by the collection agency ( FCO ) in escalating this collection activity and reporting of a collections account on the consumers credit report has caused irreparable harm to the consumer 's credit rating status, credit score and resulted in financial injury/harm as a result of his inability to now secure credit on good terms. 
The consumer believes that the evidence provided here strongly proves that the consumer indeed attempted to honor the re-payment agreement and the debt collector instead chose to violate the terms of the agreement by returning checks which the consumer had already allotted for payment and escalated the debt which has harmed the consumer.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation