Consumer complaint received 2024-04-10
Product: Debt collection — Rental debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Rowland Avenue Management, Inc. A/KA Columbia Debt Recovery, LLC d/b/a Genesis (CA)

Back on XXXX of this year I was preparing to try and obtain a loan with a bank, so I did what I was supposed to and checked my credit to make sure everything was in order. I checked on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX, and I saw a new collection appeared on my credit report for an apartment complex I lived in years ago. They were the XXXX XXXX 

I knew I left the apartment complex in good standing as I paid ALL my rent on time, and I left when I was supposed to. I also left the apartment complex spic and span. This isn't just me saying this to try and improve my position against the apartment complex and the collector. I have actual proof. I have a timestamped video of my last day in the apartment. This video shows every room, every wall, the carpets, every sink, countertops, shower and tub, windows, cabinets, fridge and stove. The place was left Immaculate and without any damage. Not to mention it was very clean and smelled nice as the carpet was shampooed 2 or 3 days before I moved out. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called the collection agency Genesis Credit Management to figure out why they were saying I owed money. About four years ago, I had just spent over a year working with a company to help me fix my credit as best as possible as well as educate me on how to manage and maintain my credit permanently. To this day I have taken these lessons to heart, and I wasn't going to let somebody just tarnish the credit worthiness I have worked so hard to achieve without a good reason. In that conversation I spoke with an XXXX XXXX. XXXX informed me that I was being charged {$490.00} for carpet, {$170.00} for cleaning, {$300.00} for paint, and {$370.00} for utilities. I was so upset at this conversation that I called the company who had assisted me with restoring my credit to help me with this situation as I knew that I wasn't going to be able to talk to the collector immediately without losing my temper. 

I wrote up a detailed dispute and sent a copy of it along with the video to my rep so he could initiate a formal dispute on my behalf to Genesis Credit Management. He did so, and I will attach the proof of it to you as evidence. I will try to upload the video as well, but I don't know if it's too large to send. At the very least, I'll show you a picture of the time stamp of the video which is XX/XX/XXXX. That was my last day at the apartment complex, and it was 5 days before I was supposed to move out. It is also 4 days before the apartment complex claimed they did a walkthrough of the apartment complex. This dispute was sent to Genesis on XX/XX/XXXX. In the meantime, I waited and assumed this was a sure thing as there is no way you could trump a timestamped video showing the condition of the property as being immaculate. I then tried obtaining a loan through XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX and was denied because of this collection. 

Because I hadn't heard anything from my rep nor Genesis in several weeks, and because I was becoming impatient at this entire situation, I decided to call Genesis again on XX/XX/XXXX. Since this dispute is now becoming long, I will try to shorten what occurred on that day and why I am filing this complaint. 

I first spoke to a XXXX. He said my dispute was still in a compliance status. He also said the video didn't matter and that it could be my neighbor 's video for all he knows. He then insinuated this was my fault anyways for not being present at my walkthrough on the XXXX of XXXX of XXXX. I let him know I informed the apartment complex management well in advance what day I was moving out as I obtained a new job in XXXX which was XXXX miles away and I had to secure my new apartment complex not to mention show up at my new job. I also asked if I could get a credit for the days I wasn't going to stay at the complex. The management stated they couldn't do a credit and they also couldn't do walkthrough on that day and the soonest they could get to it was the XXXX. That isn't my fault. At the end of the day, I gave the management a proper move out notice, I communicated clearly as to when I was moving out and asked for a walkthrough for said date, and I left the place very clean and undamaged. XXXX became very pompous and said in an angry tone " you can pay this if I wanted to or not. '' That's when I told him I could also file this very complaint if I wanted to, and he said to do it. I then asked for his supervisor. 

I was transferred to a XXXX who said he was a senior representative. I asked if he was a supervisor and XXXX said yes. I explained what I went through with XXXX, so XXXX apologized to me and tried to help me, but then the downward spiral of no assistance continued. It got even worse, actually. XXXX repeated that because I wasn't at the walkthrough, that it was my fault that the apartment complex is trying to charge me these fraudulent charges. Please keep in mind that regardless of when the walkthrough was made, and whether I was present for it or not, or the fact that the walkthrough was purposefully done on the XXXX instead of the XXXX which was the day I had to move out, none of that changes the fact that the place was left clean and immaculate, and I have the proof that their walkthrough is phony. To state it's my fault that an apartment complex lied in the walkthrough is my fault just showed me what type of collector I was dealing with. 

I explained the same to XXXX that I did to XXXX saying I requested an inspection on the XXXX, and it's not my fault the management chose not to do it on that day even though they knew the situation and were notified well in advance. He agreed it wasn't my fault, but then said it was. He even went as far as to say things like video can be modified or edited and therefore, they can't accept it as evidence or proof of anything. Do you realize how crazy that sounds? A timestamped video can be modified or tampered with, so they can't accept it as evidence, but a piece of paper with handwritten notes and numbers is 100 % legitimate and accurate? Are you serious? He even went as far as to say when I questioned him about the craziness of his previous statement that he has to accept whatever his client sends him as accurate unless I can provide him proof that it's false. Again, are you serious? When I started raising my voice because I was clearly being " handled '' he even went as far as to say that he didn't want this conversation to degenerate like my conversation with previous representatives and that he was being " pleasant. '' His audacity just wouldn't stop. 

I pointed out to him that he was being ridiculous, and his answers were nonsensical. For starters, he is the collector, and his company is the one damaging my credit report and not his client. His company is bound by Federal collection laws, and not his client. Although it can be argued that his client can be too since this is California, but that's beside the point. I told him that it's his collection agency 's decision whether to accept something as credible proof against an erroneous collection and not his client 's. I then pointed out to him that his statement of him being pleasant was absurd. Just because he was speaking to me in a calm tone does not mean he was being pleasant. The fact that he claims he has to accept his client 's documents as proof unless I can provide other proof that his client 's documents are not accurate is pointless if he is arbitrarily choosing to ignore irrefutable proof with the pretense that it can be modified or altered. By that logic, anything can be modified or altered. I will simply point out that it is much harder to modify or alter video than it is a piece of paper. 

Things just got worse from there. XXXX said that every time a phone call on this matter is made, his client gets another 30 days to complete their investigation. He said things like his company is legally obligated to credit report which is also not true. Credit reporting is a privilege which companies have to pay for, and it is not a right nor an obligation. He said things like I have a gripe against the apartment complex and not his collection agency which again isn't true. I may not have had a gripe with them at first, but because of how they are handling this dispute, how they are lying and giving me many false statements, how they are ignoring my proof that their collection is fraud, and how they are trying to claim they are blameless in anything because this is " their client 's doing '' is more than enough reasons to have a gripe against Genesis Credit Management and their collectors. But again, this gets worse. 

Near the end of the conversation, XXXX showed his true collector colors. Instead of helping me with this situation and removing this from my credit report because he had received irrefutable proof that the condition of the apartment when I moved out was immaculate and therefore the paint, carpet, and cleaning charges were all bogus which in turn makes this collection bogus, he said if I wanted to, I could pay half of this collection and they would close it out. Because of course he did. I then asked him out of curiosity that if I paid him half of this collection if he would remove this from my credit report once and for all. XXXX hesitated, but then he said " why not? I could do that for you. '' I then told him I may actually consider that, but I would need 24 hours to think it over as at this point in time I was seriously frustrated, and I wasn't going to make a decision on a whim. XXXX decided to show his collector colors once again. XXXX said, " I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this deal expires at the end of this day. '' Keep in mind it was already almost XXXX XXXX on a Friday on the last working day of XXXX. At this point I knew XXXX was XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  and I told him I was done with this conversation and hung up. It's been about two weeks since that conversation and the collection is still on my credit report. 

I have not received any e-mails, phone calls, letters, or any other response from Genesis Credit Management regarding my dispute and it has been over 30 days. The collection is still on my credit report, and I am now fed up with this collection agency. I am strongly considering a small claims suit as I have a feeling Genesis won't care about this complaint either based on the way all three of it's representatives I have spoken with have acted towards me. I would still like you, the C.F.P.B., to know of what Genesis Credit Management is doing and how it's behaving so you can enforce rules and regulations against them if necessary. In the meantime, I can only hope this complaint will get them to remove this fraudulent debt from my credit report since they have received proof that the walkthrough and breakdown charges of my move out are phony and against the law.