Consumer complaint received 2018-03-06
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: ARS National Services, Inc. (NC)

I received a XXXX XXXX letter from ARS in California in XX/XX/XXXX. The letter stated XXXX XXXX had turned over my account for collection in the amount of {$14000.00} which I owed to XXXX XXXX. I contacted ARS and asked why they had my account I had been paying my account.I was told they received the account from XXXX XXXX to collect. 

I was shocked it had been turned over for collection. I requested to have 1 payment moved on the account. I was in the process of getting a equity line on my home to pay off the account to XXXX XXXX. I was not told it was going to collection. I thought my payment would be moved and it was handled. 

I was told by XXXX XXXX I needed to pay ARS they no longer had the account. I verified the amount and told them the closing attorney was sending a check from the trust account to pay off the loan. I confirmed the amount and requested them to send me a receipt showing the account was paid and closed. I asked to pay XXXX XXXX direct and I was told to pay ARS and they would send the funds. I confirmed all these details XX/XX/XXXX and they agreed to furnish me a payoff letter and the amount. 

I contacted ARS on XX/XX/ and spoke with XXXX and confirmed the amount ( XXXX ) according to their letter and confirmed this would clear the account with XXXX XXXX and I would get my letter, she agreed and confirmed the details. I was told it would take 5-6 days for the funds to clear and post to my account.I should call back. 

I called back XX/XX/XXXXand was told it had been paid and XXXX XXXX would forward my letter and show the account paid. 

I called XXXX XXXX back in mid XX/XX/XXXX and they said " yes '' it's paid and they were working on updating my account and they would mail my payoff letter. 

I called again onXX/XX/XXXX @ XXXX and spoke to XXXX XXXX He was very nice and said he saw it was paid and would need a supervisor to help. I was on hold for a very long time, over XXXX minutes. He keep coming back and apologized for the wait and said he needed a supervisor to adjust the account. Finally, he came back and stated that it was paid off. Then he informed me I owed another {$500.00} because of additional interest. I was very upset at this point! I explained the whole process and that I had follow their instructions to the letter, according to ARS and XXXX XXXX. I stated that I tried my best to work with them and they did not meet the agreement we had. I explained you can't accept my payoff and after the fact, decide you want to continue charging interest on a closed account. He put me on hold again. Then he lost the call. They didn't reach out to me again or call. 

If this wasn't enough, they reported my account 30 days late after we had spoken and worked out the payoff! 

I had my account for XXXX years with them and was never late. They sent it to collections without notice, accepted my payoff, refused to clear my account, added XXXX and showed a 30 day late ... ..This is not how you do business. I told them I would not pay the additional XXXX they wanted to charge. 

The account has been paid off. I want no further dealings with either company. All I want is my letter showing paid and the 30 day late removed. It should have never been entered. 

I hope this can be resolved with your agency. I decided to contact you instead of posting reviews of how poorly these two companies handled this situation. 

Thank you.