Consumer complaint received 2024-07-19
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Company: McKenzie Paul & Associates (OK)

XX/XX/XXXX - agreed with XXXX XXXX XXXX field sales rep at my front door to quarterly services, at the rate of {$39.00} each, cancel anytime, no loop holes or extra fees. I agreed to quarterly services at the rate of {$39.00}. No documents were signed. No documents or paperwork was received by me by hand or electronically. 

No communication by email or mail was ever received from XXXX XXXX XXXX identifying a contract between XX/XX/XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I only received treatment services from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I only received treatment three times and my card was charged seven times. No monthly statements, invoices, or communication was sent to me.

After review of these transactions and after further research into the company, it is evident they are predatory and take advantage of consumers. They lie and are deceptive of the services, fees and terms and conditions they actually offer. I was never told about any contract or any cancellation fees. The company 's representatives lie to your face and laugh at you on the phone when you call. They falsely create contracts. 

Therefore, on XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted XXXX XXXX XXXX  and requested they cancel services for my account. 

On, XX/XX/XXXX, I heard back from XXXX XXXX XXXX representative, and was advised that " you have a 1-year agreement and not yet completed '', " and an early termination fee ''. 

I responded to XXXX XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX, and stated, " What 1-year service agreement? I was not told this was a contract or that it has a required service term. That was never expressed or communicated to me. Please cancel. If you are adamant about a cancellation fee, I would like to speak to a supervisor and the representative that signed me up for services at my door. The one year requirement with a cancellation fee was never advised to me.. 

XX/XX/XXXX : XXXX XXXX  responded by text message, We have sent your account over to the retention/cancellation department. He will reach out to you to come to a resolution with you. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call from XXXX XXXX, from XXXX. The male stated he was calling about my request to cancel and stated that I was unable to cancel without avoiding a cancellation fee because I had " signed '' a one year contract. I repeated to him that I never signed a contract and that I was never advised of that information by his representative. I also advised him that I had done further research on their company and it appears this is how they treat consumers and they way of doing business, by lying. The male representative emailed me while on the call a copy of an agreement which clearly and evidently shows is not my signature. I expressed that to him on the call. This is the first time I ever say anything close to that document. At the time of the conversation with the sales representative, there was no distribution of documents, contract or anything. The male representative stated he could not speak to my experience of when I first discussed services with his field sales rep. and he did not want to discuss anything other than, was I going to pay him the cancellation fee over the phone or not. I asked the male representative that I was unsatisfied with his response and desired resolution and that I now requested to speak with the owner of the small business so that I may voice my concerns. The male representative stated to me, twice, " trust me, you do not want to do that '', I am way nicer than him, " trust me you do not want to do that ''. I told the representative that I took his response to me as a threat, that I demanded to speak to the owner of the business and ended the call with him. 

No invoice and no further communicaiton was ever received from XXXX XXXX XXXX  after the call on XX/XX/XXXX. Nothing at all. 

On Friday XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, McKenzie, Paul and Associates contacted my brother who is XXXX military on his personal cell phone, and who resides in North Carolina . I live in Oklahoma. The call was very concerning to my brother, and he was extremely concerned and worried for me. He stated that he believed the call was from an attorney or for a very serious matter. During this time, I was under care the care at the XXXX XXXX  and was unable to return their call.

No correspondence or debt verification letter was ever received from XXXX XXXX XXXX nor McKenzie, Paul and Associates between XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX. 

On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I contacted McKenzie, Paul and Associates by phone, at XXXX, and for the first time, I identified that the alarming reason for the call to my brother in XXXX XXXX military was in regard to a " debt from XXXX XXXX XXXX for {$280.00} and some change, wherein McKenzie, Paul and Associates during the call threated to report negatively to the credit bureaus if I did not settle the debt on the date I called them, XX/XX/XXXX. The female representative who took my call and McKenzie, Paul and Associates, mentioned the owner of the company was willing to not report me to the credit bureaus if a payment was provided to them on the date of my call. My phone call to McKenzie, Paul and Associates was not verified. I was not verified at all, I was simply asked for my first and last name and the entire details of my account with them were disclosed. The female inappropaitely disregarded my communication with her during the call and spoke over me just to state that they would be pursuing payment for XXXX XXXX XXXX. I ended the call. I have received zero notices stating that I am in collections, or that they are attempting to collect a debt from me. McKenzie, Paul and Associates are inappropriately acting and conducting business against many FDCPA guidelines. Below are several, but not all, of my concerns with their practices : Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 804. Acquisition of location information Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall -- ( XXXX ) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer ; 805. Communication in connection with debt collection ( b ) Communication with third parties Except as provided in section 1692b of this title, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, A DEBT COLLECTOR MAY NOT COMMUNICATION, IN CONNECTION WITH THE COLLECTION OF ANY DEBT, WITH ANY PERSON OTHER THAN THE CONSUMER, HIS ATTORNEY, 806. Harassment or abuse A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt.

807. False or misleading representations A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.

Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section : ( 1 ) The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof.

( 2 ) The false representation of -- ( A ) the character, amount, or legal status of any debt; or ( B ) any services rendered or compensation which may be lawfully received by any debt collector for the collection of a debt.

( 3 ) The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney.

( 4 ) The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action. 

( XXXX ) The threat to take any action that can not legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that a sale, referral, or other transfer of any interest in a debt shall cause the consumer to -- ( A ) lose any claim or defense to payment of the debt; or ( B ) become subject to any practice prohibited by this subchapter. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other conduct in order to disgrace the consumer. 

( XXXX ) Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit information which is known or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed. 

( XXXX ) The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval. 

( XXXX ) The use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer. 

( XXXX ) The failure to disclose in the initial written communication with the consumer and, in addition, if the initial communication with the consumer is oral, in that initial oral communication, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose, and the failure to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a formal pleading made in connection with a legal action. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that accounts have been turned over to innocent purchasers for value. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that documents are legal process. 

( XXXX ) The use of any business, company, or organization name other than the true name of the debt collector 's business, company, or organization. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that documents are not legal process forms or do not require action by the consumer. 

( XXXX ) The false representation or implication that a debt collector operates or is employed by a consumer reporting agency as defined by section 1681a ( f ) of this title.

808. Unfair practices A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt.

( 8 ) Using any language or symbol, other than the debt collector 's address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of the mails or by telegram, except that a debt collector may use his business name if such name does not indicate that he is in the debt collection business.

( 8 ) Using any language or symbol, other than the debt collector 's address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of the mails or by telegram, except that a debt collector may use his business name if such name does not indicate that he is in the debt collection business.

813. Civil liability ( a ) Amount of damages Except as otherwise provided by this section, any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this subchapter with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of -- ( 1 ) any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure ; ( 2 ) ( A ) in the case of any action by an individual, such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding {$1000.00} ; or McKenzie, Paul and Associates has been rated extremely poorly by the XXXX and has earned a one star rating. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  is their location. Other consumers have almost identical concerns about their practices as me. None of their XXXX  complaints have been resolved or responded to by McKenzie, Paul and Associates. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX has been rated with an F by the XXXX. They have over 100 complaints, identical to my experience and concerns with them between Texas and Oklahoma. They continue to take advantage of consumers daily. Most of their complaints are unanswered.