Consumer complaint received 2024-01-30
Product: Debt collection — Rental debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC. (NY)

This collection account was for 2 months unpaid rent of apartment XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, NYXXXX for the year XXXX. The original lease was from XX/XX/XXXX to XX/XX/XXXX with 2 tenants ( 2 signers ) XXXX XXXX and I. But we moved out and broke the lease in XX/XX/XXXX. First, there is no early termination term in the lease. Second, the landlord never replied to our lease-breaking emails nor contacted us at all. I called the landlord many times but no one picked up the phone, visited their office but it was closed due to pandemic, emailed the manager but never got response. My roommate and I moved out and sent the lease-breaking emails in XX/XX/XXXX and paid the rent until XX/XX/XXXX. The landlord disappeared for 3 years but suddenly Fair Collection & Outsourcing sent us letters in XX/XX/XXXX claiming we owe unpaid rent, also refused to give us the landlord 's contact info. The landlord did not give any unpaid rent notice nor replied to our lease-breaking requests nor contacted us to return the security deposit. 

This debt collector FCO has many violations and unfair practices. 1. In my letter, they didn't include the information that an end date for a 30-day period when I can dispute the debt. 2. During my first call with them, the representative threatened me that he would report me to the credit bureaus. 3. FCO couldn't provide debt verification. I sent the dispute letter and explained we broke the lease but the landlord never replied. FCO only sent an apartment payment history ledger as the verification. No lease, no landlord communication letters. And even this ledger is not trustworthy because the debt manager admitted the landlord 's accounting system had issues during that period in the call on XX/XX/XXXX, moreover, she asked me to give them the payment history. This means that they do not have any real debt verification materials. 4. FCO has discrimination against me. In XX/XX/XXXX, FCO removed my roommate from this account after she disputed via XXXX with the reason that we broke the lease. FCO confirmed lease-breaking was the reason she got removed in her call on XX/XX/XXXX, and my call on XX/XX/XXXX. Then I disputed 3 times through XXXX but they refused to remove me without a reason. In the call on XX/XX/XXXX, the debt manager changed her saying that the reason of deleting my roommate is they got her wrong SSN. And the person who deleted my roommate no longer working there so they can't delete me. Considering FCO correctly sent my roommate letters, verified her identity with SSN in calls, and reported to her credit records, this reason is not persuasive at all and reflects their deceptiveness. If they think we didn't break the lease, they couldn't remove my roommate from this account. If they think we broke the lease, they need to remove both of us. 5. FCO reports inaccurate information. The debt manager admitted this should be a joint account but it appears as individual account on my report. Debt manager said she left a note to the compliance department in XX/XX/XXXX but they haven't fix it after 3 months. 6. FCO fails to conduct an investigation of disputes. During the call on XX/XX/XXXX, the debt manager confirmed landlord 's last communication was on XX/XX/XXXX regarding lease renewal. This means FCO knows about landlord 's violations including security deposit confiscation, failed to make a good-faith effort to fill the vacancy, and ghosted tenants. I told FCO the whole story including landlord 's violations and sent them my lease-breaking proof. They keep making up oxymoron reasons to keep me on this account. For the above reasons, I demand FCO remove this account from my credit reports.