Consumer complaint received 2024-01-01
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: Halsted Financial Services, LLC. (MN)

I am having issues in Minnesota with a debt collection company engaging in harassment and abusive, false and misleading, debt collection practices. 
The alleged debt has been sold by the XXXX XXXX XXXX the original creditor, and initially arose out of an alleged unpaid credit card balance. 
The purported subsequent owner of the credit card debt, XXXX XXXX XXXX contracted with a third party company Halsted Financial Services , LLC to collect the alleged debt. 

After numerous text messages, emails, and phone calls from Halsted Financial Services LLC, I reached out in an attempt to obtain documentation to verify the debt after I was still not provided with documentation following my dispute via the credit bureaus. 
I also wanted to clarify the terms of a payment plan offered on the online payment portal by the third party collections agency. 

According to the online account portal offer, the settlement of the debt could be made in two payments, with an additional offer of 50 % off on the first payment, applicable for first time customers only. 

In my case specifically for the original balance of {$480.00}, an initial 30 % off discounted settlement price of {$340.00} was offered with an option to pay in 2 installments {$170.00} each. 

As a first time customer, I was additionally offered 50 % off on the first payment which the account portal disclosed to be {$85.00}. This was applicable only for payments made in more than one installment. The website noted that for the plan to pay in two installments, the second payment would be charged one month after the first payment of {$85.00} ( 50 % off {$170.00} ). This additional offer required me to accept or decline the offer otherwise, there was not going to be 50 % off on the first payment and it would have just been {$170.00} in two payments installments totaling {$340.00}. 

After accepting the additional offer, the total amount required to settle the account in 2 payments installments should be {$250.00} ( {$85.00} + {$170.00} ). 

While on the first phone call, the representative I spoke to consulted with a supervisor on the line in a language other than English after I made my request. 

The supervisor did not provide documentation and then proceeded to reference a payment plan that was not present on the online account portal and denied the existence of the offer I was given on the online portal and failed to explain further. 

After requesting documentation again, the supervisor abruptly hung up on me.

Right after, Halsted Financial sent me an email stating that they are not obligated to extend their offer after XX/XX/2024. 

I emailed Halsted Financial a notice of FDCPA violations to both email addresses they have used to contact me and the email address disclosed on their website, requesting that they promptly address the matter and made another request for documentation for the debt and the payment plan, before making a second call and speaking with a different supervisor. 

I asked for the second supervisor to address my concerns stated in the email I sent 3 times to the multiple email addresses used by the agency. 

The second supervisor said the department that had the authority to access emails had left for the day and then also refused to provide any documentation of the payment plan and insisted that the payment plan required three payments for a total of {$340.00} ( {$85.00} + {$170.00} + {$85.00} ), which was not disclosed as such on the various options given through the online offer and was contradictory to the offer of two payments. I informed the supervisor again that I had selected the 2 payment option and there was nothing on the webpage that noted a third payment. 

After requesting documentation to validate the debt once again as well as documentation supporting and outlining the different payment plan that was referenced, the second supervisor required that I commit to the payment plan before he would be able to provide me with any information I requested and informed me that there was no possible way for me to obtain any of my requested documents until I entered my payment method information and confirmed the offer. 

I informed him I had already accepted the offer online. I expressed my concern it wouldnt be an informed decision for me to make the decision that appeared to be committing to a payment plan without having fully understood the relevant and verified details about the alleged debt, and the payment plan, as the one that was described by him which included 3 payment installments not 2 as offered on my account portal. 

He explained that I needed to actually confirm the offer ( which required my payment method information ) and again assured me that this was the only way to be able to obtain information I requested and that he was trying to tell me how this actually works and that I should let him know as soon as I confirmed the offer so he can initiate an email with the information I requested. 

He then sent me an email verifying an agreement of the payment plan authorized on the debt which also disclosed a different payment plan than what was offered and selected. This is a complete fraudulent misrepresentation of what I consistently requested over the phone and email, which was documentation verifying the debt and outlining the supervisorss referenced payment plan that I could not see on my account portal.