Consumer complaint received 2022-05-20
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action — Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged
Company: WAKEFIELD & ASSOCIATES, INC. (MO)

In approximately XXXX of 2020 Wakefield and Associates acquired multiple accounts they claim I am liable for. Before making contact with me they furnished information about said accounts some of which was incorrect to XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and possibly other consumer reporting agencies. Upon notice of the change to my credit reports I contacted them to inquire about an address they could receive certified mail at. The agents I spoke with refused to provide me any information without first validating my identity. They would then only provide me with a XXXX XXXX XXXX to receive mail at which can not receive certified mail, and they also refused to provide me with the name of the agency they requested a consumer report about me from in order to dispute the incorrect personal information they have reported to the 3 above mentioned credit reporting agencies. As such they are in violation of multiple statutes referring to fair credit reporting laws 1 ) failure to notify a consumer that a report was requested within 48 hours and 2 ) providing the consumer with information about their rights under such and 3 ) certifying to the 3 above mentioned consumer credit reporting agencies that they will remain in compliance and adhere to protecting and informing the consumer of their rights, and 4 ) furnishing inaccurate information as such. When I was met with a wall through them I tried calling again, I had to call to 4 different locations around the country and speak to 7 different people in the same day because they started claiming they had additional accounts other than what was reported and that I had to call a different office to even get the account number in order to mail them a request for verification. At said time their representative told me that if I was going to be that way in reference to my requests in writing they could just wait and continue to damage my credit and that they had additional accounts to report to motivate me to pay, and approximately 6 days after that phone call they did report more accounts to XXXX XXXX, and XXXX again all with incorrect personal information that I can not dispute from my reports because this agency continues to certify it as accurate and this is leaving me vulnerable to potential identity theft by not being able to resolve at least that part of the matter. Regardless I have still attempted to reach them via writing multiple times in order to even verify the authenticity of said debt they claim I owe. They have never provided me with my request which they are obligated to do under law within a legally prescribed period of time and have said they never received it. Which again goes back to the issue with refusal to provide an address for certified mail that can be certified as officially delivered with a company signature. I believe they are doing this as a common stall tactic that unethical debt collection agencies typically use because they are also claiming interest added to these accounts and won't verify them for me in writing and they claim these are medical debts. I have contacted all of the medical facilities I have ever been treated at and none of them allow for interest to be added or late fees in any of their contract, as such this would again be another violation of fair debt collection laws and I want them to bare in mind I do have recorded phone calls of each interaction as well as proof I sent my mail when I say I did in my records and that each substantiated violation can and will result in a XXXX  judgment per violation as well as legal costs and potential punitive damages and that I have retained legal counsel for all business matters currently being directed at me.