Consumer complaint received 2022-07-26
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: Southwest Credit Systems, L.P. (CA)

On XX/XX/22, I downloaded XXXX XXXX on my phone and reviewed the accounts in collections tab which had an account for Southwest Credit Systems, stating the original creditor was XXXX XXXX. I did not recognize the debt and decided to look up XXXX XXXX which led me to call XXXX. I first tried to see if I had possibly, previously set up an online acct and when I tried to do so, it said that there was no recorded account with my email address. 
I proceeded to call XXXX at XXXX to inquire on the account and spoke to a gentleman who tried his very best to assist me in locating the account. I gave him my current and old addresses ( 3 total ) as well as my current email and the only other email I remembered using in the last 10 years. He stated he pulled up an account for one of the addresses I mentioned, but stated the name I gave him was not matching the records. I gave him both my maiden and married name which he stated did not match. I gave him my current cell phone number which I have had for close to 10 years as well as the last land line that I remembered having and none of those triggered a record within their system. He suggested that I answer a security question and I did. The question was what was the name of your elementary school? I gave him my elementary school name and he tried to punch it in as 1 word and again as 2 words and neither worked. I asked if I could give him my social security number and he said they dont work with social security numbers. He apologized for not being able to find my account.

A few days later, on XX/XX/22, I contacted Southwest Credit Systems at XXXX. The first person that answered my call was someone by the name of XXXX XXXX. She asked me for my name and other personal details, looked up my phone number and then asked me to hold. After being on hold, she connected, I was connected to another representative who gave her name. When I kindly asked her if she could repeat then spell her last name, she refused to spell it and said she does not do that and that it is spelled just like it sounds. I told her I was not familiar with the spelling of her name and asked again if she could repeat it just so I could have an accurate record of who I spoke with she again declined to spell it. The name as she repeated it sounded like XXXX or XXXX XXXX or XXXX or XXXX. I then asked her to please repeat the last name until I could get a better idea of how to spell it out and she continued to sarcastically repeat her last name until I again asked if her last name was spelled XXXX and she said no then yes. I gave up on getting a straight answer from her because I felt like she was being disrespectful and didnt give me an alternative to her last name such as maybe a customer service rep number in case she was not supposed to spell out her name. She only informed me that we dont do that. She did not state it was not allowed. 
I proceeded to tell her I needed information on the account that was in collections and that I had called XXXX XXXX Spectrum and that they could not confirm that my personal information was linked to an account. I informed the Southwest Credit representative that I wanted to try and review the information on file because it seems as if the debt was not mine. She pulled up the information on said account and when I asked her the address that this debt was linked to and the time the debt was recorded the address she stated the debt was associated with and the time frame of the debt did not align to the address I was living a, at the time. I asked her for more details, and it seemed to bother her. I told her that it didnt seem to be my debt, and that I wanted details to ensure that it was not a case of identity theft. She ten asked if I wanted to dispute it and I said that all I wanted was to verify the information. I told her that since the debt is only for {$120.00}, I would be willing to go ahead and pay it even if it was not mine, just to expedite the process of getting it off of my credit report. I clarified that I still did not believe the debt was mine, however that I would rather not have to wait therefore I would pay it off if they would agree to remove the collection from my credit report. She asked if I wanted to pay off the debt and I told her that I would first need to know that if paid off it would be deleted from my credit report and she just repeated that it would show as a debt paid off. I then informed her that I was not going to pay the debt off. 
I felt like I was given horrible customer service and I felt like Southwest Credit Systems was rude and disrespectful when all I was trying to do was confirm details that would help clarify if in fact it was my debt or I was a victim of identity theft or possibly a mistake on the creditors part. The representative that would not spell her last name spoke to me like I was ignorant which I do not appreciate. I was willing to pay the debt if I felt confident in the fact that it was in fact my debt. I do not recall owing XXXX XXXX and I dont recall receiving information on the debt or my rights on how to go about disputing it. Southwest Credit Systems did not inform me of how to dispute the debt. As a last resort, I was willing to pay the debt if they agreed to delete it my credit reports, even though I reminded her that it seemed to not be my debt, but she was not willing to work with me. I feel that from the beginning of our conversation the Southwest Credit Systems representative did not treat me with respect and did not willingly give me the information that I needed to resolve my situation. 
I ask that this information be deleted from my credit reports as I feel like I exhausted the attempts to obtain verification on the details of this debt. In doing so, I had to take some time off from work to research, make the calls, and was treated with disrespect by the collection Agency Southwest Credit Systems. I do not feel like the call was productive and instead was made to feel ignorant by Southwest Credit Systems. I do not know what the dispute process entails but I feel uneasy about any further contact with this agency. This should not be the norm and no agency should be allowed to treat callers this way. 
I am not unable to pay my debts and am not unwilling to pay them when I am able to ensure that the debt is in fact mine. I am trying to be financially responsible and in doing so have paid off old debt and have never been treated in such a belittling way by other agencies or creditors.