Consumer complaint received 2021-08-26
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Client Services, Inc. (NC)

I took an unusable XXXX rocker to a furniture company for restoration. It was missing the caning and the finish had weathered away. It was to be a surprise present for my mothers XXXX birthday. This was on XXXX. They required a 50 % down payment to start the work, and the remainder upon delivery. The target date was XXXX. The company owner said they could handle the request, and i called in a credit card payment on XXXX in order for work to commence. By XXXX i had heard nothing from the furniture company regarding the status of the rocker, so i called the company and talked to the same representative with whom i had initially left the rocker. He assured me the rocker was on track and would be ready by the anniversary date. I heard nothing else from the company from that point on, and they missed the target date of XXXX. I called on that date and left a message, but was not called back. A payment to the credit card company was due on XXXX. When i had not received the rocker by this time, nor been supplied any proof that work had been started, i disputed the charge with the credit card company. 52 days transpired from the time i made a down payment to the time i disputed the charge. The next month the charge was still on my card, with still no contact from the furniture company. I disputed the charge, again, but the credit card company would not accept on-line dispute this time. This forced me to call the company, which i did on XXXX. I waited, on hold, for 56 minutes to talk to a representative, and completely explained the situation to her. She advised me to send a secure message thru my on-line account. I advised her that i already had sent a message on XXXX and had gotten no response ( save an automated acknowledgement ). She told me to wait for a response, and be patient since XXXX had become an issue at the time. I went on a XXXX week vacation the first XXXX weeks of XXXX, and was sent a response on XX/XX/XXXX by the credit card company on what they needed. The problem was they didnt send it via secure message, they sent it to my XXXX. They gave me 2 weeks to reply with the info they needed. By the time i got back from vacation, i saw an email saying they had denied my dispute and i owed the money. I went back and found the first email and realized what happened. I still had not heard from the furniture company, at all, and did not have my rocker. I called the credit card company and talked to a representative. While waiting on hold for a supervisor, i was hung up on. 
I filed a XXXX complaint on the furniture company on XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX XXXX. The company did not respond to the XXXX so they closed the case after the required time period. The owner did, however, send me an email saying they wanted to do the rocker for no charge. 
I provided my credit card company with proof of my XXXX complaint and the email response from the business, and they still insisted that i owed the payment and started charging interest on the amount. I refused to pay for services not rendered. I responded to the furniture company, via email, and advised them that they needed to advise the credit card company that i did not owe the debt, as i was not provided the service as agreed upon. 
As it turns out the furniture company never started on the rocker ( which explains why no updates/pictures were ever provided ), despite my putting a down payment on my credit card. The rocker sat in their stock room with no work done. Furthermore, they never contacted the credit card company to let them know the debt wasnt owed. The credit card company wound up charging off the debt and sending to a debt collector. 
I made face-to-face contact this month with the furniture company, and they still had my rocker. No work was ever started on the rocker, and the furniture company could not provide me evidence that the initial down payment had been returned to the credit card company. They have apologized to me, and have agreed to write a letter absolving me of the debt, and agreeing to pay the debt unfairly assigned to me. The problem for me, now, is how to proceed with what the furniture company has agreed to do. 
I have been unfairly treated by the credit card company, who claimed to have done an investigation, but never provided any details about said investigation. I had an impeccable record with this credit card company, with an unblemished payment history and no history of disputes. My XXXX score was in the XXXX range when this began. Due to the misguided actions of the credit card company, my XXXX has dropped below XXXX. I did my due diligence with the credit card company, sending multiple secure messages from my on-line account updating what i had done. Not once did i get a response to these messages ( only automated acknowledgements ). I was disconnected on, twice, when forced to call them, after spending literally hours on the phone between the 2 calls. I work XXXX hour nite shifts and sleep in the day. The credit card company made it extremely laborious and difficult to contact them, and refused to utilize the secure message feature for contact. They have shown no courtesy to the efforts i made to solve this, and ignored my assertions that no work had been proven to be done, as part of the agreement to make a down payment. In addition, they asked for patience in getting a response ( due to covid ), and responded to my initial secure message 4 weeks later. However, they did not extend the same courtesy, giving me only 2 weeks to respond before the denial of my dispute. I was provided no details as to how they came to their conclusion. Now the furniture company has admitted fault and wants to make restitution. I need restitution for the damage to my hard-earned credit. It is disgraceful how i was treated by the credit card company. 
I will include the letter from the furniture company absolving me of this debt. I am also including several secure messages, sent from my on-line account, to support my stance. 
I am including a picture of the rocker, taken this month, showing no work done. They have had my rocker for over a year and a half now. Needless to say, my mother did not get her XXXX birthday present from me, and the credit card company, apparently, could care less.