Consumer complaint received 2021-12-05
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Credit Counsel, Inc. (CO)

Below please find a day by day, item by item detail of my complaint against XXXXXXXX XXXX  : Wed XXXX XXXX- I was informed by my eye specialist that I required emergency retina XXXX the following day. I was also informed that my recovery would require me laying face down XXXX for 5 days, allowing for a short XXXX minute break each hour. To accommodate this requirement, I was referred to XXXX XXXX  for medical equipment rental. 

I phoned the company that afternoon at XXXX to order the rental. I was told the price would be {$120.00} for a week rental, but that it would not be delivered until Friday XX/XX/XXXX. I hesitated to place the order since I would only have use of the equipment for XXXX of the XXXX nights I would need it, but decided to go ahead and place the order. I was informed that I would receive a confirmation email, which never occurred. 

Thu XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX was performed and I was sent home with a specialized foam pillow that accommodated the face down positioning, although with much discomfort. 

Fri XX/XX/XXXX- I checked my front porch nearly every hour or two until going to bed around XXXX p.m., but the equipment was never delivered. 

Sat XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX equipment was delivered this morning, but now that I only had XXXX days of usage left, I called the company to let them know it was delivered a day late to see what they might be able to do for me. I spoke to XXXX who stated that they did not guarantee deliveries and their policy was absolutely no refunds. I asked to speak to a manager, but was told I would need to call back the upcoming week, as no managers were available. 

My family member who was assisting in my care, opened the box to see what the equipment was like, as I had just spent two miserable nights not being able to sleep comfortably, and thought I would see how much difference it made in comfort not only for the nighttime, but accommodating a somewhat upright position during the day to facilitate reading. I also needed to retrieve the return address label that was inside the box. Upon removing the equipment from the box, it was immediately noticed that one of the knobs used to adjust the equipment to my body frame was broken and unusable. Please note there was no bubble wrap or other protective materials in the box. In addition, the " instructions '' that came with the unit were illegible photocopies, with nearly blacked out diagrams. There was no identifying information for all the different adjustment points ( such as numbering the adjustment unit along with a corresponding number in the diagrams, which again were almost blacked out and illegible ). Between the broken knob which prohibited adjusting the equipment properly to fit me, and not having adequate instructions, we determined I would not be able to use the equipment at all. 

Since the customer rep at XXXX XXXX had not been helpful on the earlier call, I submitted a dispute with my credit card company and received a temporary credit. 

Tue XX/XX/XXXX - XXXX phoned the company back and asked to speak to a manager. XXXX answered again and said she could help me, even though she had told me on Saturday she was not a manager. I again asked to speak to a manager and was transferred to XXXX. I told her about the late delivery, broken nut, illegible instructions and the fact that I had never received an email confirmation when I submitted the order. She insisted that they had proof of delivery for Friday, but when I asked for her to email me a copy of that, it never came. I asked for her to send me the confirmation email which she also insisted had been sent, as I wanted to see the day and time it was sent. Again, this was never provided to me. She did send me a rental agreement, which of course I had not received prior to this, and had never signed. I requested a refund since I was unable to adequately use the equipment, but was told the owner was the only person who could approve that, and that he was unavailable. I asked for his name and contact information but she refused to supply that. I asked for her to provide my contact information to the owner for when he was available, but never heard from him. After the end of our conversation I sent an email with photos of the broken nut, illegible instructions, and again asked that the owner contact me at the phone # I provided. Again, I never heard from him. 

Thu XX/XX/XXXX- as instructed in the box 's paperwork, I called once again and informed XXXX that the equipment would be shipped back on Friday XX/XX/XXXX as required. 

Fri XX/XX/XXXX - Unit was shipped back via XXXX label provided by company. 

Thu XX/XX/XXXX- I received an email from the company with an invoice dated XX/XX/21 for the {$120.00}, along with an additional {$30.00} Administration fee, line item dated XX/XX/21. No mention of any kind of Administration fee is included in the rental agreement. 

Mon XX/XX/XXXX- I updated my dispute with my credit card company to add the issues with not receiving proof of XXXX delivery date, receiving unsigned rental agreement, {$30.00} Admin fee and the owner not being accessible. 

Fri XX/XX/XXXX - Received collection letter dated XX/XX/21 for {$170.00} from Credit Counsel , IncXXXX No documentation was included to explain how the original amount went from {$120.00}, to {$150.00} to {$170.00}. I advised my credit card company of this and was told they had not yet received a response from the company regarding the dispute, but that they have until XX/XX/21 to do so. The collection letter states I have 30 days to respond, however I would like guidance if possible on what I should or should not do with them. 

Thank you for your assistance,