Consumer complaint received 2019-11-21
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Performant Financial Corporation (IN)

This complaint is against Premier Credit of North America, LLC ( " Premier '' ), a debt collection firm that collects tax debt on behalf of the Indiana Department of Revenue. Premier has continuously failed to conduct business in a legally compliant manner as required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, among other consumer protection laws. Specifically, Premier engaged in abusive, unfair, and deceptive debt collection practices by failing to confirm the accuracy of the debt I owed ; communicating inaccurate information regarding the debt to me ; providing this inaccurate information to three different financial institutions on two separate occasions ; using this inaccurate information as a basis for repeatedly placing levies on funds held in my bank account for an invalid debt amount ; and causing me financial loss, professional disruption, and emotional distress.

As stated above, Premier is a debt collection firm that collects tax debt on behalf of the Indiana Department of Revenue. In XX/XX/XXXX, I was contacted by Premier about an outstanding tax liability. I entered a voluntary payment plan, which I substantially completed. Under the terms of the agreement, I was to make monthly payments of {$430.00}, with a final payment due of approximately {$390.00}. However, at the end of the agreement, Premier informed me that my account balance was mysteriously increased by several hundred dollars, resulting in a final balance of over {$800.00}. I disputed this and requested documentation in support of the adjusted balance, which Premier failed to provide. 

In XX/XX/XXXX, without verifying the accuracy of the amount I owed and after several attempts to deduct the invalid debt from my bank account through ACH, Premier placed a levy on my bank account in excess of {$800.00}. This invalid hold remained on my account for two months, which resulted in bank fees, multiple returned check charges, and bad standing with my financial institution. I contacted Premier to discuss the issue of the disputed balance, but my attempt to resolve the dispute about the amount owed was unsuccessful. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, Premier issued levy orders to XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX XXXX. Again, my bank account funds were levied for approximately {$800.00}. Again, this was done without first verifying the accuracy of the amount I owed. I contacted Premier to request an explanation of the {$800.00} debt and to request termination of the levy, as I did not agree with the amount. The agent responded to my concerns in a dismissive, rude, and evasive manner, and I was unable to determine the basis for the {$800.00} balance communicated to me.

Since Premier refused to explain the basis for the {$800.00} debt, I contacted the original creditor, the Indiana Department of Revenue, to request the outstanding balance owed on my account. I was informed that the balance was approximately {$390.00}. Upon confirming this, I again contacted Premier to dispute the amount of the debt. After arguing with another agent, I requested to speak with a supervisor. 

The supervisor initially restated what I had been told by the agents - that I owed {$800.00}. When I insisted that this was inaccurate, the supervisor researched my tax liability information during our call and confirmed that the {$800.00} balance that was communicated to me and to my bank was, in fact, inaccurate. 

The fact that the supervisor was able to confirm the correct debt amount within minutes is evidence that minimal effort was required to confirm the accuracy of my debt BEFORE placing a levy on my bank account. Given the serious nature of bank account levies, third-party creditors like Premier MUST, at a minimum, be required to confirm the accuracy of debt before wielding its court-ordered power to deprive people of their property rights.

Premier Credit of North America, LLC 's blatant and repeated violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is especially egregious because it is acting on behalf of a state governmental agency. I would greatly appreciate CFPB 's intervention in sending a clear message to Premier and other creditors that such negligent, deceptive, and unfair handling of consumer accounts is absolutely unacceptable.