Consumer complaint received 2019-02-23
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Diversified Consultants, Inc. (FL)

I setup XXXX XXXX internet service in my apartment. XXXX was continually unable to deliver the internet speed or connectivity that I had paid for by their own " Speed Test '' measurement metric. Over the course of the 2 months that I had XXXX, I logged over 17 calls to customer service, where their representatives both verified and logged that my speed was, at times, 1/10th of what I was paying for. I then proceeded to upgrade my package in an effort to get even the most limited internet service that I needed ; it did not work. XXXX sent 2 techs to my home, charged me for both, and I subsequently logged 7 more calls where the techs verified that my internet speed was meaningfully below what contracted speeds. After over 20 calls, 2 months and 2 tech visits, I informed XXXX that I would be cancelling my internet service due to their continued and verified inability ( by their own metric ) to deliver the internet speed for which we had contracted and I had paid. XXXX refused to waive their {$150.00} termination fee, despite clearly being unable to provide the service after having been given 40+ opportunities and still charging me for it. I refused to pay this, as XXXX had clearly not been able to hold up their side of the contract for which they were charging me to break. 

In early XXXX, I proceeded to file a Better Business Bureau complaint against the Company. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was contacted by a representative of their Company via phone and email who identified themselves as a manager. After speaking with her, she again refused to waive the cancellation fee for their services. Frustrated, and having logged countless hours on the phone with their XXXX, I agreed to pay the settlement amount that she offered me to clear the bill from my records, which was {$74.00} on an entire bill that they were trying to collect of {$190.00}. I received a confirmation from their Company for this one-time payment on XX/XX/XXXX. 

In early XXXX, I noticed that my credit report score had dropped from XXXX to XXXX due to my first an only attempt by a debt collector to report a debt. I learned that a Company called Diversified Consultants IN, in XXXX, FL, d/b/a, DCI, had been engaged by XXXX to collect the entire sum of this debt, {$190.00}, on XX/XX/XXXX. Therefore, XXXX negotiated a settlement with me, accepted payment for the settlement, but had already referred the debt for collection to DCI. 

I filed a dispute with XXXX where I uploaded documentation showing that I had complained to the XXXX XXXX XXXX, been contacted by the Company via email, and submitted a one-time settlement payment. XXXX  then contacted DCI ( not XXXX ), leading them to issue a resolution confirming that the debt exists on XX/XX/XXXX and subtracting the {$74.00}, the amount of the entire settlement that was negotiated with XXXX, from the {$190.00}, the original fraudulent amount that XXXX had tried to collect from me. 

I am in a position where I do not know who to turn to about this. I monitor my credit health weekly. I have never missed a payment for anything. I have gone through all of the proper channels but XXXX continues to employ fraudulent behavior and not be held accountable. Even if I were to pay the balance of the outstanding amount with XXXX, which would be a completely fraudulent amount being collected at this point given my settlement with XXXX, I would still have a derogatory collections mark on my credit report, which is incorrect.