Consumer complaint received 2021-02-08
Product: Debt collection — Medical debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was already discharged in bankruptcy and is no longer owed
Company: WAKEFIELD & ASSOCIATES, INC. (TN)

This complaint is about 2 separate accounts turned over to collections to Wakefield and Associates. 

1st account owned by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX on a gas bill that was charged off in chapter XXXX bankruptcy via XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX complaint will be filed on XXXX XXXX separately ]. The discharge date was XX/XX/XXXX. In XXXX XXXX XXXX reported the bill to all 3 credit reporting agencies as default and owing. My chapter XXXX attorney sent XXXX XXXX and the 3 reporting agencies a letter demanding they stop collections of the debt and /or reporting the debt as owing and a remedy was to sue for violating bankruptcy rules. It was removed from my credit report soon after. In XX/XX/XXXX Wakefield and Associates reported the same account to all 3 credit bureaus one month before the debt would be time-barred. I contacted Wakefield who would not remove the debt reporting and contacted XXXX XXXX who stated they were not aware of bankruptcy even though my attorney send them a registered letter in XXXX and XXXX XXXX and had no intentions of removing a debt I owed for. The first contact with Wakefield and associateXXXX ended when the agent started screaming and mocking me repeating everything I said in a overexaggerated southern slang and kept talking over me getting louder and louder to repeat everything I said in a mocking manner until she finally just started making loud interruptive noises with her voice that were just made up sounds and not words. I hung up. I was later contacted by a male agent who was from that point my contact afterward but was no help in resolving the wrongful reporting his company had made to the 3 reporting bureaus. I contacted 2 of the reporting bureaus and pointed out it was a debt discharged in bankruptcy and they had to pull it once before after being notified by my attorney reporting it was an attempt to collect a debt that was barred by a federal injunction from collection attempts. The debt was pull down by both agencies immediately and the other by the next day before noon. The debt shown as owing was removed by the reporting bureaus not Wakefield and Associates or XXXX XXXX. 

The 2nd instance took place in XXXX in XXXX. Wakefield and Associates were contracted to collect a debt for XXXX  XXXX XXXX which was put into collections 2 to 3 months after an emergency room visit that leads to an overnight stay. I am uninsured. I had made 3 payments toward the outstanding balance. In late XXXX the debt disappeared from all 3 credit reports by the 3 bureaus. I received a letter in XX/XX/XXXX that XXXX, XXXX had taken over the account for the XXXX  XXXX XXXX [ a separate complaint will be filed against XXXX  XXXX and XXXX, XXXX for unauthorized use of a bank card, harassment, and misrepresentation ]. In XX/XX/XXXX Wakefield and Associates reported the debt with all 3 reporting bureaus as new debt, age 2 months. The date of the original service was XX/XX/XXXX, and put into collections. by XX/XX/XXXX. This affects my credit score by the date change to appear as new debt. I have spoken with XXXX  XXXX and with XXXX, XXXX both have confirmed XXXX, XXXX has the collections and Wakefield does not have the rights to collect the debt. They also reported the amount wrong after making payments and after several phone calls, the correct amount was eventually corrected. But XXXX  XXXX refused to contact Wakefield to correct the status of the account So there are 2 collections agencies attempting to collect the same debt.