Consumer complaint received 2019-10-30
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Diversified Consultants, Inc. (PA)

In XXXX of XXXX, I opened an account for internet services with XXXX XXXX at my then current address. I did not purchase or rent or take delivery of any XXXX equipment at that time, or at any time during the time I lived at that address. As an XXXX professional, I had my own internet equipment available, and my bills also included a line item indicating that there was {$0.00} ( zero dollar and zero cent ) charge each month for customer owned equipment. This is the normal billing practice with XXXX XXXX. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I closed that residential account with XXXX XXXX, paid my final bill, and disconnected service. There was no contract at that time ; I was paying month to month, and therefore there were no disconnect fees or contract breaking fees, as there was no term agreement at the time. I also had no equipment to return, as I never had possession of any XXXX XXXX   equipment, and had used my own equipment for the entire period of service with XXXX. 

In XXXX of XXXX, I recieved the first notice that my old account had been placed into collections for unreturned equipment, and saw the account on my credit report. I called XXXX, and they stated that the account had been sent to collections and there was nothing they could do about it at this point. After being transferred to every sales, service, billing, finance, and collections department within XXXX, I was told I would recieve a call back within 48 business hours. 

Since that time, I have spent approximately an hour every single week on the phone with XXXX attempting to get XXXX to resolve this issue. As stated, I never had XXXX equipment, never used it, never recieved it, it was never shipped to me, and it was never billed to me that I am aware of. XXXX has, on many of these calls, acknowleged this fact, and identified the customer owned equipment line items on my bills, and have indicated that they would be removing it. 9 months on, and the collection is still on my credit report. 

I have also attempted to speak with the collections agency about the issue ; they have refused to accept any information from me to dispute the chargeoff or to dispute the collection. I have repeatedly offered to send them bills proving that I never even had XXXX equipment, but they have refused to cooperate as well. 

I have been attempting to secure a loan to refinance my credit card debt, or open a card with a balance transfer offer to reduce my interest rates, and have been denied on every credit application I have made since XXXX because of this collection account. Prior to this collection, my credit score was in the high 600 's or low 700 's. After it, my score hasn't risen above XXXX, even though I haven't missed any payments and I haven't had a delinquency or chargeoff or foreclosure or any other form of negative credit action. 

Because of XXXX falsely instituting a collections proceeding aginst me, my credit has been damaged severely, and I have had to continue to pay significantly higher interest rates on credit cards and loans because I have been unable to refinance them, or when I am offered credit, it has been at interest rates double or triple what the rate would be if this false collection were not on my credit report, making it pointless to take the refinance. XXXX and their collections agency ahve refused to remove this false collection from my credit report, and have even falsely told XXXX   XXXX, and XXXX that the collection is valid, which it most certainly is not.