Consumer complaint received 2017-06-12
Product: Debt collection — Auto debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Sarma (LA)

The nature of my compliant is due to a series of false reporting and underhanded tactics  XXXX  have committed over the last  XXXX  or so years which have a negative impact on my financial life. On  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  I contacted  XXXX  because I never received any notices of my account and to discuss a payment plan. A representative in their company told me that the account was no longer in their possession and that if I wanted to make a payment I needed to contact SARMA, a third party collection agency. I got in contact with  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  who was in charge of my file at SARMA and she stated that I owed {$2900.00}. I asked if that was the correct balance because  XXXX  reported {$4100.00} on my credit reports. She stated that the system only reflected the {$2900.00} balance and that if I paid it, it would satisfy the account and considered " Paid in Full ''. After saving enough money I excitedly called SARMA on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  and made a full payment of the {$2900.00} to satisfy the account and on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  I received my " Paid in Full '' with {$0.00} balance due from  XXXX  of SARMA. In the end of  XXXX ,  XXXX  nor SARMA had not updated the account and I submitted a dispute to get the status updated due to my work in the military and the importance of having a clean report as possible. Equifax and Experian notified me that the account was " Settled for Less Than Owed ''. I contacted  XXXX  to receive clarification. They stated that I still owed them money yet my credit report shows a {$0.00} balance and that I " settled '' on the account with SARMA. I told them that I never requested or authorized a settlement with SARMA through voice, letter, nor email and that giving a consumer the wrong pay-off balance is deceptive. Nobody in  XXXX  got in contact with SARMA or vice versa to clarify or verify any information. After speaking to SARMA, they told me that the account is considered " Paid in Full '' still. Neither company however were willing to divulge whether there was an Assignment  of Debt or Purchase of Debt to shine light on this dilemma and to who has ownership of my account  with the authority to report on my credit with what should be the correct status. Because of this inaccurate reporting, my  credit score  took a massive hit and my  XXXX   XXXX  re-investigation with the  XXXX  and  XXXX  came to a screeching halt in spite of me reporting this collection account to them.     This is not the first time however that I have had issues with   XXXX    in regard to this loan. In  XXXX   XXXX , I called  XXXX  to take the vehicle back because the transmission had ceased to function and I did all I could to get it fixed to no avail. The representative whom I spoke with at the time stated for me to make  XXXX  more final payment and that account would be closed after the car had been picked up, which was  XXXX  weeks later, and they would notify me of sale and remaining balance on the car. All the information needed to be gathered first in order to create a payment plan and not pay more than what was left. We mutually agreed to have to car picked up on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  and I signed a " Voluntary Surrender '' document to send back to the bank by the tow man who picked it up.  XXXX  kept reporting late missed payments on my credit report in the months following while remarking that the vehicle was " Involuntarily Repossessed ''. I called after seeing such a mark on my credit, the representative in their "  Asset Recovery ' ' department told me in a demeaning tone that " since the car was in their possession at  XXXX  point is considered an involuntary action ''.     The next instance, again was the fact that my account was in SARMA 's possession.  XXXX  never notified me about this conveyance nor did SARMA contact or mail me any information of this collection until I reached out to them. Again neither company could tell me whether the account was assigned or sold and the credit reporting agencies failed to look into it in accordance to the FCRA Section s 611 and 623, and 15 U.S. Code 1692L.      Attached to this complaint is the following :  1.  The balance sheet via fax, receipt of my payment  XXXX . from  XXXX  of SARMA including the message sent to me.    2b.  " Paid in Full '' letter via email that was attached  XXXX . Confirmation of my payment to SARMA  3 . An archived Equifax report dated  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX  showing the " Involuntary Repossession '' remark and the additional late payments from  XXXX   XXXX  til that month.    XXXX . Lastly is the document I signed reflecting the surrender on  XXXX   XXXX ,  XXXX .     Thank you