Consumer complaint received 2019-10-16
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Berman & Rabin, P.A. (KY)

XXXX XX/XX/XXXX I received a letter dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX, from debt collector, BERMAN & RABIN , P.A . in XXXX XXXX, KS stating I am " Indebted to XXXX XXXX XXXX ''. It does not have any account number, dates or any other details other than an amount they say I am " indebted ''. ( see attached photo ) The account I assume they are referring to is an old credit card that was actually a XXXX XXXX account. An account which after Months of harassment, then negotiations, I settled, paid as agreed and closed in XX/XX/XXXX- EIGHT YEARS AGO. Also, I worked directly with the head of the entire department at the time, Mr XXXX XXXX, Director of Collections - his number then was XXXX ( no longer in service, he has been promoted ) of XXXX XXXX to negotiate & pay the settlement. I paid it all in one check ( # XXXX ) dated XXXX XX/XX/XXXX & mailed it the same day. 

The XXXX 1099-C XXXX sent me in XXXX STATES : the remaining debt was FORMALLY CANCELLED as of XXXX XX/XX/XXXX. That is from THE ACTUAL 1099-C TAX Document / FORM - not in a letter they sent, but the ACTUAL TAX DOCUMENT ( see attached photo ) Obviously, I turned that 1099-C in with my XXXX taxes. 

As you see the XXXX XXXX letter from the " debt collector '' does not have any details regarding the account, but includes a payment slip for convenience to simply pay it ... OR I have 30 days to dispute it & if I do dispute it, they will investigate it & let me know their decision " at no cost ''. 

Again - I received that letter YESTERDAY - XX/XX/XXXX. 

THIS MORNING - XX/XX/XXXX - a XXXX XXXX called & left me a message stating he is " unfortunately a debt collector & I need to call him back ''. 

However, BEFORE he gives me a chance to return his call, he IMMEDIATELY calls MY PARENTS ( where do they get these pone numbers?!?!?! ) - who live in a different city & whom I have not resided with since XXXX & whose current address I have NEVER lived or used. Then my XXXX-yr old mother called me worried, so I had to deal with that. 

An interesting fact to this is that going through all of my records, I see that the reason it was necessary for Mr. XXXX had to get involved all those years ago, is because another agency they used - XXXX - was calling me, my parents and my EX-HUSBAND who lives across the country with his current family ( calling them as early as XXXX XXXX & multiple times a day - they used that against me in court proceedings, yeah, that was great ) - and I also recorded XXXX threatening me. I tried dealing with those people for SEVEN MONTHS before learning their behavior was illegal, writing a letter to XXXX then CEO, who in turn got Mr. XXXX involved. ( FYI : It is perfectly legal to record phone calls in the state of KY as long as one of the parties is aware of it ) If I learn Mr. XXXX called my former spouse, friends or other family members - I will sue. I am sick of scum like them using humiliation as a tactic.Up until my financial set back after the recession - which took all of my savings to survive - I had a perfect credit score for 25 years. I fought back and finally have a near excellent credit score again. If these XXXX hurt me again, I expect you to do something about it. 

When I returned his call & told Mr. XXXX never to call my parents or me again or I will sue - he stated that is what they are actually preparing to sue me. 

So, he is threatening, intimidating & trying to scare me into paying a debt that was settled the better part of a decade ago. 

It was hard enough to go through that dark & scary time after the recession, by myself as a single mother - but to have these amoral XXXX try to put me through it again after all of these years simply is not right. 

Obviously, I have the documents to prove this was paid long ago. The factors that are unforgivable is their tactics : the letter making a proclamation right off-the-bat that I am " indebted to XXXX XXXX '', that IF I dispute it, they will then investigate my " claims '', that I need to SEND THEM proof it is paid. 

NO. Like I am going to send some XXXX XXXX that already has my address & my PARENTS ' phone number any MORE personal information - so I can prove anything to them? I guess some people are XXXX - but I know the law says if you have an accusation, you lay out what you've got & I'll prove your wrong.

I wonder how many people they scare & intimidate enough that the victims just send in a check with the handy little " convenience payment stub ''?!?

This is WRONG.

I am attaching their letter I received yesterday along with my XX/XX/XXXX 1099-C issued by XXXX XXXX XXXX. I have marked out my personal identifying information, leaving just enough for you to see it is the same amount information & showing it was indeed canceled. 

I wonder how many people they scare after waiting this long to sneak up on people, praying on those victims fears and nightmare memories. Shame on them. 

When these people use these practices, it has a horrendous ripple effect. Parents worry, friends feel awkward, manipulative former spouses use it to paint a nefarious & pathetic & untrue picture. So, these practices are not as simple as multiple calls trying to get money. This has real, damaging & far-reaching tentacles in many areas of life. It does no good & helps them accomplish nothing.