Consumer complaint received 2017-01-12
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: False statements or representation — Indicated committed crime not paying
Company: I.Q. DATA INTERNATIONAL, INC. (WA)

On XX/XX/XXXX I received communication via cell phone from IQ Data Collection Agency. I must admit the phone call was a surprise as I had attempted multiple times to get in touch with XXXX ( the leasing company that sent me to collections ) and never heard back from them. I verbalized this to XXXX, the debt collector who was assigned to my case. She then proceeded to tell me that she worked for XXXX and even made references to my lease agreement. Based on that lie, I continued with the conversation. I have very little experience in dealing with debt collection agencies. So, I was going into this with very little knowledge of my rights or what XXXX 's rights were as the debt collector. I have since educated myself and believe that XXXX violated several laws ( of which I will list at the end of this communication ). I also want it to be known that I am very seriously looking into taking legal action. I took responsibility for my debt and made it clear that I was more than willing to work with XXXX to find a resolution. Despite my willingness to be cooperative XXXX was rude and unhelpful right from the beginning. XXXX told me that I could not dispute the debt without my credit being negatively affected. She also told me that I could not make payments over time on my debt without my credit being negatively affected. I believe I was also told legal action could be taken against me which caused me further confusion and anxiety. Again, at this time I did not know what was possible and what was n't possible so this threat absolutely terrified me. Throughout our entire conversation she was a bully, dishonest, emotionally abusive, unhelpful, and took advantage of the fact that I did n't know what I was doing. I was bullied, yelled at, and berated until I was so upset I could n't even think clearly. I told her the way she was speaking to me was upsetting me, making my thoughts unclear, and that I was afraid. Her emotional abuse made me unable to have an effective and productive conversation. This was only fuel for her fire, and she made it well aware, that she was aware, of my state of mind, and continued with her bullying. I wanted to get the debt I owed taken care of and figured out, but not with her due to the way she was treating me. I asked to speak to someone else or a supervisor and she told me this was n't an option. This entire situation was incredibly traumatic. I am not used to dealing with humans who treat other humans as she did. I believe this to be a bad business practice no matter the type of business. I made a substantial payment towards my debt, but As of right now, I am still unclear what my options are or where my debt lies ; I am too traumatized and afraid to contact IQ Data directly after my horrible experience with them. 
As I mentioned I will be looking into taking legal action and once I do so I will have an even more clear understanding of which laws were in fact violated. 
Here are some the laws I believe IQ Data violated : 1. Unfair Acts or Practices The Dodd-Frank Act prohibits conduct that constitutes an unfair act or practice. An act or practice is unfair when : ( 1 ) It causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers ; ( 2 ) The injury is not reasonably avoidable by consumers ; and ( 3 ) The injury is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition. 

A " substantial injury '' typically takes the form of monetary harm, such as fees or costs paid by consumers because of the unfair act or practice. However, the injury does not have to be monetary. Although emotional impact and other subjective types of harm will not ordinarily amount to substantial injury, in certain circumstances emotional impacts may amount to or contribute to substantial injury. In addition, actual injury is not required ; a significant risk of concrete harm is sufficient.