vivekkopthsd/cfpb-consumer-complaints huggingface dataset:
Consumer complaint received 2016-12-07 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX I sent a letter to Midland funding disputing a XXXX account that I noticed on my credit report. I requested documentation with proof bearing my signature. I also stated that if they could not provide me with proof in XXXX days, based on the FCRA it is their responsibility to remove this account. I sent this letter certified and they signed for this on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX I received the attached letter from XXXX stating that they have opened an investigation requesting appropriate documents and I have heard nothing from them since. 

This account has been deleted from my credit report XXXX times since then and placed back on my report, affecting my credit score each time. Based on the FCRA and FDCPA once an account has been removed, I should be notified 5 days prior to the account being placed back on my credit reports. 

In addition, Midland Funding has not provided me with proof of documents bearing my signature in the requested 30 days. 

I requested the below in my certified letter : I am requesting validation, made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please note that I am requesting " validation '' ; that is competent evidence bearing my signature, showing that I have ( or ever had ) some contractual obligation to pay you. 

Please also be aware that any negative mark found on my credit reports ( including XXXX, XXXX and XXXX ) from your company or any company that you represent, for a debt that I do n't owe, is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ; therefore if you can not validate the debt, you must request that all credit reporting agencies delete the entry. 

My belief is that they were not able to validate the debt and decided to remove the debt from my reports. They would not be able to validate the debt, because it does not belong to me. 

I believe that my rights have been violated and I would like immediate action taken. 

In addition to this CFPB complaint, I will be filing a small claims XXXX XXXX Midland Funding as I was recently denied credit because this account appeared back on my credit report and dropped my credit score XXXX points.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-03-15 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Communication tactics — Frequent or repeated calls
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
This company calls me upwards of 3 times in 10 minutes all day long. I 've repeatedly answered these calls and asked that they stop calling and that I am protected from this type of harassment by federal guidelines - at which point they hang up. I 've also asked that they mail me information regarding the debt - I have not received anything since the request I put in 9 weeks ago.All of their repeated calls are done via an auto-dialer. If you do answer XXXX of these calls they typically drop the call if an agent is not free, and then will call you again 3 minutes later. It 's become completely harassing in nature. I am more than willing to talk to someone about paying off whatever it might be that I owe, but I will not respond to a company that uses these types of tactics to recover debt ( which I am fairly certain is less than {$1000.00} ). I 've asked to speak with a supervisor and I 've ever been hung up on OR placed into a voicemail for someone named XXXX XXXX and not transferred to a live person.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2017-01-16 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Billing disputes — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
The merchant refuses to assist with a billing dispute issue. Their internal system has an inquiry number of XXXX and a chat ID was issued today of XXXX. A {$260.00} charge is on my account for an item that was returned. The item was returned to the merchant and American Express refuses to issue a credit. The merchant has said that they do not have any record of the return, but the merchant is clearly wrong as the item was returned to them. American Express refuses to issue a credit and has spent the last 3 months going back and forth with me and sending me generic responses to all correspondence.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-22 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
On XXXX XXXX midland credit has called me 4 times today. once at around XXXX, then at XXXX, XXXX and again at XXXX. At XXXX I told her I 'm not a secretary and goodbye. at XXXX they called again, no one answered. At XXXX, I informed them they were using a house phone. XXXX does not use house phone for anything, they had wrong number. I called them back and informed them they were harassing me. they said they were going to put on do not call list. they said that last week also and previous weeks. Also they asked me who I was and there were XXXX names at this number.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2016-08-20 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Rewards — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
I have multiple American Express cards which earn me membership points. Yesterday as of XXXX XXXX I had XXXX points, today I have only XXXX points. XXXX points have been deducted from my account today without any justification or explanation. 

Despite removing these points, additional XXXX points are also not available for use. Earlier also Amex had erroneously not allotted me points and later after a complaint to CFPB had released those points.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-03-25 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: Disclosure verification of debt — Not given enough info to verify debt
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I received many letters of collection in the mail from Midland Funding LLC / Midland Credit Management Inc . I sent them a letter requesting them to validate the debt. Their reply letter did not contain any evidence that I am legally obligated to pay them anything or that they have a legal right to collect under the FDCPA. I sent them another letter telling them to immediately remove the collection trade line from my credit reports since they did not provide evidence that they owe the debt. They sent another letter saying that they " reviewed '' their records and deny their records are innacurate.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-08-24 00:00:00
Product: Bank account or service — Checking account
Issue: Deposits and withdrawals — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
Multiple unauthorized transactions over the Internet withdrew all my money from my Bluebird AMEX account on the same day my direct deposit from work went in my account. The transactions were from XXXX countries and I discovered them on the same day that they occurred and notified my bank while all of them were still on " hold ''. The bank said no action could be taken till the transactions were processed and now that XXXX of them Total ( {$990.00} ) have gone thru and the bank still has not updated me on when I will get my money back. Meanwhile there are at least XXXX more pending transactions putting my account in as overdrawn by $ XXXX and I have no money to live on.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-03-04 00:00:00
Product: Prepaid card — General purpose card
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing account — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I received notice of the " termination of funds loading capabilities on your Serve account ''. I do n't understand why my account has been effectively closed as all functions have been removed. 

I currently have over {$1000.00} and am unable to link a checking account to withdraw the funds. I 've spoken with numerous customer service, technical support, and account protection representations, but none have been able to help me in linking a checking account to withdraw my funds. 

I would appreciate my Serve account being reinstated for both loading and withdrawals.

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-10 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Medical
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
TSI handles my account under XXXX. Accounts XXXX. XXXX and XXXX. I started up a payment scheme with them XXXX 2015. A {$50.00} payment is being debited to my XXXX Account every payday or every other week. When I remarried last XXXX 2015, my wife started to handle my finances and tried to consolidate all my debt. She had been calling TSI starting XXXX this year to check for the total balance of the said account. She asked for receipts or any form of confirmation as to what accounts had been paid off and how much remaining balance. In the course of these phone follow-ups and exchange of letters, she found out that there was around {$500.00} that was not accounted. She was exasperated that the Customer Service people she spoke with like XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, can not give her what she was asking. Until we paid off the remaining balance last XXXX and we asked for payment history. TSI sent a payment history and there were payments that was not accounted for. We are thinking that we overpaid them since we are not certain as to how much is the total balance. We wrote another letter to TSI addressed to XXXX XXXX and sent them copies of the XXXX check that was debited but was not accounted. Total amount was {$500.00}. However, TSI did not address the over payment issue but replied that the account was already settled and closed. We believe that we need a proper payment accounting of all the checks that we paid. Previous letters did not reflect the payment at all that is why we believe we over paid. Is it still possible to claim back the over paid amount? Please help shed light on this matter. Thank you.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-02-11 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Application processing delay — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I was pre-approved for an AMEX NextStep loan of {$5300.00}. Sent a link to digitally sign, which I did several times. Called their offshore call centers, was given different answers to the same questions about the disbursement procedures. 

Was told if it was n't signed before the deadline of XX/XX/2017 it would be cancelled and I 'd need to re-apply. 

Now it shows cancelled as if I did n't sign the document even though I was told that it was.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2016-08-17 00:00:00
Product: Consumer Loan — Installment loan
Issue: Taking out the loan or lease — 
Company: Elly, LLC
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I was approved for a {$1000.00} installment loan. The lender has my bank account number and routing number as well as my social security number and other personal information. 
I was just informed that even though I was approved for the loan they have decided not to fund it. No reason was given but I strongly suspect they are discriminating against me because I am XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed
Consumer complaint received 2017-01-04 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Rewards — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
Hi, Happy new year! 
I opened an amex XXXX card on XXXX XXXX, 2016 but I did not receive XXXX reward points. I called Customer service and they said I will not receive it because I have Premier Rewards Gold Card. To the best of my understanding, the XXXX cards are different products and therefore I should be eligible to get opening bonus. In addition, many friends received bonus of both cards. I wish I will be treated equally. 
Could you help me solve this problem? 
I greatly appreciate your help! 
XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-08-20 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: Improper contact or sharing of info — Contacted me after I asked not to
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
Midlands called me to collect an old debt on my cell phone. I asked them to not call me anymore. Three days later, the company started calling me at my job and also gave information about the debt to my boss and other coworkers.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Consumer complaint received 2015-11-11 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: Sarma
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I have a collection with SARMA -account # XXXX totaling {$9900.00} from XX/XX/XXXX. The original creditor ( XXXX ) and myself came to an agreement and they took back the debt and closed the account. On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX removed this collection from my credit report but XXXX did not. It stills shows as open. I need SARMA to contact all XXXX credit bureaus and remove the collection from my credit report asap. Thank you.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-11-21 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Transaction issue — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
i have had an AMEX account since 1973. I mailed a check to American Express on Monday, as of Friday the check had not been cashed. I called to find out if was in process. They said they had not received it, claiming it was a problem with the mail service. This morning, Saturday, I received an email from AMEX saying the check was received. Later this morning I received another email for AMEX say the account is past due, warning me that the account may be suspended. I called the phone number to find what was going on. The person I talked to blamed issue on the mail service. The payment location is in XXXX, I 'm XXXX. I told him I think the problem is with their processing center. It 's not my fault that their center is not adequately staffed. Short story I canceled my account. Also I think the staffing is inadequate to help them charge fees and penalties.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-01-12 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Disclosure verification of debt — Right to dispute notice not received
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: GA

Complaint narrative:
Debt was taken out in XXXX XXXX paid on the debit from XXXX till XXXX without ever missing a payemt, now that I have stopped paying on the debt the loan was sold off, I do n't think I owe the debt any longer due to I 've paid the XXXX back with intrest and then some. 

In XXXX a class action lawsuite was broght against the companty the loan was taken out with due to unlaw pratice and how they posted your maoney against the loan. 

Now I 'm being sued by some other comapny I have never heard of.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-05-26 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
These are over 7 years old by my ex and they keeping changing dates and amounts due. Should all be closed.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-10-11 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I have contacted Midland Funding by letter several times to obtain debt verification. They continue to not send the information I have requested to verify & validate the debt they claim I owe. I have also contacted the company that Midland Funding states the credit card was initially from & they have no records of this information. Midland Funding continues to report information on my credit report that is false. Midland Funding also failed to follow the law by marking this account as disputed on my credit report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2015-07-31 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
I got sued and paid the loan off. Now I want it off of my report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-01-29 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — 
Issue: Customer service / Customer relations — 
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: IN

Complaint narrative:
American Express has effectively moved US based accounts to XXXX with no notification to customers. The way this has been effected is, the AMEX site ( s ) will show the country where the site is based. In this case it is XXXX. There is a button to change countries -- however, that button is unusable. 

This problem came to my attention when I attempted to get a problem corrected on the AMEX web site where a customer must logon. I needed to get information about my credit card activity for the prior year for tax purposes. We have been doing this for the past several years, which helps us in getting our biz and personal US taxes filed. We found that the extended data downloads fail. We reported this and found that we were talking with people in XXXX ( via the AMEX site, more to this later ), and since it was the weekend, OK. 

The problem is it takes a while to get them to understand the issue you have, they need to go through all this " security '' questioning, etc. to finally realize you are reporting something broken. So a few days later you are called back to be told it is being worked on. This lead me to contact them again last night ( XXXX XX/XX/2017 @ about XXXX US Eastern ). So we get to do all the same diagnostics before they actually listen and find out we have an open ticket for this. 

Today, XXXX XX/XX/2017, I was trying to find the right location to contact AMEX about this. In the past, I could report such things and get them addressed quite rapidly. No longer. The ONLY contact points I am offered are in XXXX. This means that AMEX has off-shored their business from the USofA to XXXX with no notification to customers ( I was n't told ). 

This leaves this question : Can AMEX present themselves as being a US operating company, while having NO US based employees, or operations other than mail drops and locations to send bills from? That is, they have off-shored all but their top management, and pretend to be a US operation. It seems to me that there is a violation of regulations, or an attempt to avoid law/regulations for CC and banking by offshoring their banking and operations to XXXX.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2017-03-31 00:00:00
Product: Student loan — Federal student loan servicing
Issue: Dealing with my lender or servicer — Trouble with how payments are handled
Company: MOHELA
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
MOHELA continues to find ways to extend loans by using recalculations. Example I pay off a loan, incidentally all my loans get a little extra payment from that months auto debit. They then recalculate my payment amount based on this current paid ahead account status. I end up with a lower overall payment but they ensure they get their 120th payment. Level repayment should mean level repayment. They have the audacity to say that my loans on a ten year plan may require a large payment to satisfy the terms of my loan at the end, I pay nearly 8k extra every year. -typed on iPhone

Company public response: Company believes the complaint is the result of a misunderstanding
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-06-26 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Disclosure verification of debt — Not given enough info to verify debt
Company: TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
I submitted a complaint on XXXX/XXXX/15 about transworld systems reporting a erroneous collection account on my credit. Per federal and state laws the burden falls on the debt collection agency to validate the debt and if they can not then the account must be removed. Based on the response from transworld systems they are unable to very that I owe a debt and requires more information. I have already supplied name, address, date of birth, and social when filling out the complaint as well as list the masked account number that was visible on my report. How can this be proper reporting when they basically wrote back saying they do n't know who I am. See previous complaint below. 

XXXX/XXXX/15 Transworld systems Inc. Is reporting on my XXXX credit report and I have no knowledge of this item. I never received the notice of the right to dispute from. the company and this item needs to be removed from my XXXX credit report immediately. This same company was duplicating reporting XXXX accounts. XXXX account was removed yet this debt was never validated and I did n't receive proper notices.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation
Consumer complaint received 2016-08-15 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: AZ

Complaint narrative:
Midland Credit Mangement reports inaccurate and non-sustainable information after formally requesting by certified mail pursuant to the FTC XXXX XXXX XXXX. XXXX ( a ), to provide any legal instrument bearing my signature which supports the continued reporting of this alleged debt. The company has reported inaccurate and non-substantiated amounts from {$6.00} to XXXX credit reporting agency to as high as {$610.00} to another. Upon speaking with the Company 3 weeks prior I was advised that this company no longer has this account and it was sent to XXXX XXXX XXXX. This company continues to report to XXXX and XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation