Consumer complaint received 2025-01-19 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Written notification about debt — Notification didn't disclose it was an attempt to collect a debt
Company: Marlette Funding, LLC
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
RE : Best Egg XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

Never use XXXX XXXX XXXX! I began using XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX. I had been laid off but still received some income from online selling and unemployment. My landlord uses XXXX for rent payments, which I have used for 5 years. I decided to try XXXX XXXX since my payments weren't always consistent, but I pulled in enough money through the month to cover. XXXX was rough ; I was behind a couple of payments to a whopping XXXX by XXXX. I was worried as I did not want to mess up my relationship with the best egg, and I called them immediately in XXXX to make a payment plan. I spoke to a lovely customer service representative who completely understood and offered a plan to pay in installments. This wonderful lady even encouraged me and said I did the right thing for even trying to get in front of it. My payment plan was set for XXXX from XX/XX/XXXX, to be completed on XX/XX/XXXX. They did not send me anything in writing about the current agreement, over email or through mail, but I was gracious that they were willing to work with me and not destroy my credit -- until XXXX. 

I made the first installment payment during the phone call on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX comes around, and I check my account to see if the second payment went through. It did not. I did not receive a phone call regarding the payment not going through or an attempt to collect a debt. I figured it was because they would attempt to run the payment through within a few days, like usual. They did not, and there is still no email or mail notification. I woke up about 10 days later to a notification saying I had a delinquency on an account. This was a profound XXXX moment because although I was laid off, I still managed to cover my bills ( barely ) with savings, unemployment, and selling some items to stay afloat. I checked the alert, and Best Egg slapped a significant delinquency on my credit report for the balance owed. Why would they do that after I attempted to set up a payment plan and called them when I noticed an issue? They never sent me any follow-up paperwork via email or mail. They never even attempted to contact me to collect payment. 
You slap a late payment on my credit report. That's a terrible tactic. Also, there is no easy way to reach them. I had to wait until Monday to call, after which I spoke to another friendly representative. I told her that I set up a payment plan and that the payment was not drafted out in XXXX, and I thought they would attempt to rerun it. I did not receive any correspondence via phone, email, or mail to even try to collect the payment. She put me on a XXXX minute hold to review everything, checking on me to ensure she was still looking into everything. She mentioned that they didn't clarify that it was a payment plan set up, so she added a note and collected payment for XXXX right then and there. She even double-checked that my address was correct ( I assumed I would send mailing correspondence ) if this happened again. I asked if this late payment would be removed from my account. She said everything would be updated in XXXX and I should be good when everything is paid off in XXXX. Again, there is nothing in writing. No follow-up email. Nothing. 

I finally started a new job on XXXX and started receiving consistent paychecks again. XXXX 's payment came out on the XXXX as planned. As of XX/XX/XXXX, I paid the last installment, XXXX, due on XX/XX/XXXX. Today, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received a barrage of notifications from XXXX XXXX, XXXX, etc., saying I am 60 days past due!? HOW! I've been paying as agreed and was even told everything would be corrected. Once again, there is no correspondence whatsoever. I guess a savings grace is that I could use the flexible rent again now that I paid everything in full according to the portal. I do not understand how I do the right thing by calling them to get everything squared away, and I get punished with XXXX late payments when I have an agreed-upon payment plan and there is no additional correspondence on their end to collect a debt. That's unfair, unjust, and shady practice all around. 

I hope that this time around, Best Egg does the honorable thing and removes those XXXX delinquent payments from my credit report for their negligence in following up to collect a debt, and reach out regarding any missed payment or inform me that setting up a payment would allow them to still report the account as delinquent. If I had known these things, I would have found a way to pay the full amount to avoid that happening. Look, I am a divorced woman with XXXX kids that had their position eliminated from a company after XXXX near XXXX years of service. I was trying to make ends meet through a paltry unemployment payment and selling items to pay my exorbitant rent of {$2700.00}. Proper correspondence would have led me in a different direction. Instead, they chose to be shady and ruin my credit when I tried to do the right thing. That is frustrating, disappointing, and worthy of a lawsuit. The balance is paid entirely in full. Please work with me to remove those late payments from my report.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation