Consumer complaint received 2025-10-03 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive notice of right to dispute
Company: Associated Credit Services, Inc.
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/2025, I discovered for the first time that a {$500.00} XXXX XXXX debt had been reported to my XXXX  credit report by Associated Credit Services , Inc . This was deeply surprising, as I had never received a single written notice, email, text, or phone call about this debt before it was reported. I only learned of the collection after seeing my XXXX  score drop by XXXX points while monitoring my account. 

Immediately upon seeing this report, I called Associated Credit Services on XX/XX/2025, at approximately XXXX XXXX. I spoke with a representative named XXXX. During the conversation, I explained that I had not received any prior communication about this debt and had no knowledge that I owed a balance. She told me they mailed me a letter on XX/XX/2025. At that time, I was abroad, and even after returning on XX/XX/2025, I never received any follow-up letter, email, or phone call. ( Attached : phone call history. ) At first, the representative admitted that they did not have the correct address. Later in the call, however, they contradicted themselves by insisting they had mailed it. I questioned how they could have mailed me a letter on XX/XX/2025, if they originally had the wrong address. The representative could not provide a clear answer. I also reviewed my phone records, including XX/XX/2025, and found no calls from their company or any number associated with them, despite their claim that they had attempted to contact me during that time. ( Attached : phone call history. ) As soon as I became aware of the account, I immediately acted in good faith and paid the full {$500.00} balance on XX/XX/2025, under confirmation code XXXX. At the time of payment, I was told that if I paid by check, it would take 46 business days to process, but if I paid by debit or credit card, it would update immediately. I therefore chose immediate payment to avoid further impact. Despite this, within an hour of my XXXX  score dropping, my XXXX  credit report also decreased by XXXX points for the same collectioneven after payment. This occurred even though I had just finalized the payment and had never been properly notified of the debt in the first place. 

The final part of my call with the representative was unprofessional. When I questioned the lack of notification and the conflicting information about my address, the call center agent told me they had sent everything and then abruptly hung up on me. This treatment was highly disrespectful. More importantly, it demonstrates that I was denied my legal right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to receive proper written notification of the debt and my right to dispute it before the debt was reported to the credit bureaus. 

I fully acknowledge that this {$500.00} debt was mine, and I paid it in full the moment I was informed. However, the collector failed to notify me, failed to provide debt validation in advance, and gave contradictory information about their communication attempts. This failure directly caused damage to my credit, including a XXXX drop in both Equifax and TransUnion. 

I am formally requesting that this collection account be removed from my credit history. I am also attaching phone records and additional details to support that I never received the communications they claimed to have sent. I respectfully ask the CFPB to investigate and hold the collector accountable for violating my rights, and to ensure the inaccurate and unfair reporting is corrected.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation