Consumer complaint received 2025-12-08 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Account information incorrect
Company: Rowland Avenue Management, Inc. A/KA Columbia Debt Recovery, LLC d/b/a Genesis
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
What happened I am disputing a rental collection that Columbia Debt Recovery is furnishing and collecting on. The balance they are reporting is inflated and inconsistent with the court judgment in my eviction case, my move-out date, and their own ledger. 

This involves a former apartment in Florida managed by XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). The collection account number with XXXX is XXXX. The debt is joint with XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ). 

In eviction court, the judge set a specific pay to stay amount to remain in the unit through XX/XX/XXXX. The court figure was {$14000.00}, which covered past-due rent and utilities through XXXX if we stayed for the full month. After the judgment, a Writ of Possession issued on XX/XX/XXXX, and I surrendered possession and moved out on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Instead of limiting the debt to what the judgment and dates support, Columbia is reporting a collection balance of around {$20000.00} to XXXX  and XXXX  and {$19000.00} to XXXX. Earlier, the original balance on XXXX  was {$18000.00} and then increased. All of these reported amounts are higher than the courts {$14000.00} judgment and do not reflect the fact that I vacated the unit on XX/XX/XXXX. 

I have provided XXXX and the credit bureaus with : The court judgment showing {$14000.00} ; The Writ of Possession dated XX/XX/XXXX ; Proof I vacated and turned over the unit on XX/XX/XXXX ; The landlords final ledger, including rent charges, utilities, and cleaning/turnover fees. 

The ledger shows XXXX months of full rent at {$3800.00} per month ( XXXX XXXX = {$11000.00} total ), various utilities, and additional fees. There are also final utility bills posted in XX/XX/XXXX that cover XXXX and XXXX, and cleaning/turnover charges of approximately {$1600.00} posted on XX/XX/XXXX ( for oven/range/vent cleaning, full paint, full cleaning, and bulk item removal ). 

Based on the court figure, the writ, and my XX/XX/XXXX move-out, I only should be responsible for rent and utilities through XX/XX/XXXX, not full-month XXXX occupancy and not post-vacate utilities. Using the landlords own numbers : The courts pay to stay number assumes a full month of XXXX rent ( {$3800.00} ). 
Because the writ issued XX/XX/XXXX and I vacated XX/XX/XXXX, any rent after XX/XX/XXXX is not owed. 
If you prorate XXXX rent for the 11 days I was actually in possession ( 11 of 31 days ), the maximum XXXX rent component is about {$1300.00}, not {$3800.00}. 
Later-billed utilities should also be limited to service through XX/XX/XXXX, not the full XXXX billing window. 

Even if I accept their own documents at face value and do a conservative calculation ( replacing full-month XXXX rent with 11 days and adding XXXX utilities and only my share of XXXX utilities through XX/XX/XXXX ), the maximum balance is roughly {$12000.00}, not {$20000.00}. That is a difference of several thousand dollars. Columbia is reporting and attempting to collect an amount that is significantly higher than both the judgment and what their own ledger supports for my period of occupancy.

On top of that, Columbia ( or the landlord it represents ) is including over {$1600.00} in cleaning/turnover charges. The apartment had some left-behind items and was somewhat messy because we were moving under a writ deadline, but there was no extreme damage. I have not been provided with proper documentation tying these charges to anything beyond normal wear and reasonable turnover, nor proof that any of these charges were handled in compliance with applicable landlord-tenant rules regarding deposit claims. 

There is also a deposit-alternative program ( XXXX ) associated with this tenancy. I was paying monthly to XXXX instead of a traditional refundable cash security deposit. If the landlord submitted a claim through XXXX and received any payment, Columbia and the landlord are required to credit that amount against the alleged balance before furnishing or collecting it. I have not been given any accounting that shows whether a claim was submitted to XXXX, whether any payment was made, or how that payment was applied. If the landlord or Columbia received any money from XXXX and failed to credit it, then the balance they are reporting is further inflated and inaccurate. 

Despite receiving court records, proof of move-out, and the ledger, Columbia has told me that the debt is confirmed and continues to report these higher balances to the credit bureaus. They have not provided a clear, line-by-line explanation showing how they arrive at the current reported amount, nor have they reconciled their reporting with the court judgment, the writ, and my vacate date. 

Why I believe this violates the law As a debt collector and furnisher of information to the credit bureaus, Columbia Debt Recovery has obligations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ).

Under the FDCPA, they may not falsely represent the amount or legal status of a debt ( 15 U.S.C. 1692e ( 2 ) ( A ) ). By reporting and collecting on a balance far above the judgment and my actual period of occupancy, and by apparently including unproven cleaning charges and utilities beyond XX/XX/XXXX, I believe they are misstating the amount of the debt. 
Under the FCRA, once they receive notice of a dispute from a consumer reporting agency, they must investigate and correct or delete any information that can not be verified or is inaccurate ( 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ( b ) ). I have disputed this with the credit bureaus and provided supporting documentation, but Columbia has apparently responded that the account is accurate without providing a transparent accounting of how the current balance is calculated.

In my view, Columbia is failing to ensure that the amount it is furnishing and collecting is accurate, and it is not properly adjusting the balance to match the judgment, the actual occupancy dates, and any applicable credits from XXXX or other sources. 

What I am asking the CFPB to do I am asking the CFPB to : 1. Require Columbia Debt Recovery to conduct a thorough, documented investigation and provide a complete, itemized accounting of the alleged balance, including : A breakdown of rent, utilities ( with service periods ), fees, cleaning/turnover charges, and any interest ; Copies of utility final bills ; Invoices and photos supporting the cleaning charges ; Documentation of any Obligo claims and payments, and how those were applied as credits ; A reconciliation with the court judgment ( {$14000.00} ), the XX/XX/XXXX writ, and my XX/XX/XXXX vacate date.

2. If Columbia can not fully substantiate the current reported amount, require it to : Delete this collection tradeline from all consumer reporting agencies ; or At minimum, correct the balance to a documented, lawful amount that matches the court judgment, my actual occupancy, and any applicable credits, and provide a written explanation of how that corrected figure is calculated.

3. Require Columbia to update all credit bureaus so that both I ( XXXX XXXX ) and the joint account holder ( XXXX XXXX ) are no longer reported with an inflated and inaccurate collection balance. 

I formally request the removal of the inflated and inaccurate figure, which is inconsistent with the Miami-Dade court ordered judgment, move-out date, and the records of Columbia Debt Recovery. I formally request Columbia Debt Recovery cease reporting and collecting inflated and inaccurate figure.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation