Consumer complaint received 2024-06-03 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
Midland Credit Management purchased my credit card debts & eventually sued me over the remaining balance. I used XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX to handle payments on my behalf for a while & they sent me a letter stating the payments had been completed and the account was paid off. Later I started receiving notices from Midland Credit Management that I was being sued over a remaining balance that I was not aware I even owed, so I reached out to XXXX and it turns out that they had made a mistake and I did still have a balance with MCM. MCM won that case after I was told I didn't need to come to the court date and I received a notice that my wages would be garnished. On XX/XX/XXXX I paid off the entire debt, in the amount of {$470.00} in order to prevent the wage garnishments. On XX/XX/XXXX my wages were garnished in the amount of {$370.00} due to my payroll office not receiving the release of garnishment until hours after payroll was submitted. 

The following weeks I was in contact with Midland Credit Management who initially claimed to have never received the garnishment payment. Fast forward a couple more weeks of me spending at least an hour on the phone every time I called, which has been several times, and I still only received conflicting information from MCM. I reached out to my payroll department who contacted MCM on my behalf and when payroll responded to my concerns, they informed me that a refund check in the amount of {$360.00} was cut and mailed to me on XX/XX/XXXX. I'm not certain why the refund is {$8.00} less than what I paid, but no one at MCM could give me an answer on that, either. 

By the second week in XXXX I still had not received that check, so I reached out to MCM again, and was told that there was nothing they could do outside of giving me a check number as they don't re-issue checks until 90 days had passed. So I called them again in XXXX to have the check re-issued and mailed again, and never received either. After several more calls over the following months, I was transferred around in circles each time until I spoke with someone who claimed to be a manager of the legal collections department. Each time I spoke with a different person, and each time I received conflicting information. I have now been told that XXXX separate refund checks have been issued to me over the last 6 months, and I have not received any of them. On XX/XX/XXXX I called, yet again, and was finally told by another manager that they would cancel the last check as it had been a month and I never got it, either. They then informed me that they would refund the debit card I used to pay the debt off in the amount of {$360.00} and to call back on Friday XX/XX/XXXX if I had not received it. 

I called back today, XX/XX/XXXX after deciding to be patient and give them an extra business day, and was told by another different manager that they did not process any debit card refunds, and they would not make an exception to do so. I requested that they send another check via Certified Mail, XXXX, or XXXX  so that they could provide me with a tracking number and that request was also refused. 

It's been 6 months now, and I have been given different information by almost every account rep and " manager '' that I have spoken with in more than one department. I can not fathom how each letter they sent me in regards to collecting the debt arrived promptly and accurately, but when it comes to me collecting a debt from them, I may as well be talking to a wall.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation