Consumer complaint received 2024-07-29 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Rental debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: FAIR COLLECTIONS & OUTSOURCING, INC.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
This is my second complaint against FCO. I am truly fed up with their incompetence, stall tactics, and their blatant lies. I filed a complaint with you back in XXXX this year because they were trying to collect an account which was clearly fraud. I proved it with all the documents I provided to them on multiple occasions and in your portal. To be specific, they are trying to collect about {$3000.00} from me because they say I didn't give a timely XXXX move out notice to an apartment complex I moved out of in XXXX of XXXX. In all my correspondence to them I have given them a copy of a move out statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, proving their client is lying and coming after me illegally. 

I finally receive a response from them dated XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX asking me to provide a move out statement dated XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. I respond to their response asking why I need to provide a move out notice dated XX/XX/XXXX when my notice of XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX is more than sufficient and conforms to providing them more than XXXX notice, but they never respond. I then call FCO on XX/XX/XXXX and I was hung up on. I tried calling back and no one answered. I then call XXXX hours later and ask for a manager, but I am not given a manager. I am given a floor supervisor. The supervisor kept giving me what I can only describe as generic responses and kept asking for a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX but could not answer why. He couldn't explain why my letter dated XX/XX/XXXX was not sufficient when the letter I gave is essentially a XXXX notice as opposed to a XXXX notice they are asking for. That means they want a letter giving them less time frame of a notice to move out? How does that make sense? 

I finally demand for a manager, and I was transferred to speak with a XXXX XXXX at XXXX. I explain the same thing to her. Why do I need a move out notice dated XX/XX/XXXX when they have XXXX dated XX/XX/XXXX? XXXX said this account was currently under investigation, but that was news to me. Since I hadn't heard from them anything but simply to provide a move out notice which was irrelevant, I demanded they communicate with me better. I then asked XXXX why they wanted the XX/XX/XXXX letter when they had the XX/XX/XXXX letter and she said she didn't know why their client wanted a letter dated XX/XX/XXXX. I demanded they remove this account from my credit report since FCO already had proof I gave a move out notice more than 30 days in advance. XXXX said her company doesn't make those decisions, but her client does. I told her that wasn't true. I told her that as a collector, her company decides which collection accounts are valid and which ones aren't. They also decide what to credit report and what not to credit report. Their client doesn't decide to continue reporting a collection which the collector has proof and knows is illegal or invalid. I told her the XXXX validation period is over and they had until XX/XX/XXXX to remove this before I proceeded with the next step. 

XXXX XXXX never returned my call, sent me any notice, or responded to me in any way once the time expired. Actually, I've tried calling her 5 times now between my call from XX/XX/XXXX until today and she has never once answered or returned a voicemail. I was fed up with FCO not responding or answering any of my calls, and I was trying desperately to not be having to sue FCO as that would be a further delay and more time this account would stay on my credit report further delaying my credit goals, so I gave them one last call on XX/XX/XXXX. Since XXXX was not answering or returning my calls, I demanded to speak with another manager. That manager turned out to be XXXX XXXX. 

XXXX XXXX was no better than XXXX XXXX. I would even say he was worse. I explained the situation to XXXX at least XXXX different times before he understood what was happening. It may have even been more than 5 times. I explained how I had been fighting his company for months. How I had proved to FCO by mail, fax, and now C.F.P.B. complaint with attachments of how I provided a move out statement dated XX/XX/XXXX, for a property I moved out on XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX. Thats a XXXX move out notice and more than enough to prove FCO 's client was trying to rob me by charging me for an insufficient notice. XXXX kept insisting to provide him a move out notice dated XX/XX/XXXX. Almost like an automaton with no logic or critical thinking skills. When I finally managed to get him to realize that an XX/XX/XXXX letter was better than an XX/XX/XXXX letter, he then changed his tactic to asking me to provide him a copy of the XX/XX/XXXX letter so he could begin his investigation into the matter. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BEGIN AN INVESTIGATION? I told him there was no way I was going to let him " begin '' an investigation. They had their XXXX investigation period many times over. This was literally a last chance call before I proceeded to sue them. 

XXXX was trying really hard to get me to provide him a copy of the move out notice dated XX/XX/XXXX, but I informed him I wasn't going to play that game. I had provided that notice to FCO on multiple occasions and I knew his company had it. They had it when I mailed it to them, they had it when I faxed it to them, and they had it when they saw my C.F.P.B. complaint with the attached copy. Since FCO responded to my complaint, I know they saw it in the attachments. Again, it took me multiple times of explaining this situation to XXXX for him to finally understand that I had provided that move out notice dated XX/XX/XXXX of XXXX and that I would no longer supply them with anything other than a demand to remove this account from collections. XXXX said he could see the attachments in the C.F.P.B. complaint, but he himself couldn't open it because it had to go to another department that handled those complaints. I told him to have his department look at page 3 of the attachment " Dispute to FCO by fax pdf '' and give me a response no later than XX/XX/XXXX otherwise I would proceed with the lawsuit. He said he understood loud and clear. Guess what? XX/XX/XXXX came with no answer or response. I even tried calling one last time today just to give FCO that final opportunity to adhere to the rules and I wasn't able to speak with any manager. XXXX XXXX wasn't available, XXXX XXXX wasn't available, and no other manager was available. 

I am now starting this lawsuit, but I still want you to know what I am going through, so you understand the difficulties a consumer like me is having to experience against a collector like FCO when I have the proof their collection is fraud.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation