Consumer complaint received 2026-05-21 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Financial Recovery Services, Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX I was contacted by Financial Recovery Services regarding a XXXX Bank account. At the time of that collection call I was unemployed and struggling financially after returning to the United States following a forced departure due to COVID-19. I had opened this account in XX/XX/XXXX as an international student at the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. Within weeks of opening the account the COVID-19 pandemic caused my university to shut down and the US government required all international students to immediately leave the country. I was physically removed from the United States with no income and no ability to manage any US financial accounts from overseas. I was not even present in this country when this account went delinquent. This was entirely beyond my control. When FRS contacted me in XX/XX/XXXX their representative was fully aware of my hardship situation. Despite being unemployed I made the difficult decision to resolve this debt responsibly. During that call the XXXX representative explicitly and verbally promised me that if I paid the agreed settlement amount this account would be completely deleted from my credit report. Based solely on that specific promise I paid {$530.00}, money I could barely afford while unemployed. That payment was received by FRS on XX/XX/XXXX under FRS File Number XXXX. That verbal deletion promise has never been honored. The account continues to report negatively on my credit report to this day across all major credit bureaus. I have taken every possible step to resolve this. I worked directly with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX speaking personally with their representative XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX in a XXXX minute conversation where I explained the full situation including the FRS deletion promise. XXXX conducted an internal investigation and stated they were unable to confirm the verbal agreement made by FRS. However XXXX never confirmed whether they actually retrieved and reviewed the recorded call from XX/XX/XXXX. Every debt collection call is recorded by law and that recording would confirm exactly what was promised to me. I also submitted a contact request directly through FRSs website at fin-rec.com requesting they retrieve the XX/XX/XXXX call recording and honor the verbal deletion agreement. I have received no response. FRS made a false representation during the collection of this debt, specifically promising credit deletion in exchange for payment, which constitutes a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Section 807. I relied on that representation to my financial detriment, paying {$530.00} while unemployed based on a promise that was never fulfilled. Since XX/XX/XXXX I have maintained a perfect payment history across all accounts, four active credit cards and an auto loan with XXXX late payments or negative marks for over XXXX and a half years. I am now a permanent US resident and small business owner in XXXX XXXX. This single entry from a pandemic that physically forced me out of the country as a student continues to harm my credit profile and financial opportunities solely because a debt collector made a promise he did not keep. I am requesting CFPB compel Financial Recovery Services to assist me regarding this account, review it for the verbal deletion promise that was made, and once confirmed immediately contact XXXX XXXX and all credit bureaus to remove this account as was promised to me at the time of payment.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation