Consumer complaint received 2025-12-16 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Rental debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: Mutual Management Services LLC
State: SC

Complaint narrative:
Complainant : XXXX XXXX Address : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, SC XXXX Date of Birth : XX/XX/year> Last Four of SSN : XXXX Business Entity : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Collector / Furnisher : Mutual Management Services LLC Principal / Property Owner : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( South Carolina ) Account Number : XXXX Property Location : XXXX, South Carolina XXXX Summary of Complaint Mutual Management Services LLC , acting on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX has attempted to collect excessive and improper late fees arising from a commercial lease, while simultaneously reporting the alleged balance to consumer credit reporting agencies under my personal credit profile, despite the absence of any personal guarantee. 

The alleged balance of {$17000.00} is composed almost entirely of retroactively assessed late fees, not unpaid base rent. These fees were never contemporaneously disclosed or demanded during the tenancy, despite continued acceptance of rent payments. 

In addition, the landlord and its agent have made false and misleading statements suggesting lease default or abandonment, despite the lease being properly concluded and the premises being surrendered in accordance with their instructions. 

Facts The lease agreement at issue is a commercial lease executed solely by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

The landlord and property owner is XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a South Carolina company. 

Mutual Management Services LLC is acting as the collection agent on behalf of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I, XXXX XXXX, did not execute a personal guarantee and am not personally liable for any lease obligations. 

The lease contains no clause requiring or permitting personal liability. 

Rent payments were consistently made by check and sent via signature-required certified mail. 

At no time during the tenancy was I notified that rent had not been received or that any portion of rent was allegedly unpaid. 

Despite continued acceptance of rent payments, Mutual Management Services LLC later asserted a balance driven almost entirely by late fees and penalties, not unpaid rent. 

Multiple late fees were retroactively assessed and batch-posted, including several consecutive late fees applied simultaneously months after the periods to which they allegedly relate. 

Mutual Management Services LLC has failed to identify specific months of unpaid rent, despite repeated written requests to do so. 

Despite the commercial nature of the lease and absence of a personal guarantee, Mutual Management Services LLC reported the alleged debt to consumer credit reporting agencies under my personal credit profile. 

I disputed both the validity of the late fees and the improper consumer credit reporting in writing. 

Mutual Management Services LLC has continued collection efforts and consumer credit reporting without resolving the dispute or correcting the reporting. 

False Claims Regarding Lease Termination and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX did not default on or abandon the lease. 

We timely notified the landlord and its agent that we would not renew the lease and would vacate the premises at the end of the lease term, as permitted under the lease. 

We were explicitly instructed by the landlord or its agent to return the keys via mail, which we did. 

The premises were fully vacated, cleaned, and left in good condition, and all keys were returned as instructed. 

A few days after vacatur, the landlord or its representative inspected the premises and thanked us for cleaning and leaving the space in good condition. 

Any assertion that the lease was abandoned, defaulted, or improperly surrendered is false and misleading. 

These false statements have been used to justify improper charges and to bolster collection efforts, further demonstrating unfair and deceptive conduct. 
Why This Is Improper Excessive, retroactive late fees assessed without contemporaneous notice constitute unfair and abusive collection practices. 

Allowing a tenant to remain in possession for years, accepting rent payments, and later asserting tens of thousands of dollars in penalties is deceptive. 

Misrepresenting a proper end-of-lease vacatur as a default or abandonment is materially false. 

Reporting a commercial lease obligation as a personal consumer debt where no personal guarantee exists is inaccurate and misleading. 

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 ), furnishers must ensure accuracy, conduct reasonable investigations upon dispute, and correct or delete unverifiable information. 

A business lease obligation attributed to an individual consumer can not be accurately verified and should not appear on a personal credit report. 

Harm Experienced As a result of this conduct : My personal credit profile has been damaged, I have experienced financial and reputational harm, My business has been subjected to improper collection pressure, and A commercial accounting dispute has been improperly escalated into the consumer credit system through false narratives.

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