Consumer complaint received 2025-09-04 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — I do not know
Issue: Written notification about debt — Didn't receive enough information to verify debt
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I was first contacted. Back at the begining of the year in XXXX by mail of this collection agency claiming that I had a unpaid debt. I immediately called and responded and explained that I have no clue who they are and I never had any sort of debt they are claiming and asked them to send me proof that it's mine or they were so certain of it. I asked for a validation of the debt. And they said it's already been validated and that's It. There is nothing more they can do but ask for payment. I told them if they can't validate the debt and send me proof of validation then to please stop calling me and trying to scam. So a few months later I look on my credit and they are showing up as a debt without my permission or without ever validating the debt. I then disputed several times with XXXX XXXX about this and I keep getting a return that the company says it been validated and the debt is mine. I then proceed to ask for proof of validation or to remove it because it has never been validated before and the company must properly do so before they can just put something on someones credit. The time frame for the debt has far went past the time frame for a debt collector is legally able to report a debt against someone. So I then started a dispute with company that was reporting me through there website about them reporting a debt they never validated or showed me any proof that they actually own this debt and they have any rights over the debt. I told them I never got anything showing what account prior to them owning it any kind of billing information. Such as what was the bill actually for and where is my billing history was it s credit card or person loan or for what I have no clue. What were my monthly payments I never recieved any of the contracts and agreements I asked for showing I was aware of these debts they keep claiming that are mine ... Once I did this things changed all of a sudden. From that point on since they knew they did not have enough info to actually make a claim this debt. They started to do things to trick me into getting more info from me to fill in and create the debt to reflect it to look more like mine. Like before this when I talked to this company they had no problem talking freely with me about any part of the debt especially if I was agreeing to pay it off. But now they realized that I wasn't going to pay a debt not mine and was losing there chance on it they started to pretend they were having issues with being able to dispute something or even look at the account unless I provided more and more of my info. Even though they were able to all the other times .. so I provided them with my father 's information just to see if that is what they were doing and sure enough they accessed this account that is on my record using my dads address and info. So that told me that they were scammers or that this debt wasn't mine and possibly my father 's or they just wanted to fill out the info they did not have amd impossible to ever claim that this was ever actually a debt that was validated. So I immediately explain to them that they just gave me access with me providing you my dad 's information just to prove the you were lying about this debt and about it being mine and told them to put it on the right persons credit that. Actually has the same name as me be is a XXXX  and I'm XXXX XXXX. Difference is that I don't live in the address they were claiming the person who owed the debt lives. That is my fathers house he owns that house and they can go look it up in public records and see whos legal address that is .. so I told them to remove it and stop. So months and months go by and still being reported as my debt and I tried several times to contact this company and get it off my record or be forced to sue them but they refuse to do so and refuse to even access the account because my information doesn't match there's that I'm lying about my adress and I need to give them my dads address to access the account. Even though I explain to them that the debt between my dad and this company is not my problem .. my problem is that I'm the person that they are illegally putting this debt on and I'm the person that is telling them that needs to have it corrected.. I can't make my dad call and do anything and he isn't going to call because he is t the one that has a debt that isn't there on there record. So they play stupid and say until he calls they can't do anything about it. 
And it's going to remain my debt until I can either pay his debt off or until I pay there ransom for them to release me from this debt. And they also claim it's under dispute at this time and there hands are tied until they get the results. Months and months pass same exact thing everytime I try I get the same response. It's under investigation and they can't help until I can give them my dads info And adress. I asked them every time to mail a validation and proof of ownership of debt and proof of contracts and agreements signed by me. And they can't do anything until I lie and tell them the correct address. I also informed them that their time has far exceed 90 days. And and quote the statue that it is that gives a consumer the right for the validation to be given and sent to the person that has had something put on there credit when its requested by them They keep saying it's under a dispute and I must call and see admit the debt and then I can stop the ongoing dispute and they will be able to look it up and provide help with the account. And everytime I message about this whole mess with this company my dispute thst has been going on since XXXX with them the dispute starts over and I have to wait on dispute results. This company has violated so many different laws and has in no way have my permission to report anything against me and this type of games they play should have them banned from being able to do this type of work. There is no reason that a reporting agencys should ever be able to report against someone without any kind of proof of debt. And if a person disputed it and points out these things. Cra should remove the debt or investigate it and see that what I was pointing out being wrong on my credit file and force the data furnisherr to provide proof of debt to the right person and if data furnisher can't provide any then it must be removed. But cra instead just ignores that part and sends what I disputed to the data furnisher and ask them is this valid and they and of course with nothing more then its been verified and I wore the debts. So now here I am with a debt not mine that is being reported by some scam collection company that never verified any of this and a reporting agency that is reporting this withljt investing it and without forcing the data furnisher to show anything to actually validate this debt. And they are going on just the data furnisherr word that this debt is legit. Which is illegal. You can not put something on someones credit just on someone word alone So please ask this shady company to give me all my stuff they have one me sent to me and the contracts and agreements for this Debt Or remove like they have to by law

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief