Consumer complaint received 2025-05-22 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Struggling to pay your bill — Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship
Company: Atlanticus Services Corporation
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I began calling the collections team for my XXXX XXXX XXXX credit cards after first attempting to use a debt consolidation company. I was transparent about the fact that I have been experiencing hardships due to domestic issues, marital separation, job loss, and medical problems over the last XXXX years. My account had been current until XX/XX/XXXX despite my situation, and I let them know I could no longer sustain it. I was given misinformation and not fully informed of my options by the collections team. When I spoke with the credit protection team several times, they also gave me misinformation. Instead of helping me, the company closed my credit cards and removed my credit protection. Despite everything I was going through, I was back to work, but out of my creditors, I have spent countless hours talking to agents and supervisors who set me up to fail. I have asked for calls to be listened to and expressed my frustrations, constantly calling for help, being hung up on by supervisors, and just getting apologies that mean nothing. Also, when I called credit protection in XX/XX/XXXX, they coded only my XXXX account and not my XXXX for credit protection review, when I still had the credit protection benefits. Because I work in the financial realm, I have to keep my credit in order, so I pulled from every resource I had to bring the credit cards current, and then lost my job as of XX/XX/XXXX. Even though the accounts are closed, I still have to pay them bills ; in reality, I don't have the means. I got little to no help and realized that every supervisor and representative I spoke to wasn't even in the XXXX ; they just read from a script. They had no idea how to handle complex issues or misinformed me, which impacted my credit score. 
I even spoke to supervisor XXXX, who lied to me, and when I got him on the phone when I called back for a supervisor, he hung up on me. Sometimes, it took excessive time to find my account. I was repeating myself constantly, and I nearly had to force them to do what little they had done to railroad me at the time of vulnerability and stress. Today, I had it, I explained to the rep that I just brought my account current after and then lost my job, but due to the misinformation, my accounts are closed, and I don't have the means to pay the {$120.00} payment that is due on the XXXX account. I could only get the XXXX resolved with credit protection because it was still coded for pending documents. I told the representative, and she was oblivious. She said the collectors are only there to take payments and nothing else. I asked for a supervisor in the U.S., and she told me to put the request in, and it would take XXXX days for a call back, but I had to push her even to get that information. This is not acceptable, and they need to write their wrongs. I still have to pay these credit cards ; my accounts should not have been closed as they were when I called on XX/XX/XXXX. I was not even told I was in danger of account closure or losing my credit protection benefits. This company is all wrong and has to be addressed. They are setting customers up to fail with the practices, lack of knowledge, and resolution skills. I was calling at least XXXX weeks to get help, and there is no reason I should be in this situation. The collections and credit protection department is abysmal in service and resolution. Most of my creditors offered a settlement fixed-rate plan that would close the account or extend some reasonable hardship resolution, but what they do makes no sense. My account was still coded with debt consolidation details after I had them removed, and even sent written notification, my profile was being changed, and no one could tell me why. I disputed the credit bureau, and they overturned the late reporting because I was told that if I paid the balance in full on several occasions, the card would be reported as current as XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX, even after I was getting emails from them giving me the wrong information.

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