Consumer complaint received 2024-11-06 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was already discharged in bankruptcy and is no longer owed
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: NM

Complaint narrative:
I recently attempted to open a XXXX  XXXX checking account online. I had a credit card with XXXX  XXXX in XXXX. When I was married to my first husband and therefore had a different last name. I had trouble logging in and creating the new account that I wanted to create. The XXXX XXXX XXXX account was charged off and I guess another was discharged in bankruptcy, which is actually very confusing to me. Because I only had the one XXXX  XXXX account. So I am now realizing that the account discharged in bankruptcy was also reported to collections. The account from XXXX XXXX, obviously is over XXXX years old. It was discharged in bankruptcy, which is an issue enough right there, but head it, not, still have a major issue. This morning while trying to open the checking account online.I was given an error message, due to the last name discrepancy, I am sure. The message gave me the option to either call or dismiss the message. I hit call and it automatically dialed XXXX XXXX. In automated, recording picked up and said that XXXX XXXX was directing. My call to the appropriate department to handle my issue and then began to ring. Someone came on the line and said, hello, XXXX? Because I believe I am speaking to XXXX XXXX I say, yes, hello, this is XXXX. They then began to immediately speak of a completely unrelated XXXX XXXX XXXX credit card account that was in collections. Completely confused, i asked what other accounts he had in my name that he would be calling about. Because I am speaking to XXXX XXXX. He put me on hold. Well, he looked into it and then came back on and informed me that XXXX XXXX XXXX was the only account with this collection company who is XXXX collections. So I informed him that I am calling XXXX XXXX. Are you XXXX XXXX? What do you have to do with XXXX XXXX? 
And all he wanted to talk about was the XXXX XXXX XXXX account, and he stated that we had discussed that, and I agreed that we had discussed that, and I ended the call. What has happened here is my account from XXXX because of the F. C. RA was no longer in collections, as of XXXX and XXXX, XXXX stopped reporting it. 
Although still through computers and AI and whatever they obviously missed completely ending their relationship. With this collection agency on my account, and so there's automated system flagged. To route my call to this collection agency, who has the no record of the account because it is older than seven years old at XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX. Unfortunately for me, I have another account from XXXX XXXX XXXX that was sold to this company and is within the 7 years. Still, in fact, only in its infancy, unfortunately for me. Midland collections and especially XXXX, XXXX completely violate the fcra, especially since it was an account charged off in bankruptcy and should have never been in collections. In fact, I don't even recall seeing it on my credit report as a collection, but looking back I never really knew what that was. As it is also incorrectly reported by midland credit collections also violating the fcra. I spent an hour just now thinking that this collection agency had hijacked XXXX XXXX  system or something, and was, I mean, this is just crazy that this has happened. It's totally unacceptable and sure. They stopped reporting it as a collection, but due to AI being actually very stupid. And not a better option for anything at all. It still flagged me over to them and threw me to the wolves and restarted my seven years of being free of a completely separate unrelated collection account. This is a total negligence of XXXX XXXX that clearly violates XXXX. 
And the reason that I was calling simply to change my last name because of a divorce, after being transferred 10 times in speaking to 11 different people at XXXX XXXX. I still have not been connected to a department that can simply update my last name. 
So that I can log in and open a checking account. Now not so sure I want to.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation