American Collections Enterprise, Inc.

Review: This company has called repeatedly claiming they are trying to collect a debt. They leave a message and when I return the call, they never answer. Finally today, I was home when the call came in. A Mr. Donald L[redacted] finally got some information that I was reluctant to provide, since I don't know who these people are and then asked me to hold for a representative who would tell me what it was about. I held on for nearly 10 minutes listening to hold messages. I tried to call back on the number I requested from Mr. L[redacted]. The call did not go through. I looked the business up on the Revdex.com site and called another number and was again put on hold listening to hold messages.

I think this business is a scam or a sweat shop running out of some hole in the wall. I have to get back to work and cannot spend endless hours waiting for them to tell me what this is about.Desired Settlement: I do not believe that I have an outstanding debt. Please stop callling me. You are not calling on my number, but the number of a family member who is getting very angry at this whole garbled process. Please desist.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,On behalf of ACEI, I offer our apologies to this consumer for the difficultly she has encountered in trying to resolve this matter. Please assure her we are a legitimate collection agency that has been in business since 1993. We have been a little short-staffed recently however that is certainly no excuse for the trouble she encountered.I extend to her an invitation to contact me directly to discuss the matter further. I may be reached at ###-###-#### or toll free at ###-###-####.Regards,Angela H[redacted]Compliance & Quality Assurance ManagerAmerican Collections Enterprise, Inc.

Review: I contacted American Collections Enterprise, Inc. and spoke with the Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager regarding removing their collections off of my credit report as I had satisfied the judgement. was not only rude and antagonistic, but she hung up the phone on me twice. She raised her voice the entire time of the conversation and would not let me speak with out her bullying tactics of domination and the making of disparaging comments regarding my health and collections removal off of my credit report. She told me that because I challenged the placement of the collection on my credit report back in July 2012 that I had no recourse as far as removal goes. When I tried to explain to her that I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer at that time, not only did I not get to finish my sentence, but she then began to yell at me telling me that my health issues were not her concern and that her father or father in law had cancer. I hung up as her rudeness showed no limits.

AMCOLLECT's website states:" I Believe every Person has Worth as an Individual. I Believe every Person should be Treated with Dignity and Respect. I will Make it my Responsibility to Help Consumers Find Ways to Pay their Debts. I will be Professional and Ethical. I will Commit to Honoring this Pledge." When I brought this to the attention of **. xxxxxxxx, her response was, "So what's your point?" Not only do they practice harassment and bullying, but they practice false advertisement. All this after I contacted THEM, not the other way around, to satisfy the debt. Individuals who behave in the manner that **. xxxxxxx thinks is OK should be removed from positions of power.Desired Settlement: I want the collections removed off of my credit report and a letter of apology.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Pursuant to our policy, as the complaint submitted by **. [redacted] was directed at me, it was reviewed by our Senior Vice-President, *. [redacted]. His response is attached for your review.

Regards,

Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager

American Collections Enterprise, Inc

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: It's a biased assumption of facts coming from someone (**. [redacted]) who was not privy to the conversation and who is justifying his employee, [redacted]'s response and actions. She is the person whom I spoke with and based on their response here, she takes no responsibility for what she created and instead puts sole blame on me for her reactions., as so does **. [redacted]. She raised her voice at me long before I became annoyed with her method of speaking to me. She yelled over any conversation I was trying to attempt and hung up the phone on me after her own rude and unprofessional behavior. She became loud and belligerent any time I questioned their policy as if I didn't have that right to question her. Who hangs up on a client and speaks to them in that manner? The mere fact that she brings forth that I was annoyed over not handling this back in 2012 is based on her fabrication of the events. I wasn't annoyed due to that. I was annoyed over her response to my trying to explain to her why they weren't contacted back in 2012. I had been laid off from my job as well as having been diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer. Contacting them at that point in time to make arrangements to pay a bill would have been futile as one can not pay for something when one is living on bare unemployment. **. [redacted] started screaming at me about her father having cancer and how it was no excuse. I disconnected the phone at that point as I could not believe that someone could be that callous and rude. Typical behavior from a collection agency and one that gets them in trouble over and over with State and Federal agencies.

Review: I contacted American Collections Enterprises on March 14 to settle a debt in the amount of $472.00. I spoke to the compliane officer who indictated that collection accounts can be removed from the report within 30 days of first contact with the debtor. The compiance officer went on to say that an account for 204.00 would fall off my account on March 20th since it had reached 7 years from the date of service. I had previous conversations with [redacted] and [redacted] who indicated that they cannot mention anything about getting accounts removed but if I bring it up than can indicate that items can be removed 30 days after initial contact with the debtor. Once I paid the 472.00 I noticed an a new account on my credit report of $127.00 appeared. I have two issues regarding this: I made an arrangement and until I brake the arrangement they should have honored the agreement and allow me to pay the amount on April 1. as arranged by [redacted]. When I inquired about that they indicated I did not secure the agreement. I was not told that it was mandatory for me to secure the arrangement with a credit card or they will report to the credit bureau. [redacted] indicated on 3/26/14 that he also flagged the account to be paid on April 1 and that it should not have been posted to the credit report . My second issue with this is that now that I am actively working to clean up my report they are purposely adding negative information one after another even after an agreement was made. They continuously change their policy depending on who you talk to or just plan lie about it. [redacted], the compliance officer just plain lied the second conversation we had. During the first conversation we talked about the reckage of a divorce and cleaning up the past. She indicated that I had until April 4 to pay the accounts prior to the next reporting period since the end of the month reporting was happening on the weekend. The folks have lied about their policy and talk in a highly disrespective manner. Initially, [redacted] was extremely courteous but after the supervisor indicated something different. [redacted] changed her story. [redacted] also confirmed the policy about not mentioning any removals unless the debtor asks. Otherwise they are not allowed to mention it. As a result of my call on 3/26/14 indicating my displeasure with the previous days series of inaccurate and lying events, [redacted] said that since they don't have to speak to me on the phone that she will flag my account so that I have to transmit all future communcations in writing to make it harder for me to rectify my open accounts. This is xtremely disrespectful, unprofessional and seriously lack customer service. There is no excuse for employees to act in such an unprofessional and uncustomer oriented fashion.Desired Settlement: I request the following actions from this company:

1. The company President review the original recording on March 14 where I was told about the policy for removing accounts from the credit report.

2. A phone call from [redacted] apologizing for her disrespectful behavior regarding my disatisfaction with her sudden change in policy after the supervisor offered a different policy.

3. An explanation why even after the account was flagged for a good faith payment on April 1 was it still placed on the credit report.

4. The removal of all paid collection accounts from the credit report.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern:

Since the complaint in question was directed at me, we did not feel it would be appropriate for me to provide a response. Therefore, a response was sent via email by another manager within our organization. In reviewing that email, I noted the email address was typed incorrectly. Please see attached for a printed version of that email.

Regards,

[redacted] Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager

American Collections Enterprise, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Review: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because: See the attached document. Essentially, they did remove the accounts and I truely appreciate it. However, the response by [redacted] was completing unable to address the complaint and because of that I reject it. My response is attached. I refer to my original request made to rectify this situation. Also, on April 11, 2014 I paid an account in full as I am continuoulsy reducing my debt. This account is still reading unpaid on my report. I have asked all 3 bureaus to dispute in order for American to properly show the updated balance and remove from my report.

Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

From: [redacted] <[redacted]>

Date: Tue, May 6, 2014 at 7:50 AM

Subject: Review: [redacted] - [redacted]

To: [email protected]

Dear [redacted]:

I am sorry that **. [redacted] rejects my response to his original complaint. In addressing his rejection of my prior response I am unaware of any show of disrespect toward **. [redacted]. He accuses my company of being unprofessional; this is his opinion and he certainly has a right to express it. I do not share this sentiment, and like **. [redacted], I have a right to my opinion also.

**. [redacted] claims that we “lack customer service”. How can he possibly make this charge when he has absolutely no way of gauging our level of “customer service”. I suspect that **. [redacted] equates “customer service” to “the customer is always right” and therefore expects my company to react in this fashion. We cannot! Our obligation to **. [redacted], as a consumer, is the truth.

However, in the spirit of reconciliation I will end my response by stating that we do regret any inconvenience or misunderstanding between my company and **. [redacted]. We wish to move forward in an amicable manner and help resolve any outstanding issues that may exist as expeditiously as possible.

Sincerely,

H.R. & Training Coordinator

###-###-####

###-###-#### (fax)

American Collections Enterprise, Inc.

"Collecting the Past, Managing the Present, Building the Future"

H.I.P.A.A. - F.D.C.P.A. and F.C.R.A. CONFIDENTIALITY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

This communication may include information and/or file attachment(s) of which one or both may contain confidential medical and/or financial information for utilization by the specifically designated recipient(s) named above. Should you not be the recipient(s) named above and received this communication (e-mail) in error, notify us immediately by responding to this e-mail. This e-mail, if received in error, should be immediately deleted along with any attachments. State and Federal law potentially govern the content of this e-mail and any attachments. Therefore, any unauthorized and willful disclosure, forwarding, copying, retention, printing, or distributing of this information received in error, in any format, through any vehicle of communication, whether electronic or non-electronic, regardless of intent, may constitute one or more violation(s) of State and/or Federal laws and thereby subject violators to stringent fines and penalties up to and including imprisonment. This statement has been issued to be in full compliance with all prescribed local, State, and Federal laws.

Review: I am writing in reference to a conversation I had on Saturday November 22, 2014. I have been receiving phone calls from American Collection Enterprise in an effort to collect an outstanding hospital debt from [redacted] Hospital in Clinton Maryland. This debt is in reference to a hospital visit on January 1, 2009. The amount of the service was for $278.10. I first became aware of this outstanding balance sometime in 2012 by the [redacted] located at [redacted] in Waldorf, Maryland [redacted]. At that time I worked with the company to make small payments to pay down the bill. In November 2013 I spoke with an employee and made arrangements to settle this final payment in the amount of $186.00 this balance does not include the previous $92.00 that I paid in 2012 and earlier in 2013. With the settlement of the payment I was informed that the debt was settled and that proper notification would be sent to the credit bureau stating so on my credit history report.

On June 25, 2014 I received a letter stating that my account was being referred to American Collection Enterprise, Inc. (ACEI) in the amount of $64.00. This debt was in reference to a debt being collected from [redacted] Hospital for the services rendered on January 1, 2009. It was during my conversation on November 22nd that I was informed that I owed $298.00 to [redacted] Hospital and that AMCEI was looking to collect that amount. I further explained that I had already settled this account with the [redacted] and that I do not owe any additional money. I also stated that I received a collection letter in June for $64.00 from ACEI. It was told to me that the collector knew nothing about either notices and that I owe the amount in question of $298.00. At this time I would like to speak with a manager or supervisor who can review the documentation that I am presenting as evidence that this matter has been settled through a previous debt collection company and that I am no longer responsible for this account.Desired Settlement: I would further like to have notices sent to the 3 credit agencies of [redacted], and [redacted] stating that this matter has been resolved. Attached you will find the settlement letter from [redacted] as well as the June 2014 notice from ACEI. I will be sending this information to [redacted] Hospital and the three credit bureaus as well. I look forward to working with you in reference to this matter and would further like to request any future correspondence be handled in writing.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,I would be more than happy to assist this consumer and address her concerns. Please ask her to contact me directly at ###-###-####. I am generally easiest to reach after 10am and before 4pm.Regards,Angela H[redacted]Compliance & Quality Assurance ManagerAmerican Collections Enterprise, Inc.

Review: A bill I had was forwarded to this company for collection. Upon having my credit report pulled the bank told me that it was up there and it needed to be resolved. So I contacted these individuals trying to settle the debt. I initially spoke to someone named [redacted] and of course they try to get all the information they can out of you regarding your whereabouts. I was then forwarded to someone who called herself the "Compliance Officer or Manager". I told this person that I was trying to get this resolved and try to settle this debt...she told me unless I giver her a number to be reached at there was no settlement for me. So I gave her a number and she immediately got nasty and started ranting and raving about I should have never done this, and she didn't care about my circumstances because other people have bills to. She stated to me there is no settlement offer for me and was nasty as [redacted]. I began tp tell her I can just wait 7yrs and let it fall off and be done with it. She again started raving again and at that point I was like "thank you bye". How can a person try and settle a collection if the people there are disgusting and rude and telling you their opinions of you and so fourth? Mind you they claim the lines are recorded so they should have record of this. In my mind if these are the type of people businesses are highering to get their money than they weill NEVER get a rusty nickel. I lost my job due to my position being RIF (reduction in force)so now the best I can do is try to settle anything that was sent to collections.Desired Settlement: I am trying to speak to someone that has some sense and phone etiquette so I can resolve this debt.

Business

Response:

July 23, 2014Dear [redacted]:I reviewed the taped conversation that the consumer noted in her complaint. At no time was our representative anything other than informative, diplomatic and stating precisely what the consumer did not want to hear.The crux of the matter is the consumer’s desire to settle an account for less than what is rightfully owed. The consumer purchased season tickets for a local football team and has not paid the amount that was agreed upon. She now has other bills and feels our client should "discount” the amount owed and settle the balance for less. This consumer has the perception that settlements for less than what is owed is a right or entitlement. It is not!Under the circumstances we are not in a position to reduce the balance owed. We will work with this consumer and formulate a short term repayment plan but that is the best we can do. If the consumer is interested in an opportunity to address this long overdue obligation I will gladly speak with them and render any assistance that is possible.I apologize for the delay in responding to this complaint.With kind regards,

Review: American Collections are reporting an account on my credit file that I have no knowledge of. The amount is for $80 for ([redacted] HOSPITAL). I have contacted [redacted] Hospital and was told that they do not have any record of any account in my name. I've been medically retired from the military since May 2005 as a result of my injuries obtained in Southwest Asia. My medical insurance since that time has been provided by [redacted] along with Medicare Plan A & B. Any and all fees will and would have been covered by any visits made to any medical facility that I visited. Although the stated amount in collections is for just $80, it has had a negative affect on my credit file. I have contacted American Collections by phone and left a voice message in September (I apologize that I do not recall the exact date). I also requested for validation of the debt also by certified mail that was signed for by (ARNOLD R[redacted]) and have not received any response. Thank you for you time and I would greatly appreciate any assistance in resolving this very important matter.Desired Settlement: Remove the file from my credit report.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,This consumer's dispute was received October 1, 2014. He has more than the stated account with our agency and his dispute is under investigation. We will be submitting a deletion request to the credit bureaus to remove the referenced account from his credit history. Due to the matter still being under investigation, we cannot provide any additional information at this time.The consumer is welcome to contact me directly for additional information. I can be reached between 9am and 4pm at ###-###-#### or ###-###-####.Regards,Angela H[redacted]Compliance & Quality Assurance ManagerAmerican Collections Enterprise, Inc

Review: Went to radiology, they never bothered calling me to collect payment - just sent it to ACEI. They did not bother calling the number they had on record, instead they obtained my unlisted work number to collect the debt. THEY HAD MY CELL PHONE NUMBER and never used it. ACEI should have never called my work number. On top of that the guy couldn't explain the charges to me. He stated that the account never went through insurance and that he could not fix it - I have to be the one to contact my insurance even though [redacted] has all my insurance info. This whole situation could have been prevented if 1. they submitted the info to my insurance, 2. they had picked up the phone to call me, or 3. the debt collectors could have called my cell phone instead of my work phone. HIGHLY UNPROFESSIONAL. On top of that I told the guy I could pay $25/month and he told me if I get it paid off by August that it will not be put on my credit - there is no way I can pay off $750 in 2 months when I have other debts as well. But then when I was hanging up he told me "Oh you are doing the right thing". What the heck does that mean - I would have set up a damn payment plan before had the drs office just contacted me. And I'm even being charged a fee to process the monthly payments - it's only $0.88 per payment, but still this could have been avoided.Desired Settlement: Do not put this on my credit report since I am paying it off and since the drs office could have contacted me to set up a payment plan prior to it going to collections. SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED ME THAT THE ACCOUNT WAS ABOUT TO GO TO COLLECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern:

[redacted] raises several issues in her complaint that we will attempt to address individually.

The first issue being her claim that our client, [redacted] Radiology, never contacted her. Obviously our agency is not in a position to address matters of this nature as these are things that occurred prior to our receipt of the account.

The next issue would be [redacted]'s concern that we called her at work. There is no law against making that call unless the consumer informs us they do not wish or are not otherwise allowed to receive calls at work. As soon as we were informed of this, the account was noted accordingly. We will not be contacting her at work anymore.

Regarding the billing of insurance, insurance is always billed as a courtesy to the patient. If insurance does not pay and the patient feels they should, it is the responsibility of the patient to follow up with their insurance.

Finally, regarding [redacted]'s request that account not be credit reported, we are required by law to apply and enforce our credit reporting policy evenly and fairly to all affected consumers. As we do not block credit reporting for small, monthly payment arrangements we cannot make this exception for [redacted]. We did however, bring her concerns to the attention of our client to see if they wish to make an exception for her under the circumstances. As they are the original creditor, they are within their right to provide such a directive to our office.

Aside from the issue of credit reporting, it does appear that [redacted]'s concerns are more about how and why our client sent the account to collections, rather than the fact that it is here now. I would in that regard respectfully point out that [redacted] incurred these charges in May 2013 and our client waited almost a year until April 2014 to send the account to collections. During that time period, they were sending billing statements to [redacted].

As [redacted] did request an "explanation of charges" as her "desired settlement", we have requested that information from our client and will forward it to her upon receipt. She may wish to contact our office to confirm we have her correct mailing address on file.

Regards,

Angela H[redacted]

Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager

American Collections Enterprise, Inc.

Review: In January 2013 I pulled my consumer credit report with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. I noticed an account on my file from American Collections for a balance due of $646.17. I have zero information on this account and never received a billing statement or notice there was an amount due. I disputed the account with all three credit bureaus and TransUnion deleted the account but it remained on Equifax and Experian. I contacted Experian and they said I needed to contact the company reporting the information directly. I sent American Collections a request to validate the account on 1/18/2013. I received a letter dated 2/12/2013 on 2/22/2013 from PAYACEI.com American Collections Enterprise, Inc. with an attachement from [redacted] of [redacted] for services provided in March 2007. In the attachment I see that [redacted] had the incorrect address for me and doesn't match the address they provided on a the handwritten patient information sheet.

While I do not agree there is a balance due, I responded back to American Collections on 3/4/2013 with a settlement request with the sole intention of considering the account paid in full and DELETING the account from my consumer credit file. On 3/14/2013 American Collections responded back with a copy of the 2/12/2013 letter with a reduced balance of $461.55. Nothing about the settlement or remove the account was addressed in the letter. I sent American Collections a Cease and Desist letter on 3/30/2013 as allowed by the FDCPA. I wanted to work directly with [redacted] or [redacted] to resolve this issue and have the account deleted.

On 4/27/2013 I sent [redacted] a settlement request of $300 for the $461.55 with the sole intention of deleting the account from my credit file. They never responded back so I called their office and spoke with [redacted]. She checked on the status and said the letter was misplaced and asked me to fax the letter again. I sent a copy of the 4/27/2013 letter by fax to [redacted] on 5/9/2013. I called multiple times to [redacted] asking for status but the doctor was away and would look into it when he returned. On 5/20/2013 I received a letter from [redacted] stating for $450 they would settle the account. I called their office and [redacted] agreed for $450 they would mark the account as closed and instruct American Collections to delete the file from my credit report. I made the $450 payment over the phone using my [redacted] credit card based on the terms of deleting the account and considering this resolved.

Today (5/21/2013) I was informed they would not be removing the account from my credit file per [redacted] with American Collections. I called American Collections and spoke with [redacted] on 5/21/2013. She was very short and refused to understand my position and she made the accusation I have known about this account for years when I have not. I explained the first time I had any awareness this was even associated with [redacted] was when I received their first letter on 2/22/2013. I have been working each month since to resolve this issue and remove this erroneous account from my consumer credit file. I have done nothing wrong and I was never informed their was a balance due on this account until I initiated a review by directly contacting their company. I want this removed from my remaining Experain and Equifax credit reports.

I can provide copies of all letters sent and received, certified return receipt proof upon request.Desired Settlement: Delete the account from my consumer credit files.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

While we emphatically deny the history of this matter as stated by the consumer in his complaint, pursuant to the request of the original creditor, we will be deleting the account from his credit history. That process can take anywhere from 30 to 45 days. We have no control over the turn-around time.

Regards,

Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager

American Collections Enterprise, Inc

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: I [redacted] have several medical debt bills , one of which has been forwarded to American Collections Enterprise 'collection agency'. I have been notified by phone they have an outstanding balance of approx $4,300.00 for client [redacted], MD. I have asked for this matter in writing and have been informed by Manager, [redacted], they will not provide any further statements to me (our last call was on April 7, 2014. I have been making monthly payments as agreed with a rep [redacted] of $20 monthly. Because of the increase in new balance and that I do not have any paperwork for such is my reason for requesting such from this collection agency who refuses to comply with my request.[redacted]Desired Settlement: Grant me the proof / paperwork / statement for my records of such balance before I continue making the agreed upon monthly payments.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I have reviewed the accounts belonging to **. [redacted] and I believe there is a simple miscommunication between **. [redacted] and our office. What he refers to as a "statement" may or may not be what he is truly seeking to receive.

I would like to suggest that **. [redacted] contact me directly for further assistance with this matter. He may reach me at ###-###-#### during regular business hours.

Regards, [redacted]

Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager

American Collections Enterprise, Inc.