Lanier Collection Agency & Services

Hello, In response to Mr***-***'s complaint he was sent notices of the (two) debts he has with out office and has made (six) payments on the accounts, the last being 02/16/He has never asked for validation of either debt, however
validation for both debt(s) are on the way to the address on our system which matches the one he put on this complaint. We have a contingency contract with our client that gives us the right to collect this debt. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8:00AM - 5:00PM and we have multiple representatives available to take calls at anytime during these hoursWe have not and do not commit fraud. *** ***President###-###-####

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: the information mailed to me was not the detailed information I requested More importantly I do not have a contract with any third party agencies therefore as previously stated this CONTRACT sould be CANCELLED.
Regards,
*** ***

Since the consumer was under the impression that the accounts would be removed from the credit bureaus, we will honor that actionWe will be contacting the bureaus today and inform them to remove the listing. *** ***President

Hello,           I spoke with Ms. [redacted] on 01/05/2015 and explained that we do not hold from credit placing based on payment plans, I was surprised when I read the complaint and will try to take a few moments here to explain some of the issues...

referenced. 1) The Fire department sent it to them instead of working with us - The Fire/EMS service held the account for more than 4 months from the date of service prior to sending it to us for collection, they send at least one notice and hold the accounts to avoid issues like this. The balance is due when services are rendered.2) No fault Motor Vehicle Accident - We do not hold off on any collection processes, credit reporting included for personal injury claims or motor vehicle accidents. Service was provided to the patient, not an insurance company or an attorney and the patient is responsible for the payment of said services. We often provide receipts and paid in full letters to consumers to assist in the reimbursement process for these situations. 3) Marked late to the Credit Bureau - We are a collection agency, everything we report to the credit bureaus is considered late by them, not us. We have no control over how the credit bureau represents the listing. 4) Asked for a supervisor - I was the supervisor on the floor at the time Ms. [redacted] asked to speak with one, I also happen to be the President and owner. 5) Matter of policy not legality - Ms. [redacted] asked if it was illegal to remove the listing, I told her it was not illegal, but a matter of policy. This policy stems from an agreement with the Credit Bureaus that we will not remove listings simply based on payment as it undermines the credit reporting process. 6) Secretary General - This comment was not intended to be condescending, Ms. [redacted] seemed surprised that she would be talking to the actual owner and I simply tried give her the means to verify it if she needed to. I apologize if any offense was taken, it was certainly not intended. 7) Payment plans - All of our representatives are specifically trained to inform all consumers that the only way to avoid credit placement is to pay the account in full by a certain date. However, we do understand that regardless of this, many consumers simply cannot afford to pay in full, that is why we offer payment plans. Again, the debt is past due when we receive it, any payment options at that point are provided to help the consumer, we and the original creditor would certainly prefer to have the account(s) paid in full.8) Desired Settlement - The listing on the credit report will reflect the proper paid in full status with our next submission to the credit bureaus.           I am sorry that this did not have the desired conclusion for the consumer. However we have not misrepresented any of our actions and have not reported anything inaccurate to the credit bureaus.  [redacted]

Hello,                          Let me start by apologizing for any perceived rudeness, we often get that label by simply doing our job even when overly polite. Neither myself nor the company is defensive on this point, it is a standard for handling accounts that was set a long time ago and that is adhered to by every employee, as stated previously, there is absolutely no incentive on our part to delay the payment in full on any account in our office. I also want to apologize if you felt I was trying to make you feel like you don't pay your bills, that was certainly not my intent. While we are not in customer service we do not want to come across as rude although we have job to do that is not always pleasant.

Hello,              This account was placed in our office on 05/08/2014 and a letter with the proper disclaimers was sent to her address. We spoke with Tamika Blanchard on 06/16/2014 with regard to the account, after identifying...

her and telling her of the bill, she ended the call. We spoke with her again on 06/09/2015, she said she was in the car on a trip and we would need to call back. We received the request for validation on 08/03/2017, printed the bill and financial agreement on 08/06/2017 and mailed it on 08/07/2017. The address that was on the validation request was the same one we had on file and that is where the information was sent. We have complied with all requests and laws regarding this matter.  Thanks, [redacted]

Hello,              With regard to Mr. [redacted]'s complaint, we have spoken with him on this matter with the same conclusion each time. We first spoke with him in 2010 and he said this was not his account. As is customary, we sent...

him all of the back up information available on the account, which included a document signed by him for his review. He then stated he was the victim of identity fraud. We informed him that we would be happy to help him get it resolved and to please provide us with a copy of the police report he had filed. He said he would send it to us and hung up. We have had no further contact with him until August of this year where we had an almost identical conversation to the one in 2015. It ended the same way, with him stating he would send it to us and hanging up. We will mark his account as disputed with the credit bureau and we have not attempted any additional methods of collection.  [redacted]President

Hello,        Based on the consumer's "Desired Outcome" listed in the complaint, there is no way to satisfy her request. I have checked our phone records and no calls were made to the place of employment after she requested no more calls. If a complaint is made to the CFPB we will respond as well as to the Attorney General or any attorney representing her. Have them contact me directly please.  [redacted]

[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]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I strongly encourage you to check your phone records again, and I will gladly pull my work phone records if need be. She called me at work the first time and harrassed me after I told her I cannot recieve personal calls at work. By harrass I mean she had a severe attitude, she was very hateful and angry and she even threw out a hateful name. Who handles business that way? Surely this isn't the business you brag about on your website. Not a full two weeks after the first call she called my cellphone, I could not answer due to working with a customer and she immediately called my work phone and the same situation happened. She even raised her voice that time about me "hanging up on her" when in reality it was a dropped call. What do you mean nothing can be done to resolve the issue of your unproffessional office staff? That's false and I will not accept it until some kind of resolution has happened. This again, is unacceptable. You should hold a higher standard for the people who represent you. If no resolution can be made I will have a personal representative reach out to you directly on my behalf. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,         I am disappointed that the consumer's interaction with our company was not satisfactory. We have an unpleasant job sometimes and are not always well received. This did not report to the consumers credit report and was not sent to the credit...

bureaus for reporting. We are attempting to verify that payment was made as indicated by the consumer, as long as we can confirm this was paid, it will not report to the credit bureaus.  [redacted]

[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]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I have explained the situation to Lanier and have provided all the information I know to provide. I have never needed storage because I do not have items I need to store. In addition, if I needed to store anything I could do so at my current address. This bill is not mine and I will now seek legal methods to handle this situation. Lanier has been nothing but rude with zero help in this matter. I find Lanier collection agency to be a predatory collector and difficult to deal with. Further evidence of this can be seen by prior Revdex.com complaints and the fact that their rating is "F". They should be investigated. I have filed a complaint with the attorney general and will seek other means to correct this situation.
Regards,
[redacted]

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]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:The employee still told me that this would not affect my credit! This is not my fault that your employee told a lie! I am not surprised by the response. Please do not make me feel that I do not pay my bills, I mailed every payment that I was supposed to pay, I cannot help it that the doctor's office could not get their billing together. Your employee still told me a LIE and that is unacceptable, but if your company is okay with that then that is on you all. This company is very rude and thankfully I pay my bills on time and will never have to deal with them again. They have multiple Revdex.com complaints for things that are just wrong for a company to do.  Obviously this company gets very defensive when they are questioned! I never had a bad conversation until today when the person who answered my call was VERY rude when I brought this up. I was surprised, but after reading the email from someone that is apparently in management of this company I am not surprised at the lack of customer service that I received. It is obvious that the poor and rude customer service starts with management at this company.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,       We received Ms. [redacted]'s request for validation and responded via US Mail on the same day. The print out sent to Ms. [redacted] clearly states who the creditor is, the date of service and the services performed on this date. The debt has been validated and nothing...

provided by Ms. [redacted] indicates that this is not her debt. Please feel free to call our office and speak with someone if more explanation on the information provided is needed. Thanks.  [redacted]

Hello,       Out contracts are with the Medical Providers, not with Ms. [redacted] so there is nothing to cancel. We haven't violated any laws or regulations with regard to handling her account and have provided her with what the medical provider provided to us. These charges were also submitted to Ms. [redacted] insurance company at the time and payments and adjustments were made by the insurance company.

[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]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Mr. [redacted] has again failed to address the issue at hand and resolve the situation, instead making unfounded assertions as to why I have contacted the Revdex.com and denying his company's false representation of information.  When I initially talked to Mr. [redacted], I specifically asked him to pull the conversation from recorded calls in order to confirm what we had been told by his associate.  Many companies have this capability.  Unfortunately, Mr. [redacted] said he did not record conversations or have that capability in his business.  If I were not absolutely sure of the information we were given, I would have never asked him to pull the conversation in the first place.Given that others who have reported to the Revdex.com have been told the same EXPLICIT information that those on payment plans will not be reported, there seems to be an issue with the business practices that are being used.Again, I ask for the situation to be remedied and for him to request that the credit bureaus remove this information from my credit report.  If I had this information initially, I would have restructured my repayment to doctor's offices, etc. until the settlement arrived at the end of the year in order to accommodate this truth.  I am a responsible person who has never experienced a single issue with credit as I make informed decisions and pay according to what I am told, but if I am misinformed, the fault lies with the one who has misinformed, as my decisions were based upon that misinformation.  Again, I ask that Mr. [redacted] honor what we were told initially by facilitating the removal of this information from my credit report.  
Regards,
[redacted] [redacted]

Hello,                 Every account that is placed with our/a collection agency is "delinquent" and is subject to credit reporting. We never inform anyone that making payments will stop an account from being placed on their...

credit, there are no exceptions to this rule.. All accounts are held for 60-90 days and then reported to the credit bureaus if it is not paid in full. The impact this has on someone's credit is determined by the credit bureaus and not our office. It would serve our best interest and our clients if accounts were paid in full prior to credit reporting and we consistently tell consumers this so that they will pay accounts in full quickly.  Matthew Carlisle

[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]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I have not received any written communication from LCA regarding anything but the account for $169.00. I see no reason why their letters would not have arrived given the fact that I received their previous communications with no problems. If they can produce a certified letter receipt, with a signature verification that shows they attempted to contact me then I will stand corrected. That being said to the best of my knowledge they have not attempted to contact me other than the afore mentioned harassing phone call. If they would like to attempt to send an invoice with supporting documentation for the account they claim is due then I will be happy to look it over. Until such time as they meet such reasonable conditions, that any other reputable business would do, I will consider the matter to be dealt with and absolutely no payment will be issued. I simply will not turn over my hard earned money because this company "says" I owe for something without any proof.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,       When the admission paperwork is signed at the providers office, permission is granted for them to send information for the purposes of collecting the account. There is no [redacted] violation and we do not have Ms. [redacted]' medical records. We have also sent...

Ms. [redacted] validation of this debt at her request. Please let me know if there are any other questions.   [redacted]