Progressive Financial Services, Inc.

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Mr. and Mrs. [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 31 July 2014. These consumers state that they have been receiving calls from Progressive for a person who is not them and who does not live at their residence. They want the...

calls to stop.Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account on which calls were made to these consumers’ phone number (###-###-####). We show that on a number of occasions we left a message at that number for the account holder. Even though each message starts with a request that any recipients of misdirected calls please phone a toll free number and so inform Progressive, we are showing no inbound calls from the above-referenced phone number about calls to their residence.That phone number has now been removed from the relevant account and added to our internal “do not call” list so it cannot be dialed again. We are showing no further calls after receipt of the Revdex.com complaint. We apologize for the unintentional misdirected calls to these consumers. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.Sincerely,[redacted]Corporate Counsel

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Ms. [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 18 May 2014.  Ms. [redacted] stated that she continued to receive misdirected collection calls to her phone number even after she advised Progressive that we were calling her in...

error. She wants to calls to stop.

Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account. Ms. [redacted]’s complaint has merit. On 29 April 2014 she notified one of our agents on an inbound call that we were calling her number (ending in [redacted]) in error. The agent promised to remove the number from the account, but he failed to do so. That failure resulted in several more calls being made to Ms. [redacted]’s number. Apparently Ms. [redacted] left a message to remove the number and it was, in fact, removed from the account on 15 May 2014. We are showing no further calls to her number thereafter.

We apologize both for the misdirected calls to Ms. [redacted]’s number on the account and particularly for the calls made after she notified our staff that we were calling her in error. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Their claim is not correct. I have several calls from this company from 3 different phone numbers. They are listing only one number in their reply. I have 5 messages on my answering machine from them. I do get mail for an Elizabeth Olson but one does not live here at this address. I have been having issue with this problem since moving in 3 years ago. I have to keep changing my phone number because of this issue also. Their trace of this person is wrong.

14 June 2016    

10pt;">  Conciliation & Engagement Specialist Revdex.com of Central/Northern Arizona 4428 N. 12th Street Phoenix, AZ 85014 Writer’s Direct Line: [redacted] Writer’s Direct Fax Line: [redacted] e-mail: [redacted]   Re:      Complaint # [redacted]                    [redacted] Our Acct. No. [redacted]   To Whom It May Concern:   I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Mr. [redacted] We received the complaint on/about 7 June 2016. Mr. [redacted] states that he received a collection notice from Progressive about his [redacted] Communication account but he had previously communicated with a different agency ([redacted]) about the debt and set up payment arrangements with [redacted]. He states that a [redacted] representative with whom he spoke about Progressive’s contact stated (1) that [redacted] never settles accounts (as Progressive had offered him in a recent conversation); and (2) that [redacted] “does not outsource its collections.” Mr. Underwood thinks Progressive is fraudulently trying to collect on the **x account and he wants an apology from Progressive.   The [redacted] representative gave Mr. Underwood incorrect information. Not only does [redacted] outsource its collection work, it uses multiple collection agencies, including Progressive Financial Services, Inc. for collection services. We have notified [redacted] about the misinformation provided to this consumer. That misinformation exacerbated a situation that was previously created by Cox when his account was placed by Cox with two agencies at the same time – C** and then Progressive. Neither Progressive nor the consumer was aware of these errors at the time that one of our agents spoke with Mr. Underwood on 23 May 2016.   Mr. Underwood states that the Progressive collection agent with whom he spoke was “very rude and pushy” when he explained about the other company having previously contacted him and set him up on payments. We have reviewed the recording of the call and concluded that the agent was neither rude nor pushy. She politely invited Mr. Underwood to contact [redacted] to confirm where the account was, provided him with a phone number to do so, and asked him to call her back when he had an answer. He then asked her if the he were to set up payments with Progressive, would we send him a letter promising to remove the debt from his credit report when it was paid off. She correctly told him that Progressive does not have such a letter that it sends. She said she would note the account that he expressed that he wanted to keep his payments with the other company because Progressive would not provide him with the letter he wanted – which is precisely what the conversation entailed. 2 After we got this Revdex.com complaint and contacted our client, [redacted] determined that the account was already at [redacted] and should not have been placed with Progressive. [redacted] then notified Progressive that it was recalling the account from our inventory. If Progressive reported any trade line regarding this consumer’s account to the credit bureaus, prompt steps will we taken to notify the credit reporting agencies that the trade line should be deleted. Once the request is sent, Progressive has no control over how quickly the trade line is in fact deleted – as that is done by the credit reporting agencies.   Progressive regrets that [redacted] both placed the account with Progressive in error and that one of its reps gave this consumer misinformation that caused the consumer to be concerned about possible fraudulent activity by Progressive. Of course, none of that has any merit. We are a vendor for [redacted] in good standing and contracted to conduct collection on accounts placed with us by [redacted]. We did nothing but attempt to do that with Mr. [redacted]s account.   We are more than happy to provide the Revdex.com with a copy of the recording if there is any question about the way our employee conducted herself on the call. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.   Sincerely,       /s/   Barbara A. H[redacted], Esq. Corporate Counsel

See attached response.

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Ms. [redacted].  We received the complaint on/about 29 August 2014. Ms. [redacted] states that she resolved the above-referenced account earlier this year but the debt is still showing on her credit report. She wants the credit...

report updated to reflect the payment she made.Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account. Ms. [redacted] recently sent an e-mail to Progressive with the identical issue. On 18August 2014 a response was sent to Ms. [redacted] advising her that Progressive is not the data furnisher for the credit bureaus regarding the underlying account. She was advised that the [redacted] supplies the information to the credit bureaus and that any questions about the credit reporting needed to be addressed either to the [redacted] or directly to the credit reporting agencies. She was provided with a toll-free phone number at the [redacted] to call to look into the credit reporting issue. A copy of the e-mail exchange is enclosed with this letter.We have nothing further we can do to assist this consumer.  Her question needs to be directed to the [redacted] or disputed via the credit reporting agencies. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed...

appear below.Their reponse was total fiction, they have offices all over the U.S. that routinely robo call. How could they not find my number? how could I not get a live agent ? Why didn't they get my over 25 voice messages left on their anserwing machine? Clearly they are lying about the number of calls, carelessness in not verifying I wasn't the party they were trying to reach! Additionally I realize people complaintents embellish on things, such as my claims as to the number of calls outgoing to me...however my phone log clearly shows as many as 8 calls in a single day, and 136 voice messages left on my voice answering machine...these were only the calls I failed to answer. As of yesterday 2/3/15, I yet again received another call from them.  They are the worst debt collectors in the country. I clearly allege they have violated both my civil rights, state and federal laws.  They are lying in their response.   covering up their actions.  Bottom Line I'm not the party that owes the debt their attemptimg to collect!  just an injured inoccent third party.  I'll continue my complaint with state and federal agencies   

Regards,[redacted]

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Mr. [redacted].  We received the complaint on/about 22 May 2014. Mr. [redacted] states that he satisfied his loan obligations in 2011 with a co-borrower buy-out provision. He states that he is being contacted again on the same...

debt. He wants the calls and collection efforts to stop and another SIF letter sent to him.

Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account. Mr. [redacted] did do a co-borrower buyout on the relevant loans ([redacted], -[redacted]; and -[redacted]) in 2011. Progressive reported that correctly to our client Sallie Mae, Inc. (“SLM”) at the time. For reasons we cannot explain, SLM replaced those accounts with Progressive and the account information continued to list Mr. [redacted] as a co- borrower. We have now rectified the situation and Mr. [redacted]’ name has been removed from the account(s). He has no obligations on the listed accounts.

We apologize for the miscue that resulted in these accounts being listed as still  an obligation for Mr. [redacted] and the resulting collection calls.  All collection efforts directed toward him have been terminated.  My staff is preparing a SIF letter to be sent to him directly. If he has any further questions/comments, he is welcome to direct them to my staff. The toll-free number for Legal Staff is 800-731-0408.   Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

To Whom It May Concern: I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 24 February 2015. [redacted] states that she paid a balance in full last year but states that it is still...

appearing on one/more of the credit reporting agencies. She wants the mistake corrected and her credit report updated to show the account paid in full. Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, Progressive located the relevant account. Indeed, our records show a payment in full posted on this account on 29 July 2014. A few days later, we sent an electronic request to all three major credit reporting agencies to delete the trade line. Until we received this complaint, we were unaware of any problem. We apologize for the problem. Earlier this week, we processed a manual AUD form to have the credit reporting bureaus delete the trade line. We are sending a copy of that form under separate cover to the consumer along with a copy of a payment in full (PIF) letter. If she continues to see the trade lines regarding this debt, she should contact the credit reporting agency that is reporting and present them with the delete request form (the AUD) as well as the PIF letter. While we hope that our additional efforts will clear up any mistakes that still exist, we remain available to assist this consumer if she is not getting resolution with the credit reporting agencies directly. She should contact me directly if she has any lingering issues Again, we certainly apologize for the delay in the credit reporting agencies getting the trade line deleted as requested. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, /s/ [redacted] Corporate Counsel

[redacted] 

[redacted] 

[redacted] 

[redacted] Re: Complaint # [redacted] Our Acct. No. [redacted]: I have been asked to respond to the...

above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted] and [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 23 July 2014. These consumers state that they have been receiving calls from [redacted] for a person who is not them. They report that their number is on the National Do Not Call Registry and they want the calls to stop. Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account on which calls were made to these consumers’ phone number ([redacted]). We are showing fewer than 10 calls made on the account in July – most days only one call was made to that number. On one day (7.22.14) there were two calls made to the number. At no time did either of these consumers contact [redacted] at the toll-free number provided in the voice mail message to alert us that the calls were being made to their residence in error. That phone number has since been removed from the relevant account and added to our internal “do not call” list so it cannot be dialed again. We are showing no further calls after receipt of the Revdex.com complaint. Progressive’s calls were made on the basis of an established business relationship between our client and the consumer/account-holder about whom the calls were made. As such, the calls are not subject to the restrictions of the National Do Not Call registry. Nevertheless, we apologize for the unintentional misdirected calls to these consumers. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, /s/ [redacted] Corporate Counsel

To Whom It May Concern:
I have been asked to respond to Ms. [redacted]’s additional comments/questions that she posed after Progressive sent its initial response to the above-referenced Revdex.com compliant. She continues to assert that she has no balance owed to [redacted] and uses the VOD documentation to try to support that position. She is wrong.
When [redacted] “writes off” an overdue amount, that write of goes to collections, and it cause the “current balance” to show as zero. Once an amount is written off and the customer’s overdue amount is in the collections pipeline, it is still owed to [redacted], but the account may be assigned out to a third party debt collection company like Progressive. Progressive is only one of the vendors that collects on [redacted] debt. There may have been other agencies collecting on the debt prior to it being placed with Progressive. Or the debt may have been worked internally at [redacted] before it was placed with Progressive.Regardless, the debt is still owed – not to Progressive but to [redacted]. We do not own the account and never represented to Ms. [redacted] that the debt was owed to Progressive. Although payment(s) can be made to Progressive, the debt belongs to [redacted]. When the debt was reported by Progressive to the credit bureaus,the trade line listed [redacted] as the creditor – not Progressive. Nothing about the debt that was reported to the credit bureaus was improper. The trade line has been reported as disputed but will not be deleted just because Ms. [redacted] misunderstands the nature of her debt.
We are sorry that [redacted] representatives may have unintentionally given Ms. [redacted] inaccurate information. But, because Ms. [redacted] states that she has VOD in hand, she is in a position to understand what services or equipment the debt is related to. If she has questions, there is a contact phone number on the cover letter that was sent to her with the VOD documents. She can call that number, speak to one of our agents and learn about how she can resolve the overdue amount. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,Barbara A. H[redacted], Esq.Corporate Counsel

Re: Complaint # [redacted] Our Acct. No. [redacted] To Whom It May Concern: I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 23 January 2015. [redacted]...

states that she did a settlement in full (SIF) on the above-referenced account but Progressive did not send her a letter stating that the account was settled as she has requested. She wants the promised SIF letter. Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, Progressive located the relevant account. Although this consumer sent in a SIF payment on the account in October of last year, our client (the creditor) inexplicably denied the settlement when it was initially submitte4d. After researching the issue, Progressive ran the SIF through a second time, and it did finally achieve approval from our client, [redacted]. We apologize for the delay in getting the SIF letter mailed out to this consumer. Our system notes indicate that it was requested on/about 20 January 2015. Although we believe the consumer may already have received that letter, we are sending to her today under separate cover another copy of that SIF letter. Should she still not have it after a few days, she should contact my office at [redacted] and ask for [redacted]. She is familiar with this file. We certainly apologize for the delay in getting the SIF letter generated and out to this consumer. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, /s/ [redacted] Corporate Counsel

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Mr. [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 14 July 2014. Mr. [redacted] states that he and his spouse have been getting “two phone calls per day” from Progressive about a tax debt. He states that in his conversations...

with the State, their personnel were unable to locate a record about the debt since “their records do not go back that far and offered no solution since th4e debt was sold to Progressive.” He wants the calls to stop claiming he does not owe any debt to the [redacted], our client. Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account. Mr. [redacted] has several things incorrect in his complaint. He states that in his contacts with our client, the [redacted], no one there was able to pull any record of his account. Interestingly, however, when this consumer asked Progressive about getting some detail on the account, we requested verification of debt (VOD) from our client. We have that documentation in hand and will send it to Mr. [redacted] under separate cover. Given that, it is odd that someone at the state would tell Mr. [redacted] that no records could be found. Second, he alleges that someone at the [redacted]) told him that they “sold the debt” to Progressive. That is categorically untrue. Progressive does not purchase debt and we are unaware of the [redacted] ever selling any of its accounts to a debt buyer. Either Mr. [redacted] reached an uninformed staff person at [redacted] or he has a faulty recollection of the details of his call(s) there. In any event, we reviewed the call record on the [redacted] account. While we found a handful of days where there was more than one call per day, by far, the vast majority of the collection efforts have been limited to only one call per day to their residence. Further, Mr. [redacted] could have called in at any time or written to us to ask us to cease and desist with the calls; the messages we left from time to time had a return call number provided. We have removed the phone numbers from the account and the account is in a temporary hold while we investigated this complaint. After the VOD has been mailed to the [redacted] residence, we anticipate that the account will go into our active inventory again. Mr. [redacted] is invited to contact our staff to make arrangements to resolve the account in question. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, [redacted], Esq. Corporate Counsel

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Ms. [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 15 April 2014. Ms. [redacted] wanted documentation of her payment on the above-referenced account and the credit reporting to be updated accordingly.

Promptly upon...

receipt of the complaint, we located the relevant account. My staff prepared the documentation requested and processed a request to have the credit reporting updated. An e-mail was prepared advising her that all the requested materials were mailed to her at the address provided in the Revdex.com complaint. A copy of the e-mail is attached.

We apologize for any unnecessary delay in getting these requested documents to this consumer. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

[redacted], Esq.

Corporate Counsel

To Whom It May Concern:I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted] (aka[redacted]). We received the complaint on/about 5 August 2015. Ms. [redacted] complained aboutthe fact that a wage garnishment order issued by the Dept. of Education to her...

employer was stopped byher employer before the balance on the account was entirely resolved. She was upset that no one fromProgressive (the account has been in our office since September 2013) contacted the employer or theconsumer about the outstanding balance and/or the premature stoppage of the wage garnishment.Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, Progressive located the relevant account belonging tothis consumer. The consumer did not set up voluntary payment arrangements with Progressive so theaccount was eventually moved into involuntary collection status. In May 2014, the Department ofEducation ordered her employer to start garnishing the consumer’s wages in order to resolve the debtowed to the Department of Education regarding her defaulted student loan account. The order includeda then current amount due on the account AND it included a warning that “the amount due may beincreased as a result of additional interest, penalties, and other costs . . .” In addition, the employer wasordered “to continue deductions until you receive notification . . . to suspend or discontinue deductions.”On/about 30 March 2015, the consumer’s employer processed what became its last garnishmentpayment for the Department of Education. Unfortunately, the employer discontinued deductions eventhough neither Progressive nor the Department of Education notified them to stop or suspend thedeductions. And, they stopped the garnishment in spite of the fact that a balance remained. Accordingto records available to Progressive, it appears that in May 2015, the Department of Education notified theemployer that the employer should not have stopped the garnishment and that further deductions wererequired. It is not clear to us why the employer did not resume deductions in May when ordered to doso. Later, the Department of Education notified the consumer that she owed the remaining balance thather employer had failed to deduct in the wage garnishment process.The consumer was upset because she believed that Progressive should have contacted heremployer AND should have called her as well to advise her about the balance remaining on the accountafter the garnishment deductions ended. Typically, our staff would have been able to track such lack ofactivity on the account (on which a balance was still owed), but staffing shortages have made those kindsof tracking and follow up more difficult. We regret that we did not reach out to the consumer to adviseher about the remaining balance – and that it took several months for the Department of Education toadvise her of that fact. In the interim, there were additional fees/charges added to the balance so that by the time she called Progressive on 4 August 2015, the balance was approximately $212 – which wasapproximately $5 more than the balance that was listed in March when the employer stopped itsdeductions.Our manager who spoke to the consumer during the inbound call did, however, offered her asolution that was designed to allow her to resolve the account without incurring the extra fees/chargesthat were added between the end of March and her inbound call to Progressive on 4 August 2015. Theconsumer was told that she could either pay the remaining balance that was due at the end of March(roughly $207) OR she could do a settlement of $172. Either of those options would have resolve theaccount with no further obligation on her part – and both took care of the extra fees/charges that accruedin the time between the end of the garnishment and her call to Progressive. For reasons that were notclear from her call, she declined to resolve the account balance with either of the options with which shewas presented. This Revdex.com complaint was processed the next day.Again, we regret the time that elapsed between the garnishment stopping and her inboundcommunication with Progressive. The staff involved in the failure to reach out to the consumer (or theemployer) has been notified about this complaint and is aware that someone in that department shouldhave tracked this account more closely, and that they should have made an effort to get the consumer onthe phone when the garnishment stopped without full resolution of the balance. The offers for her to paythe end of March balance or the settlement amount of $172 remain open. In order to take advantage ofthe offer, the consumer needs to contact our staff on/before the end of the day on 19 August 2015.Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.Sincerely,

To Whom It May Concern:I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted]. Wereceived the complaint on/about 20 August 2015. [redacted] complained that the verification of debtthat was provided was insufficient and he denied being the person who received the...

services from ourclient, [redacted]. He was also concerned about being credit reported for a debt he deniesbelongs to him.Promptly upon receipt of the complaint, Progressive located the relevant account belonging tothis consumer. We communicated his concerns to our client and they requested that we send theconsumer a “fraud packet” and then close and return the account to them. That has been done. Theenclosed document was sent to [redacted] under separate cover today. As can be seen, he has beenprovided the fraud documentation that [redacted] has asked him to complete. In addition, ourstaff confirmed that there no longer is any negative trade line information on his credit report regardingthis account. Reports from all three major credit reporting agencies were provided to [redacted] todayas well.Please let me know if I can be of further assistance

Dispute Resolution Consultant Revdex.com of Central/Northern Arizona [redacted] 

[redacted] Re: Complaint # [redacted] Our Acct. No. [redacted] To Whom It May Concern: I have been asked to...

respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 6 November 2014. [redacted] states that he is continuing to get misdirected calls from Progressive even though he has spoken with our staff and previously asked for the calls to stop. First, I want to apologize for my tardy response. Although the matter was corrected promptly by my staff, I have been away from my desk a great deal lately and this formal response was overlooked. Promptly upon receipt of this complaint, we located not one but two accounts on which calls to the relevant number (ending in [redacted]) were being made. It appears the number is for a business/place of employment. We see that indeed, we had calls from [redacted] regarding the misdirected calls. We found errors by our staff who did not remove the number from the account as promised. Furthermore, calls were being made on a second account – neither account was held by anyone who worked at the place of business [redacted] was writing about. Our staff also failed to recognize that there was a second account being called. We apologize for the multiple errors made by our staff that resulted in further calls being made to [redacted]’ number. The staff person(s) responsible for the errors have been identified to their respective collection managers and the mangers have been asked to work with the agents to ensure this kind of error does not repeat. Again we are very sorry for the continuing frustration that our shortcomings caused for [redacted]. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, /s/ [redacted] Corporate Counsel

I have been asked to respond to the above-referenced complaint regarding Mr. [redacted]. We received the complaint on/about 31 July 2014. This consumer states that Progressive has been calling his place of employment ("POE") and "harassing fellow employees and without prior authorization. He wants the...

calls to his POE to stop.Mr. [redacted] did not provide the phone number at his POE that he wants Progressive to stop calling; nevertheless, we believe that we have identified the correct phone number (ending in [redacted]) as belonging to this consumer's POE. We have made the notation on the account that this consumer does not wish to be contacted at his place of employment, there will be no further calls to that POE number where the intent is to try to speak with this customer.At no time did anyone answering the phone at the POE (the consumer did not answer any of the three times we attempted calls). Rather unidentified persons answered the phone and explained that the consumer could not be reached. Both times our staff reached someone at the POE, the agent politely asked the person take down his contact phone number and ask this consume for a return call. There was no "harassment" of co-workers. Nor is "prior authorization" needed for our staff to try to reach an account holder in order to discuss a matter that is in our office. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. 

Sincerely, [redacted]

Corporate Counsel

21 June 2016       Conciliation & Engagement Specialist Revdex.com of Central/Northern Arizona 4428 N. 12th Street Phoenix, AZ 85014 Writer’s Direct Line: [redacted] Writer’s Direct Fax Line: [redacted] e-mail: [redacted]  

[redacted]      [redacted]                    [redacted]   To Whom It May Concern:   I have been asked to respond to follow up comments from Mr. [redacted] following Progressive’s initial response to the complaint. In a nutshell, Progressive advised that [redacted] had placed the account in error with Progressive and that the account was subsequently closed and recalled following our investigation into his Revdex.com complaint.  Now Mr. [redacted] states that he wants an apology from [redacted] Communications. He implies that our response is not credible because “[redacted] Communication and C** [are] giving me a different story.”   As we stated in our initial response, “Progressive regrets that [redacted] both placed the account with Progressive in error and that one of its reps gave this consumer misinformation that caused the consumer to be concerned about possible fraudulent activity by Progressive.” Our collection efforts prior to being informed of the error were appropriate and measured. We promptly stopped all activity on the account when the complaint arrived and terminated such efforts altogether once [redacted] informed us of the error and recalled the account. If the consumer wants an additional apology from [redacted] Communication for its error in placing the account with Progressive, he will need to reach out to [redacted] Communications directly and make that request. We are unable to assist any further on that front.   Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.   Sincerely,       /s/   Barbara A. H[redacted], Esq.

See attached letter containing Progressive's response.