Complaint Review: NCO Financial aka Marlin Integrated Capital

In 1998, AT&T changed my area code. No problem. I paid the a $107.63 phone bill. The next month I got a bill (for the same number but NEW area code a.k.a. my new number) stating I hadn't paid. I contacted AT&T, they'd had a glitch in their software that thought I got a new number and it double billed me. They corrected the bill, no problem, right? WRONG!

Six months later, I had moved to another city. Guess what! The bill showed up again. To make a very long story short, since 1998, I have been passed through over 20 collection agencies (all of whom mysteriously seem to be involed with NCO Financial) and all of whom I have supplied the requisite copy of my cancelled check to prove the falsity of these entries on our credit record.

I have had this item cleared up on my credit record YEARLY for 7 years. In fact, I went through a horrible ordeal with NCO the beginning of this year and proved through AT&T themselves that the highest balance I ever had outstanding with them was 32 cents when they misposted a payment.

After 8 hours on the phone one day with AT&T, being passed around through 4 levels of management and being on hold most of that time, I was finally threatening to sue them for false credit info being passed on me. That got their attention and they magically located the file. I got the confirmation number that the account had been cleared and sat in on a conference call with me, AT&T (apologizing profusely at this point for all the inconvenience), and STEVE JOHNSON, the "supervisor" at NCO Financial.

You would think that this matter was resolved right? Wrong! I pulled my credit report today and that same stinking bill is now being falsely reported again(by the fresh face of NCO-Marlin who we know as the old foe NCO Financial) and it's showing up as a new delinquent account.

I swear, I want to sue those suckers. I know this sounds trivial compared to the other war stories I have seen but how long can they keep recycling a debt I never owed from the get go? And how many times after 7 years of this now twice a year ritual do I have to keep pulling my report to stay on top of it?

All I can say is grrrrrrr to NCO and now I'm ready to tango with them legally.

Carol
Chickamauga, Georgia
U.S.A.