Complaint Review: ROBINSONS MAY

Robinsons May Collection Dept. had been trying to collect a past due debt from my roommate. I received a call (one of hundreds)on Feb. 12th, 2004 from a man in the Collections Dept. of Robinsons May asking me, by name (he got my name from Public Records by my address) for personal information about my tenant/roomate (name withheld).

This person was blatantly rude & I informed him I would not be giving him any information. I was actually tired of their collection calls starting at 8:01 a.m & ending at 8:59 p.m. daily. He became even more rude with me and notified me that he would just contact my neighbors and ask them questions about my roommate, I told him to do whatever he felt he needed to do and hung up. Please note my roomate is an older gentleman & we do not have the same last name or any type of common accounts whatsoever. My home, my phone, etc.

While doing a refi on my home I received a call from my loan officer informing me all was going ok but that while the refi was in progress I should not be applying for credit as each credit inquiry lowers your credit score, thus increasing your interest rate. I told him I had not applied for any type of credit for at least 4 years. He said Robinsons May had obtained a credit report from Trans Union on Feb. 12th, 2004.

Duh, see a coincidence here ?? I started contacting Robinsons May on March 23rd, 2004. All calls were recorded by me and the results of these call are incredible to say the least.

3/23/04 - Verified with their Customer Service Dept. that I have not had an account with Robinsons May since it was purged and permanently closed in 1992. When trying to verify with Collections Department why they ran a credit report on me without my authorization since I have had a closed account since 1992 I was questioned by a Miss Lopez on how I found out about the credit report, duh again ? She then was able to produce my roommates name without me ever giving it to her. After speaking to 7 people I am given to a Miss Chapman who takes my info, says she will investigate and get back to me.

4/14/04 - I call Miss Chapman as she never calls me. She passes me onto her Mgr. Adrian Johnson and says she has already informed her of the situation. Adrian Johnson now states she has turned my situation over to the Dept. Director Judy Zak, but also now states that I have a P & L Acct. & if you have a P & L account they can run a credit report on you at any time. Of course Judy Zak is not in her office but she will have her call me back. Follow this, on 3/23 I had a permanently closed account since 1992, now I all of a sudden have a P & L account.

F.Y.I. - Robinsons May is not listed as a creditor on any of my three credit reports.

4/29/04 - Called back to Adrian Johnson (Mgr)as Judy Zak (Dir) never returned by call. Adrian states she thought Judy had called me already. Judy not at her desk but was advised she would call me back.

4/30/04 - Judy Zak calls back stating she does not have all her ducks in a row or all the required information from her processors to make any type of statement/decision & would get back to me early the next week. Also wanted to send me a Re-Assesment Package, to re-activate my account. I notified her I never have, and never will sign such a document. Now trying to do the C.Y.A. (cover your a*s) thing.

5/14/04 - Judy Zak calls back stating she now has the info she needed. My Credit Report was pulled from their office but she is unsure of the exact person who did it. I told her it didn't really make a difference who the person was, but that she was the supervisor of whomever did it. She now states that i have a Charge Off account with a balance of, get this, 8 cents, and for recovery purposes (8 cents) an automatic credit report was generated. Of course I told what I thought of this bull ---- !!
Told her to get a better story, I was not satisfied with any of this bull and to call me back.

5/26/04 - I called Judy Zak left message for her to return my call.

5/26/04 - Judy Zak calls back. Admitted they were at fault and asked how she could rectify the situation. I stated that since they had committed a crime and violated federal laws of the Fair Credit Reporting Act they needed to do the following:

a) Remove the inquiry from my Trans Union Credit Report.

b) Nofify me of what policies would be put into place so this would never happen again.

c) Pay the fines ($2500.00 per report accessed) associated with knowingly and willingly obtaining a credit report under false pretenses (without my permission). This is a violation of the FCRA, Title 18, United States Code.

Judy Zak stated she would talk to her Corporate Council and get back with me.

6/15/04 - Called Judy Zak as she never called. Left voice mail for her to return my call.

6/18/04 - Called Judy Zak as she never returned my call. She answered stating she left me a message over a week ago. She stated she did indeed speak with her Corporate Council and they feel they don't have an "issue" and will not comply with my requests. I informed her I will be contacting my attorney, the Federal Trade Commission, the BBB, Trans Union, and Rip Off Report.

They may not have an "issue" but I do. I am not taking this situation lightly and will not let them off the hook for blatantly breaking federal laws. I have given them ample time to resolve this matter to my satisfaction.

Remember Robinsons May, I have recordings of all phone conversations and there are so many screw ups on your end it is laughable. As I stated in my conversation with Judy Zak on 5/26/04 if this was not resolved to my satisfaction with actions a,b & c, above, that I would be seeking further damages, ie. monies for higher interest rate on refi due to lower credit score, and fines paid directly to Trans Union as they are entitled to the same penalties I am due.

To everyone out there, even if you don't have an account with this mockery of a business, you can be blindsided just as I was.
Consumers Beware !!

Teri
chino hills, California
U.S.A.

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