I had a credit card through Clout Visa when i was 18. I moved to college and could not find a job so the bills were not paid in time.
I received a call from Mercantile Adjustment Bureau from a gentleman, Mark Vogel. He came off as being polite and helpful, but soon turned to aggressive and threatening. He told me I owed $1500 (or near) for the Clout Visa account. He told me they would settle for $850. I agreed, and being a college student at the time, had to sell my car and wired the funds them. I recieved a proof of payment as well showing a $0 balance.
My credit was hurt by my lack of payments while in college but I assumed i could build it back to where I could get a student loan to finish school. However, a year and a half later, I started receiving calls from another collection agency, stating that I owed on a Clout Visa card. The only credit card I ever had up to then, was the account I settled with Mercantile. I faxed the collection agency the proof of payments and the calls stopped.
I thought all was well, until a month ago, I applied for a car loan. I was declined twice before I asked my credit union why. They showed a $3500 balance for a clout visa card. That was it. I spent hours calling people asking why it was on my report still. Clout Visa told me to contact Mercantile, who told me to contact Clout, who sent me to RB Consulting (the one i faxed the proof of payment to) and they sent me to S and P Capital. Finally i talked to Mike Shelton whom i faxed the proof of payment to recently and he explained to me what had happened.
Mercantile reported the $850 as a payment instead of a settlement. They somehow sold my account to Clout after my payment and then to the other agencies, collecting interest for two years. Someones ignorance lead to a $3500 black mark on my credit report. Now I can't get the funding for school now or a loan for a car.
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