I was first contacted by phone by this company at the end of June. The woman on the phone demanded I pay a balance of over $6000 dollars to resolve and account with MMCA. I explained I did not have that type of money and there's no way possible I could pay it. She then offered to "settle" for half the amount if I paid that day.
Once again I explained I did not have that type of cash available. She then insisted I contact friends or relatives to loan me the money to pay this debt. Her attempts to pressure me made me uneasy about this company so I began to ask questions for her to validate the debt. She rudely stated I know what this debt is and I better pay it. If I didn't pay it by tomorrow it was going to court. I asked to be given the day to think it over.
That night I drafted a written request for validation of the account. This request included documentation they were retained by the original creditor to collect the debt, they were licensed and bonded in the state of Florida to collect the debt, and a line item summary of how they calculated the debt.
I further requested no contact be made by phone and all future communications be made in writting. If faxed this letter to their office. Shortly after I recieved a phone call in which the woman yelled that I knew this debt is real, that she was tearing up the written request and I better get a lawyer. Then she hung up. At this point I decide this company is not legitimate and I did not want to work with them.
On July 23 I recieve a phone call from their "legal" department. A man named Travis played they sympathetic side and said the woman was wrong in her attempts to collect the debt, that their company is not like that and he wanted to do everything possible to resolve this issue.
After lengthy discussion we came to an agreement that we would settle for half of the amount, make a $324 payment on AUGUST 16, and make payments after that until we could pay the remainder of the balance. His exact words were "Make a monthly payment between $50-$100." I put my wife on the phone to work the details out. The checking account used to set the payments up is in her name and the first check was to be post dated on AUGUST 16. He then assured us he was sending a write up of the agreement to us.
On July 30th I recieve a letter from mercantile stating they were processing the check for $324 on JULY 31 and the account balance is over $6000. There was no mention of the agreement to settle or payment arrangements. I then called the number and talked to a Rob Decker who told me the man I talked to the previous week was not available. I told him this agreement was not the agreement made. He said yes it is, and emphasised that I was lying about the whole deal. This went on repeatedly were I read back my notes from the phone conversation with Travis. He again refuted my claims.
After calling him and explative, I turned the phone over to my wife. She calmly tried to assess the situation and see what could be done. Rob refused to work with us on what had happened. My wife explained to him she knows what was set up because it was her check and her account the money was being pulled from. Rob flat out told her that it was not her checking account.in essence he had called my wife and myself liars in less than 5 minutes.
After both of these instences, I have filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office for the State of Florida against Mercantile. I suggest anyone that is contacted by this corporation ignore everything sent to them. All agreements made with this organization will come back to haunt you. This company is decietful in its tactics and will do everything possible to financially cripple you.
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