When I signed a lease with Azuma, it was like making a deal with the devil. This company is out of control. They took money out of my account without my authorization and then had the nerve to report a charge off/collection account to my credit. My account has been current for a year and they still have a negative mark on my credit and refuse to remove it. They also lost one of my money orders for payment.
When my account became past due due to the money order being lost, their collections person, Adam, started calling me to collect payment. He called me at least 10 times in one day which is clearly a violation of the FDCPA collection calls and the California civil code, but it doesn't stop there. He then told me that if I didn't return their equipment he would have me arrested on grand theft charges. Me being the person that I am, I cursed him out and then hung up on him. I guess this upset him, so he decided to call my parents, which were references used when I opened the account, and told them he was down at the police station getting a warrant for my arrest on grand theft charges. This, of course, is also a violation of CA civil code because he disclosed my debt to a 3rd party and he threatened me. These intimidation tactics are clearly against the law.
I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Center, Equifax and with another consumer rights advocacy group called Call for Action. Azuma responded to my complaint filed with the BBB by saying they aren't required to follow FDCPA laws because they aren't a 3rd party collection agency and everything they've done is stated in my contract. I don't think so.
Someone from their customer service department tried to make a settlement with me by agreeing to waive all late fees, dry run fees, a deletion from my credit report, and a buyout for the fridge i'm leasing at $273 if I agree to pay November and December's payment. Now, this might sound like a good deal but i've been paying on this fridge for 14 months @ $24.95/month, which means i've already paid $349.16 plus taxes and now they want me to pay another $273 for a toal of $622.16 plus tax. This exact fridge cost about $369 in retail stores. I've also been denied credit because the negative credit reporting has been there for a year.
At this point I am fed up and do plan to take this company to small claims court and sue them for punitive damages. If there are any others out there that have been scammed by this company, let's rally together and get a class action lawsuite filed against them. They need to be stopped immediately. We, as consumers have the right not to be harassed, threatened, intimidated, lied to, and violated.
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