Gregg Starchman at Wyse Financial contacted me a couple months ago about a balance I had with Capital One. It was years ago that I had the credit card with them and during a difficult time when I was finishing up school, before I was fully employed. I had no memory of what the final balance was and I had moved so many times correspndence may have been lost.
Unfortunately I was way too trusting in this situation. I agreed to make some payment via my checking account, with routing number, etc. At that point Mr. Starchman was all too happy and friendly on the phone. I told him him I trusted he would send me paperwork and confirmation that my payments would be recorded and the account closed. I only wish I had researched Wyse Financial online. Had I seen the list of questionable ethics, faulty accounting, and their "unfinished" website, I would have demanded paperwork be sent to me first and not given any of my banking information to them.
I am still waiting for this paperwork to come. When I called them last week to inquire about my paperwork, they mysteriously said my account had been closed and there would be no more payments taken. I made financial plans with my account accordingly. They told me to follow up with Capital One which made no sense since Capital One no longer had the account or my information.
I organized my finances differently since they told me the account was closed and they would no longer be taking payments out of my account. Then, six days later, without any correspondence or notification, or permission, they took several hundred dollars out of my checking account and made a lot of problems for me as I had organized to use that money differently.
When I finally spoke to Gregg Starchman on the phone, instead of being apologetic or helpful, he was beligerent, offensive, and demeaning. Rather than take responsibility he told me I was at fault for having an account in collections in the first place. He denied that his office and receptionist ever reported that the account was closed to me. He ended up hanging up on me and refusing to send me any paperwork or information on this account that I have already paid for which may not even be accurate.
When I called to try to get my paperwork from the receptionist I was purposely put on hold for an extended period of time. When I tried to call back later the receptionist continuously hung up on me. Finally after alternately calling between my cell phone and my landline she begrudgingly spoke to me and critisized me for having an account in collections. This is a favorite statement of theirs. She then told me if I wanted any paperwork I would have to make the request to through faxing a request for it.
What kind of business practices are these? This is not the behavior of educated, professional, or ethical people. According to the BBB they are in violation of legal business practices in relation to debt collection.
I am happy to share information with anyone, be it a legal organization or individual, about this situation and I am looking into legal actions. It is not so much about the amount of money, but the way in which this organization acts in regards to people, some of them in compromised financial siutations, trying to improve their credit and pay off debts.
I would advise you not to do business or to attempt to clear your credit with them. Looking back I would even prefer the small balance I supposedly owed to be garnished, or at least dealt with a more professional and organized institution.
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