ComplaintsforEmergent Business Group, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Company is saying I owe them money from an account on *********** and says they haven’t gotten any notice from *********** to close the account. Back in 12/20/2022 I filed complaint ******** with *********** and BBB.org and *********** said they notified emergent that I have no obligations to pay them but they’re still charging me and sending me emails saying I owe them. I call emergent and they say they can’t do anything about it.

  

  Business response

  05/21/2023

  May 21, 2023 
  *** *****,  
  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to **** *****. *** ***** states that he does  not owe the debt as he received from and supplied in his complaint, a response from ***********,  the Original Creditor, saying that he had no further obligations to them or Emergent Servicing. 
  *** **** in his complaint is requesting that his account be closed and not be contacted again  concerning this debt. 
  Upon review of *** ****’s account, Emergent did have the account in a “Pending Recall” status  and was in the process of returning the account to ***********, the Original Creditor.  Unfortunately, while the account was in transition a letter offering to settle the account was mailed  to *** **** in error. Since then, our process has been adjusted and we thank *** **** for bringing  this matter to Emergent's attention.  
  Emergent has since closed the account in our office and *** **** will receive no further contact  from Emergent in reference to this account. 
  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ###-###-#### 
  ******* ***** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Continuing phone calls & messages from this firm to my home. We have no outstanding bills/debts whatsoever. Please have them stop these harassing phone calls ASAP.

  

  Business response

  11/30/2022

  Our response is attached

   

  Thank you

  Customer response

  12/05/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a call in late July 2022 from Emergent Servicing (debt collection agency) regarding a loan from ******* in my name. I did not take out such a loan, told them as much, and said I needed to look into this deeper before we talked again. I reached out to my bank and was told not to worry about it because it sounds fraudulent and they don't report to the credit institutions. The next time they called, I ignored it, and thereafter, they called my PARENTS in another STATE looking for me. I am an adult in her late twenties. They recently called me again and finally sent me the contract I allegedly signed (which I absolutely did not) with the bank information associated with the account. Everything is in my name, but I did not take out this loan, nor would I ever have taken out loans from a small company like this. Furthermore, there is no record of this loan on any of my credit reports. ******* is supposedly going to begin collections proceeding against me. As I previously stated, although they have my information, this is not my debt. I think I am a victim of identity theft (which I will be resolving separately from this). I don't know what is going to happen as far as collections go, but I am scared and want this company out of my life.This is a copy of the complaint I filed against *******, but I am also filing here against Emergent Business Group because of the phone call to my parents, which I believe violated my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

  

  Business response

  11/18/2022

  November 18, 2022

  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to ******* ***********. *** ***********  states that she does not owe the debt, account must be fraudulent, that we called her parents once  and she wants no more contact from Emergent. 
  Below is the timeline of events for *** ***********s’ account since with Emergent Servicing: 
  - May 3, 2022, *** ***********s’ account was received by Emergent from our client - May 6, 2022, one of our Customer Service Representatives called ***-xxx-**** but no  voice message was left 
  - May 9, 2022, the Initial Notification Letter was emailed to *** ***********  - Between June 2, 2022, and July 11, 2022, a total of three voice mail messages were left  between phone numbers ************ & ************ 
  - July 29, 2022, one of our Customer Service Representatives finally talked with ***  ***********, she was unaware of the debt and asked for a call back 
  - November 8, 2022, was the next time that one of our Representatives talked with  *** *********** and she asked for account documentation 
  - November 8, 2022, the requested account documentation was emailed to ***  *********** 
  - November 9, 2022, one of our Representatives talked with *** ***********, she  stated that she received the documentation but was not making payments - November 15, 2022, at approx. 9:35am EST Emergent received *** ************’ BBB  Complaint 
  - November 15, 2022, a copy of the Complaint was emailed to Emergents’ Client - November 15, 2022, at approx. 1:12pm EST Emergent received a response email from  our Client asking us to close the account, send it back to them and that they would  reach out directly to *** *********** concerning the fraud issue 
  - November 17, 2022, Emergent mailed a “Closed in our Office and returned to our  Client” letter to *** ***********. 
  Emergent would not have known that we called someone’s phone number, other than ***  ***********, as we did not actually talk with her until July 29, 2022, at one of the phone numbers  that was given to us by our Client. *** *********** requested, in her Complaint, that she wanted no  further contact from Emergent and that has been taken care of since the account was returned to  our Client.  
  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ###-###-#### 
  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  From 1/18/2019 to 5/18/20 I paid a total of $9379.99 to resolve a debt that was through Emergent Business. They have continued to not report it as settled to my credit and it has since been given to another company who is pursuing me. I need a proof of paid letter to resolve this on my credit and to get approval for a career and I have tried calling and leaving messages for the last week and no one will respond or answer the phones. I need this done immediately. I did not know this was happening until a week ago when the career let me know they cannot approve me until I had this proof.

  

  Business response

  10/19/2022

  October 19, 2022 
  

  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to ******* ********. *** ******** states that  she settled an account with Emergent back in 2020, that Emergent did not report the account as  being settled on her credit and that she needs a letter showing that this account was resolved. 

  *** ******** completed her payment plan with Emergent on May 17, 2020, Emergent mailed her a  “Settled in Full” letter for her records on June 6, 2020, and we did not receive any return mail. 
  

  - October 12, 2022, Emergent received, via their website, a submission from *** ********  looking for a paid letter and a letter to the credit bureaus. 
  - October 14, 2022, Emergent received, via their website, a submission from *** ********  identical to the one received on October 12, 2022. 
  - October 14, 2022, Emergent emailed *** ******** a copy of the same paid letter that  was originally sent to her on June 6, 2020, at approximately 1:34pm EST 
  - October14, 2022, Emergent received a voice mail message from *** ******** asking for  a callback, at approximately 1:52pm EST. 
  - October 14, 2022, Emergent’s’ AVP of Operations returned *** ********’s call at  approximately 1:54pm EST and below is a copy of the account notes after the call: - [*** ********] [###-###-####]: Contacted Debtor/Previously Settled: TR SPOKE WITH  C1 WHO JUST WANTED A COPY OF A SIF LETTER SHOWING THIS WAS PAID OFF. I  EMAILED TO ADDRESS ON FILE A SIF LETTER AND TOLD HER WE WERE NOT A CREDIT  REPORTING AGENCY AND COULD NOT DELETE ANY TRANASCTION OFF THE CBR. I DID  ASSURE HER THAT THIS WAS SETTLED AND RETURNED BACK TO OUR CLIENT. SHE  WAS GOOD WITH THAT AND THANKED ME FOR MY HELP 
  

  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ###-###-#### 
  

  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a missed call from ************ which is identified as a local physician practice. I returned the call and come to find out it was a company called Emergent Services. I spoke to a representative Tatiana who was rude, dismissive and would not answer my questions. She became belligerent and started talking over me and belittling me to the point I asked to speak to a supervisor. Come to find out this is a debt collection agency who is spoofing local numbers misrepresenting and false representation the company and debt. The statute of limitations on this debt has expired from the original creditor and the original creditor also violated my rights by illegally withdrawing funds from my checking account after a cease and desist and revocation of automatic debits was sent on 5/6/21 ( a copy was also sent to my bank). On 5/17/21, the original creditor withdrew the funds illegally despite the revocation. The debt collector didn't want to hear it and wanted me to "email" them this information. This information has my personal information on it and I'm hesitant as there was no knowledge of this debt collector prior to todays call. The debt collector further lied about the statute of limitations and said my last payment was made in July of 2021 when it was not and they reported I was in violation of contract when the original creditor is actually in violation by completing illegal withdrawals, and refused to take the items back although it states that they would in the contract. I asked Emergent Services. why they did not send any notice via the mail and they couldn't justify why one was not sent out.

  

  Business response

  09/27/2022

  September 27, 2022 
  
  We are in receipt of Complaint # 17936919 pertaining to ******** ********. *** ******** states  that she received a call from ************ and it was identified as a local physician practice and not  Emergent Services; therefore, stating Emergent was spoofing local numbers. *** ******** also  stated that our Representative was rude and not consumer friendly, that the Statute of Limitations  had expired on this debt, that the original creditor withdrew unauthorized funds and that she never  received a notice from Emergent about this debt.  
  *********** sold *** ********s’ account to ********* ******** ***. *********** sent *** ******** an email letting her know of this and that going forward her account would be serviced by  Emergent Servicing and that all future payments should be sent to Emergent.  
  Below is the timeline of events for *** ********s’ account since with Emergent Servicing: - July 18, 2022, the account was received by Emergent Servicing 
  - July 29, 2022, Emergent emailed *** ******** the required Initial Notification Letter to the  same email address that she included in this complaint; we show that the email was  delivered. 
  - August 25, 2022, our Service Representative called ###-###-#### and the person that  answered hung-up. 
  - September 8, 2022, *** ******** talked with one of our Customer Service Representatives  and a Supervisor. During the call *** ******** stated that the statute of limitations had  expired on this account, that the original creditor had taken out funds after informed not to  and that she was never going to pay this debt. 
  - September 8, 2022, the Supervisor placed the account in “Cease & Desist – Refusal to Pay  Final” status. This notation placed the account on hold in our office so that no further  collection activity would occur until the issues were resolved. 
  - September 16, 2022, Emergent received *** ********s’ BBB complaint
  We take *** ******** allegations and her complaint quite seriously and Emergent would like to  address those items that we have control of: 
  - Emergent cannot control what comes up on a consumers’ phone when there is a missed call  but if *** ******** goes to the website **************** and enters the phone  number that she stated we called her from, ###-###-####, she will see that this number  does belong to Emergent Servicing and no one else.  
  - We apologize if *** ******** felt that our Service Representative was rude and not  consumer friendly; Emergent will be reviewing the call with our Representative so that  future calls can be handled better. 
  - In New Hampshire the statute of limitations on contracts and open accounts is 3 years so  based on the information supplied by the original creditor the statute of limitations would  expire no earlier than July 23, 2023; they show the last payment was $37.47 on July 23,  2020. 
  We have no control on how the original creditor handled *** ********’s payments, but we have  reached out to them to voice her concerns as of today we have not heard back from them. 
  If *** ******** would like to discuss her account with Emergent and continue with her payments,  we look forward to hearing from her and assisting in any way we can. 
  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ###-###-#### 
  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  

  Customer response

  10/03/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************************
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  August 2nd 2022 Bank statement shows 100.00 taken out of account Called *********** and they state that they had not received the check for 100.00  Letter, attached, showing that they are now wanting my payment to go to Emergent Servicing. Contacted my bank and have issued a fraudlent activity for the two checks I wrote. This letter may be a scam.

  

  Business response

  09/05/2022

  September 05, 2022

  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to ***** *******. *** ******* states that she  was paying ***********, received a letter from *********** stating that payments going forward  were to be directed to Emergent Servicing (*** ******* attached a copy of that letter to her  complaint), and states that she called ***********, and they had not received the check. *** ******* believes this is a scam since *********** stated that they had not received the $100.00  check that she mailed.  
  *********** sold *** *******’s account to ********* ******** ***. *********** sent *** ******* an  email on July 8, 2022, the letter that she attached to the complaint letting her know of this and that  going forward her account would be serviced by Emergent Servicing and that all future payments  should be sent to Emergent.  
  Below is the timeline of events for *** *******s’ account since with Emergent Servicing: - August 10, 2022, the account was received by Emergent Servicing 
  - August 11, 2022, Emergent emailed *** ******* the required Initial Notification Letter - August 29,2022 Emergent received *** *******’s BBB complaint 
  - August 29, 2022, Emergent placed the account in a Dispute status which placed the account  on hold in our office 
  - August 30, 2022, Emergent mailed *** ******* a Payment History Letter that showed two  $100.00 payments had been received by Emergent and applied to her account balance;  Emergent believes that at least one of these payments is the payment that *** ******* was  referring to in her complaint.
  If *** ******* would like to discuss her account with Emergent and continue with her payments, we  look forward to hearing from her and assisting in anyway we can. 
  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ###-###-#### 
  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I was told in October of 2020 a loan was taken out in my name. I did not apply for said loan. Furthermore the provided documentation listed the bank and account number the loan was issued to. After speaking with the bank's fraud department not only was I told that the account was not associated with my name, the account number did not exist. In essence the fraud is also a fraud. I have filed a police report and am looking for resolution to the matter. The collection agency Emergent Business Group have stated I would receive a fraud packet to move to resolution. Today i was told it was sent via mail and e-mail however it was not received through either medium.

  

  Business response

  11/12/2021

  November 12, 2021 

  *** *****,  

  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to *** *********, which also contained a police report filed by him. In his complaint, *** ********* states that though he requested  information to file a fraud claim, and we promised to supply same, he never received the requested  information. 
  

  On October 5, 2021, Emergent mailed a fraud packet to *** ********* and emailed another on October 28, 2021. The mailing address and the email we used matches the information ***  ********* supplied on the BBB Complaint. In neither case did we receive a “return mail” or “email  undeliverable” notice.  
  

  On November 2, 2021, Emergent reached out to *** ********* to acknowledge that we received his  BBB complaint, confirmed his e-mail address, advised him that we would immediately re-email the  fraud packet, and requested that he let us know when the packet was received. Although, ***  ********* responded that he would let us know when the packet was received, he failed to do so.  In addition, though we had every reason to believe *** ********* received the fraud packet the first  notification we received that he may not have is the correspondence sent by *** ***** on November  2, 2021. 
  

  On November 2, 2021, Emergent forwarded the BBB complaint along with the police report *** ********* included in the Complaint, to our client for review. On November 3, 2021, our client  responded and stated that based on the information *** ********* supplied, and the follow up  investigation they conducted, they deemed that there were inconsistencies in the account.  Therefore, they directed us to close the account and return it to them. Emergent then contacted *** ********* to inform him of our client’s findings, and that as a result, Emergent would be closing the  account associated with his information and returning the account to Emergent’s client. *** ********* thanked our supervisor for all his help and was informed that Emergent had mailed a  “closed return to client” letter to *** *********, closing his account.  
  

  Additionally, we did finally receive *** *****’s executed fraud affidavit on November 11, 2021.  
  

  I trust that the matter is resolved. However, should you need further assistance please do not hesitate  to contact me directly at ###-###-####. 
  

  Sincerely,  
  

  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  

  Customer response

  11/19/2021

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *********
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Not sure who called my place of employment, wanted me to verify my name, address, phone number, and last 4 digits of my social security number that they have on file before he would tell me what he was calling for. When I asked him what it was in reference to, he only said that I had done business with his client back in 2018 (maybe 2019) and that he wouldnt tell me anything until I verified all of my information. I asked him why he was calling my place of employment asking me to verify my identity and I wasnt doing that, he then began yelling and speaking over me until I hung up on him. I still dont know what this is in reference to, nor do I know why they called my place of employment when all of my accounts have my personal phone number.

  

  Business response

  08/18/2021

  August 14, 2021

  We are in receipt of Complaint # ******** pertaining to ******** *****. *** ***** states that one of  our Representatives contacted her at work, wanted her to verify personal information before he  could tell her why we were calling. When *** ***** asked what the call was in reference to, our  Representative would not tell her anything until she “verified” the requested personal information.  *** ***** also stated that our Representative spoke over her and she ended the call by hanging up.  She wants all calls to be to her personal phone number and not her place of employment. *** *****  wants an explanation of charges for the account that Emergent Business Group contacted her  about. 

  *** *****’s account was placed in our office by the current owner for servicing and our  Representative was contacting her to review the information so that we would be able to work out  a mutually acceptable resolution. Prior to providing any information to *** ***** and all customers  we must first verify that we are talking to the correct person before we can discuss anything about  why we are calling; otherwise, we could potentially be committing a FDCPA violation by giving out  personal information to someone other than the intended individual. If we discussed why we were  calling to an incorrect individual it would be called third-party disclosure and against the rules and  regulations that govern our industry.

  Regarding the way our agent interacted with *** *****, we take communicating with customers in a  fair, reasonable, and professional manner seriously and specifically, in terms of the conversation  that *** ***** had with one of our Representatives where she states our representative over-talked  her, I will agree that the conversation could have been handled better on both sides; specific to our  representative we reviewed the call with them and re-emphasized our training related to always  maintaining professional customer interaction. We do not expect any recurring issues going  forward. We have also taken her employment phone number off the account notes so that she will  only receive calls to her personal phone number as requested.
  

  Under “Desired Settlement” she requested an “Explanation of Charges”. The full address, phone  number and email address that she provided with her complaint, matches what we have on file,  therefore this confirms that she is the correct person that we wanted to talk to so I am sending her,  via USPS, the documents that we have pertaining to her account so that she can review them and  then one of our Representatives will contact her to answer any questions that she may have. 
  

  I hope that this will close the matter in terms of the Better Business Bureau and if you need to  discuss this complaint and our response, please call me directly at ************ 
  

  Charles R**** 
  Compliance Program Manager
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩