AT Smith & Company used a collection agency to attempt to collect a unknown debt from 4 years ago. They arbitrarily increased the bill 3 times. On January 14th of 2014 I received a letter from Continental Collection Agency stating I owed AT Smith & Company an open amount 0f $162.50 from the dissolution of my apartment in May of 2010. Once I received the letter, I immediately called the collection agency to get more information. I informed the collection agency my intention to pay the debt if it was legitimate, but I wanted to ensure it was valid. I had never received any confirmation of the amount owed at any time. AT Smith & Company had my contact information to include email address and phone number but never contacted me regarding the amount owed. They apparently sent the bill to the same address I had previously moved out of, fully knowing I didn't live there anymore. Upon further review of my email conversations with my property manager Ruby ****. The last email received stated ""I have your unit rented where to you want me to send the deposit disbursement?"". I moved out of the unit early and I was told that if they rented the unit early, I would not have to pay the Tenant Procurement fee, only for the days it lay vacant. I made this information available to the collection agency in writing as required by law, in order to keep the issue off my credit report. I also asked that they confirm this with AT Smith & Company and have them check to see if this was correct. What happened next was I received another statement from the collection agency stating I now owed $317.00 and they placed a mark on my credit report in violation of the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I immediately called CCA and demanded they take the mark off my credit and asked why the amount arbitrarily increased after I asked for verification. In another stunning development, on March 3rd of 2014 I received another letter from CCA stating now I owed even more, a total of $461.85. I asked them how, by way of me asking to verify the validity of the debt, that the amount could arbitrarily go up. I informed them that I would be contacting my attorney in regards to this matter and report this unethical practice. AT Smith & Company tried to take advantage of the situation from 4 years ago to move around an agreement they made with me prior. I showed them written proof, I was supposed to get a deposit back based on statements from my property manager at the time. I even agreed to pay the $165 and sent them a check because I definitely have better things to do than argue over such a petty amount, but the fact they decided to take such a rude and unethical stance in regards to my offer to address the issue in their favor shows the lack of professionalism of their staff.
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