Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My motorcycle was totaled in Feb 2024. The towing yard was instructed to dispose of the bike after the police investigated it. Since it was part of an investigation I do not have to pay storage fees. After it was investigating I never got a call from ******* that they were confused about this disposal and they did not contact me about it further. I randomly get a collection letter on October asking for almost 7k. I will not be paying this and I sent them a response saying so. They keep sending me letters. I am contacting my lawyers for a cease and desist if they continue to bother me, and if the amount is not cleared off my credit history.

  Business response

  10/24/2024

  Ms. ******* readily admits that it was her motorcycle.  Under Ohio Revised Code, *******, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for the balance. If Ms. ******* wants to work something out to resolve this obligation, I am sure we can work to find some common ground to resolve it, but the balance incurred is justified.  While unfortunately it was towed because of an accident (per her complaint and a quick ****** search) it was towed and a balance is due. Again, if Ms ******* wants to make an offer, she is welcome to contact our office and provide what she feels is a reasonable offer.  Based on the cease & desist, we will mark it accordingly but that will not make the balance go away.

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I've requested an itemized bill of the charges as well as receipts for the 31 payments of 100.00 that I've already made. I was told they mailed me things a few times yet. I have never received anything from this debt collector my entire life.

  Business response

  05/23/2024

  Ms. ******** asked for a list of payments on 5.17.24 and it was mailed later that day.  What really appears to be the issue is that we’ve allowed her to pay $100 a month on what was originally over $5200 and she is upset this is on her credit but it has been there for a year and it took her a year to start making payments.  As the payment information was just mailed (she had us change the mailing address by adding a space) out last week and it has not been returned yet, we so no need to send that information again.  However, because she has asked for an itemization, and while we are not obligated to provide at this stage, we will do so anyway.

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 5/10/2023 my work benefit card was charged $2318.06. This was charged by Meade and Associates, a collection company. I do not have or had the said card that was charged since December 2022 when I was at my house in Michigan, I am currently working in Tennessee since then and won't be returning for another year. Attempted to get a detailed receipt from Meade & Associates, they said they sent one already and they don't have to provide anything by law and refused to speak to my daughter and I. Contacted my work and our insurance, they looked into it and it turns out that the $2318.06 consisted of (2) charges $1967.56 and $350.50. My insurance is currently in jeopardy of being froze until this matter is resolved. A detailed billing receipt is required for both charges to the original billing address at ***** ****** ** *********** ** ******

  Business response

  11/29/2023

  A receipt was mailed on 10.16.23 to the address his daughter provided to us on 10.11.23.  We are not obligated to send receipts but did so as a courtesy.  As a second courtesy, we will mail another receipt to the address filed in the complaint.    

• Initial Complaint

  07/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a letter from them saying a past due amount of $91.38 to a creditor. However, the creditor they listed is a grocery store. It’s a grocery store that I rarely shop at, and if I do, it’s usually not more than $10. I’ve never written a check there. I don’t use the pharmacy. And it is a grocery store, so they don’t even have a credit card. What in the world could I have a balance due on? I have called ****** ****** customer service, and they are trying to investigate. I plan to call the Ohio Attorney General also. This is a scam.

  Business response

  08/01/2023

  We are extremely confused why Mr. ******* would file this complaint PRIOR to talking with us.  He called our office and spoke with us on the 25th and said he would speak with his spouse and after discussing with her, he would call us back.  It would appear that Mr. ******* has the necessary information at this time and the complaint wasn’t even necessary?  If Mr. ******* needs more information, he is welcome to reach back out to us and as we did on the 25th, we will make every effort to assist him as we previously did.

• Initial Complaint

  07/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for this debt with ******* *******, I do not have a contract with Meade & Associates, they did not provide me with the original contract as I requested.

  Business response

  07/10/2023

  We have not supplied anything to Ms. ***** because this is the first time we have ever heard from her directly regarding the debt.  All we had received so far was a dispute from her on 6.26.23.  We verified the balance was due to our client and since Ms. ***** is stating we never supplied something she never asked for, we will take this to mean she would like to see it.  Therefore, we have asked our client to supply it and as soon as they do, we will mail it to Ms. Woods.  We apologize that the BBB had to even get involved because had Ms. ***** simply reached out to us asking for it, we would have gladly taken the same steps.  This all seems so unnecessary.  

  Customer response

  07/11/2023

  I have never done any business with this company nor have I received anything from them about the disputed account. I have a right to dispute and investigate any inaccurate information that’s connected to my name. Their response to this matter was unnecessary and very unprofessional. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *****

  Business response

  07/12/2023

  We are not quite sure how to respond.  As we mentioned previously, the first time ever being asked for proof was on 7.10.23.  Ms. ***** is upset she hasn’t received it yet.  Well of course she hasn’t.  We had to request it and then mail it to her.  We received it from our client the afternoon of the 10th and mailed it on the 11th.  It hasn’t even been 24 hours since it left our office and Ms. ***** has an address in Washington.  It might take the postal service a few days to deliver it.  We are sorry she feels our response was “unnecessary and very unprofessional”, but the response remains the same.  The BBB’s time could have been better used for complaints when a business was unresponsive or not doing their job.  She tries to make it appear that we didn’t do ours when in fact, we were never given the opportunity to do so.  As soon as we were asked for proof, we mailed it out within 24 hours.  Not sure how she can expect faster service than that.  

  Customer response

  07/13/2023

  Until I received proof, I will not let this matter go. Seems to me, this company is very bothered about me disputing this account. Feels like I am going back and forth with a child. I will keep disputing until I received the information I have requested and that will be all that I will say. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** *****

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business is listed as the representative debt collection agency for a dentist office on my credit report. They took all my personal information and then offered me dispute service for my credit report to not have to pay my bills but wanted to charge me a monthly fee. When I said I just wanted to settle the dentist account the gentleman was very condescending and pretty much said good luck with that told me to have a good day and hung up. How am I supposed to pay this debt?

  Business response

  06/07/2023

  We are confused as to the problem that Mr. ****** wants corrected.  He hasn’t told us what is wrong with his credit report that he wants fixed.  We made 75 phone calls to him in a little over a years’ time until someone at the phone # he listed in his complaint as his told us it was a wrong # for him.  He also failed to respond to either letter mailed to him at the address in his complaint.  Yesterday he called in and wanted to pay less than what was owed and was told no.  Any information requested over the phone would be used to verify we are speaking with the right party.  We offered alternative resolutions including free payment plans but he told us he would review it and call us back.  If Mr. ****** can tell us what is “wrong” with his credit report, and what “correction” needs to take place, we would gladly review it.  Mr. ****** is welcome to call us to pay, pay online or remit payment via mail.  It would appear though that Mr. ****** doesn’t want to pay his entire balance, and because we told him that wasn’t possible, he got upset.  

• Initial Complaint

  05/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a letter from them regarding a debt that I wanted to inquire about. I sent 4 emails, left several voicemails, sent a response to their letter by certified mail and NEVER heard back until I saw a collections mark on my credit report. I have emailed them again and nothing. I wasn't even sure if this was the correct agency because they are listed as COLLECTIONS with no other information. I finally had to contact someone from TransUnion to gather more information.

  Business response

  05/05/2023

  We think Ms. ***** has us confused with someone else.  We have made 30 calls to the number on file and sent 2 letters without a response.  We keep all emails when and sorting by her email she just sent today (which we responded to within 6 minutes where we provided our hours of operation and phone number since she didn’t provide any contact info), we have received no other emails going back to 2004.  Also, thanks to technology, we can see that 1 call was made to our office from that phone #.  It was made at 9:05a on 5.4.2023.  It does appear that we were not able to answer it but for the last 2 days, we have been having intermit phone issues.  For Ms. ***** to try and paint a picture that WE are avoiding her calls is not accurate.  The email back to her has our hours of operation.  We also have not received any certified email as she alluded to as all inbound is dated and scanned.  

  Customer response

  05/05/2023

  I do NOT have this business confused with ANYONE I have NO other debt except for this company that originally stole money from my account in January of 2022. If you didn’t reach me on the phone then leave a message! I absolutely sent a certified letter back in January 2023.
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****

  Business response

  06/01/2023

  6.1.23 Meade & Associates called stating the 5.5.523 response is from their office, not *** *** ******. Business also states a collection letter was sent to Ms. ***** from Meade & Associates on March 7, 2023.

   

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I attended Hondros College in Maumee, Ohio for 3 months out of 12 in 2019---THE SCHOOL TERMINATED MY ENROLLMENT 3 MONTHS IN! The amount of $3701 shown was for the entire 12 months and I signed A CONTRACT that this amount would be paid OVER THE 12 MONTH TIME FRAME at a rate of $308.42 MONTHLY (Hondros has a copy of this contract). My other funding came from grants/loans. Since I only attended the school for 3 months and THE SCHOOL decided to END my enrollment I only owe them $925.26 IF ANYTHING! This was an LPN-to-RN program and they had the option to have me REPEAT failed courses (which is what I wanted and had expected) but instead they terminated my enrollment! Since they terminated the enrollment THEY voided the contract and I DO NOT OWE THEM ANYTHING.

  Business response

  04/21/2023

  Ms. ******* whole complaint has nothing to do with our services or our interactions with her.  That said, she does ask that we provide her with a breakdown, we will gladly do so, but had she simply reached out to us, we could have avoided unnecessarily involving the BBB.  Involving them does not change our response to our obligations and processes.  Having never reached out to us, it is hard to respond.  We will mail her the information to the address listed in the complaint.

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Account number *******

  To whom it may concern,

  There's absolutely no information provided that I could use to verify the veracity of this annotation on my credit report.

  ****** ****** is an American grocery store, and I was living in the United Kingdom during 2017. I’ve never had an account or credit card with them, so I’m at a loss about this appearing on my credit.

  One conspicuous blemish juxtaposed against flawless payment histories with every bona fide account on my report (all of the others). In no uncertain terms, I do not acknowledge the validity of this account being associated with me. That being said, due to the sum's size, I am willing to provide you with a one-time payment of $89 to get this off my plate. In doing so, you would need to commit to marking the account as "settled" within 21 business days of your receipt of payment. Any derogatory report(s) you have made against me with any credit reporting agencies/bureaus must all be removed within that same 21 business day window.

  Please let me know, via email, if you have opted to accept this offer. I am prepared to submit a payment of that amount immediately.

   ***** ******

  Business response

  04/05/2023

  Mr. ****** sent the exact same email to us and we have already replied asking him to call us back.  We cannot communicate electronically regarding the payment of a debt.  A phone call to our office will allow us to answer any questions and resolve the balance as he has suggested he is willing to do.

  Customer response

  04/05/2023

  I found the email to which this unnamed Meade & Associates, Inc. representative was referencing. That email account's hard-coded name is "Generic Email," where a given or business' name would appear.  Given the concerningly informal nature of this correspondence, including the anonymous response furnished here, I am becoming concerned.  My wife is a notable legal expert, and does not believe this claim, "We cannot communicate electronically regarding the payment of a debt," is a legitimate representation of any relevant law.  Lastly, the anonymous email sent by so-called "Generic Email," noted a calling window of "8a - 4:30p." Absolutely no time zone was mentioned or implied. The email doesn't note a city, or even state of operation.  Something about all of this seems off. I plan to pursue this with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and US CFPB on 10 April 2023. ***** ******   

  Business response

  04/12/2023

  The response Mr. ****** received is the same response that goes out multiple times a day.  It asks for the consumer to call us so we can address their specific concerns or questions.  While Mr. ****** doesn’t appear to like the emails “hard-coded name”, we find it more protective to the consumer.  As we all know, not all email is a secure means of communication and by discussing someone’s private matter in a manner that could be captured by a 3rd party, we have always felt that was the safest way to handle it.  We are sorry that Mr. ****** doesn’t appear to agree.  With regards to the time zone, while that might be an oversite in the generic response, we are not really sure how that is relevant.  Mr. ****** likely got our email address from our website.  From our Contact Us page where the email address is located is our physical address which shows Ohio.  That should be enough to indicate which time zone we are in.  However, even if it wasn’t, Mr. ****** contacted the Columbus Ohio BBB.  That page also lists our address which shows Ohio as well.
  
  Going back and forth about this is not productive for either party.  We encourage Mr. ****** to reach out to our office where we can explain exactly how our process works when someone pays off a bill and how we notify the credit bureaus.  Had Mr. ****** just called us as we asked, this matter could have been put to rest last week and Mr. ****** would have had his answer and all parties involved could move on.  While something seems off to Mr. Keiser, many other folks appreciate the private manner in which we handle their personal affairs.   

  Customer response

  04/12/2023

  This unsigned/anonymous response accurately portrays the childish and evasive tone documented throughout this correspondence.
  
  Meade & Associates, Inc.’s misrepresentation of federal law is now being reframed as courtesy? They claim that my personal research of their company somehow explains not including a time zone when declaring hours of operation, despite the interstate nature of their alleged work.
  
  Between Meade & Associates, Inc.’s distortion of federal law and the erratic unprofessionalism of their correspondence, I plan to pursue this with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and US CFPB on Monday (April 17), if unresolved by COB the Friday prior.
  
  V/r,
  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a medical bill with ***** ******* *********** ****** ****** ******* ***. The bill was in the amount of $2361.19. I paid this bill using my 5/3 HSA account. Since this transaction, my HSA has been sold to HealthEquity. I received a letter at the end of November, 2022 from Meade and Associates, Inc. *** ********** ****** ***** ******* **** ****, ###-###-#### stating I owed ***** ******* ****** and they were in charge of collecting the debt. When I called ****** ****** looking for evidence of my payment to *****, they told me there was limited info available from *** transactions. Therefor, I attempted to use my ****** ****** HSA card to pay the debt via the online method in the letter from Meade. ****** ****** notified me that a request was denied because the merchant was not valid. I then checked my balance due to ***** Medical via logging into my portal and billing showed zero due. I have read many reviews on Google regarding Meade and Assoc. with very similar grounds.

  Business response

  12/05/2022

  Ms. ******* mentions here that she tried to pay our office with her HSA but it was “declined because the merchant wasn’t valid”.  Had Ms. ******* returned our phone calls, she would have been able to tell she was trying to use her HSA.  When individuals choose to pay online at our site, they are given the option of identifying their card as an HSA.  Had she properly done so, we would have ran it as such.  Because we do not always collect medical bills, we have two merchant ID’s.  One is for regular cards and the other is for HSA cards.  Ms. ******* didn’t identify her card accordingly and we cannot run a card through our HSA merchant unless directed by the consumer to do so. 
  
  That said, her desired resolution is that she needs an itemization.  Had she called our office we would have gladly told her we would get it and mail it out to her (or since she is local she is welcome to come pick it up).  As of 10:30a on 12.5.22, the balance is still listed in bad debt.  We have requested a copy be provided so we can send it out to her.  Once Ms. ******* receives her paperwork, we encourage her to review it and should she wish to pay it with her HSA, just flag it correctly so we can process it under the correct merchant ID.  Because we do not store card numbers, it would need to be provided again.

  
  With regards to what she is reading online, it is always much easier to voice frustration than it is to voice positive experiences, especially with the nature of our business. 

*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. ↩