Complaint Review: Fingerhut/Jefferson Capital/RJM ACQ LLC/JeffersNCP - St. Cloud Minnesota

My wife made the mistake of purchasing some stuff from Fingerhut in 1998. The purchase was paid for in 1998. Four years later, in 2002, when we went to buy a new car she had a collection on her credit in the amount of $71 dollars from them.

In the previous four years, we had never received a bill or any other form of notification of debt whatsoever, and I had the statement showing a zero balance after her purchase was paid for. I called Fingerhut and they sluffed me off to "their financial people", i.e., Jefferson Capital. When I called them and asked them what this debt was supposedly for and when it had been charged, they couldn't tell me. They said they had just taken over the finances for Fingerhut from Axysis (sp?) bank and didn't have that info. (How can they say she owes them money, but can't say what was supposedly purchased or even WHEN the bill was incurred?!) I was on active duty service at the time and stationed in Africa so this was a major pain. I told them that even though it was bogus and I resented paying their extortion money, that since it was only $71 I would pay it if they would get the mark off my wife's credit.

Amazingly, they responded, "We can't help you with that." I asked them if they really expected me to write a check for a bill I don't owe, when they can't tell me what was purchased or even WHEN the purchase was supposedly made, just to keep the black mark on her credit anyway...which is exactly what they wanted. I told them to get bent, and called the loan institution back that we were financing the car through. When I explained to them what was going on, they gave me the car loan anyway. Now three years later when we applied for a home loan, that single bogus bill is now showing up as four separate "overdue" bills in the amounts of $71 and $72(One each from Fingerhut/Axsys National Bank/Jefferson Capital/RJM ACQ LLC/JeffersNCP, which are in reality one and the same) Reported in 2004!! Keep in mind, we have still never been contacted by anyone from any of the four organizations telling us we had a bill...they just zapped the credit report. The credit report lists an address in St. Cloud, MN but no phone number. I called information in that city and they don't even have a listing for a Jefferson Capital in that city at that address or any other. That is super fishy which is what prompted me to do some research on the web. I stopped downloading after I got 20 PAGES of counsumer complaints about this company doing the exact same thing to other people...some who never even HEARD of Fingerhut until they get a credit hit. Fingerhut's customer service is non-existent. When I was able to get them on the phone back in 2002, they didn't even want to talk about it. Now, you can't even get a person on the phone...all you get is about four different automated options to choose from...go figure with all the people they've been screwing. I'd like to know how a company can mark someone's credit without so much as sending a bill first, even if the debt is legit. More importantly, how can they do it when by their own admission they CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT THE "DEBT" WAS FOR OR WHEN IT WAS INCURRED?

They are getting away with this fraud because most of us out here can't afford to hire attorneys for stuff like this. After seeing all the other identicle complaints from dozens of people (how many more are there that aren't aware of this website to report it on?) I'm convinced these companies are engaged in deliberate fraud and a class action lawsuit needs to be brought against them NOW...they've obviously been getting away with this for years.

Michael

Billings, Montana
U.S.A.