COEUR d'ALENE - A Houston-based debt-collection agency has been triggering numerous complaints in the past year as it seeks to collect Hollywood Video movie-rental late fees.

Just like in other parts of the country, complaints to the Better Business Bureau for Spokane and North Idaho are against Universal Fidelity LP. Many of those receiving letters from the agency say the late-fee debts are bogus.

Paul Farinacci, Universal's CEO, said consumers typically take a defensive position when they hear from a collection agency.

People likely are going to say they don't owe the money if enough time has passed and they can't actually remember a debt, he said.

"That's human nature," Farinacci said. "The older an account becomes, the more difficult it becomes to collect."

The letters state: "The debt that you owe to the legal successor of Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery, Inc., has been placed with Universal Fidelity LP, a national collection agency, because of our experience in collecting outstanding accounts just like yours."

Chelsea Dannen, of the BBB in Spokane, said, "We probably have fielded more than 100 calls on this."

She said two other collection agencies also are trying to collect debts claimed by Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery, the parent company of Hollywood, after its bankruptcy filing in 2010.

"Universal Fidelity seems to be more of a problem child than the other two," she said.

Farinacci said his agency has handled far more accounts than the other two agencies, sending out close to a million letters this year. More accounts led to more complaints, he said.

So far, nearly 1,500 consumers have filed formal complaints against Universal Fidelity with the BBB, Dannen said.

"What we've heard is most dollar amounts are under $50," she said.

She said Universal Fidelity has a D+ rating.

"That's right above the lowest rating possible," she said.

She recommended that consumers file a complaint with the BBB if they receive a letter and the debts are false.

On its website, Universal Fidelity said people haven't heard about the debts for more than two years because the accounts have been tied up in the bankruptcy process of Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery. In late 2011, a trustee was assigned by the courts to start liquidating the assets, including delinquent accounts.

The company said the accounts haven't and won't be reported to the credit bureaus. The company also can't add interest or charge additional late fees.

Farinacci said consumers only have to call or write a letter to contest the debts.

"We accept what they say, and we close the account," he said. "It's that easy."

He said Universal has been around since 1991, and had a A+ rating with the BBB as recently as December of last year.

The complaints regarding the Hollywood Video debts have sunk Universal's rating.

"I've never had a situation where going after accounts has created such a furor," he said.

He said about 10 to 14 people pay the debts for every person that contests them.

"We're doing a job," he said. "And we're doing the best job that we can under the circumstances."