Consumer complaint received 2018-04-18
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: KY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
A woman called me from XXXX XXXX who said she was asked to contact me about an old debt from a bank for a credit card. They claimed to be a recovery agent and said if I did not arrange to pay right now then I would be sued for over {$3000.00} for a {$350.00} debt that they claimed was {$310.00} so first they were wrong about the amount owed. I asked them if I could have time to contact the original creditor and to investigate the information and they told me no, that this was a one time offer to settle the debt. They said they were seeking around {$950.00} but could probably settle for the original amount owed. Again red flags went up. Most debt collectors will settle for less than the original amount owed instead of three Times the original debt. They wanted to send me an agreement that I would insert credit card information over through email and I would make payments to them to pay off this debt that is owed and it would be removed from my credit report. They sent an email and it was from XXXX and it wanted me to include all of my information and credit card information. It listed their company name and address on the document. I then, feeling suspicious due to the nature of the call and threats made I contacted the original debtor ( the bank ) which gave me the information of the company that bought my account from them and who I now owe for the debt. I called the creditor and they then proceeded to tell me that they knew nothing of this company and they didnt work with them as a recovery agent. They advised me to not speak to them and to only pay my debt to them or a company they work with, but to always call them directly and if its not then they will give me information on who to contact to pay the debt. They offered me a settlement of half the original debt just under {$200.00} and told me Im able to go online and make other arrangements as well to pay it. I then contacted XXXX  directly and asked them if this original debt was under any other collector aside from the original creditor or the creditor who the bank sold my account to and they said no. I also checked my credit report for all three credit reporting agencies and it was indeed only listed under the original creditor and the creditor company that bought the debt from them. I then called XXXX XXXX back and they laughed at me and told me the credit bureaus werent accurate and must not be updated. They also told me my creditor mustve sold it to them and still show I their system that it hadnt been sold yet, however this is a lie because the creditor was able to provide me with up to date and accurate information. They told me to be expecting a court date as they will proceed with legal action against me. This company is a scam and they are trying to obtain credit card information from people to steal money claiming to be collecting a debt by threatening a lawsuit of sum of money significantly larger amount then the original debt that they do not even have the correct information on.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation