Consumer complaint received 2017-12-14
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: VA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
I was contacted by XXXX XXXX XXXX group on XXXX XXXX, XXXX. A voicemail was left stating that i needed to contact them about a complaint that was filed in their office and if i did n't respond they would take further legal action. I called the number that was left in the voice-mail. I was told that i had a judgement against me for a former Wachovia bank account that was opened in XXXX and closed in XXXX. An outstanding balance over {$830.00} dollars. They had a balance of {$2000.00} for the settlement. It would be a civil matter and i could be taken to court over it. If i wanted i could settle out of court with them for a balance of {$800.00}. They just needed to know what my intentions were. I stated that i did n't remember ever having a wachovia account. When i told one XXXX XXXX, that i had no intention of paying a debt to someone without any documentation, he stated that they had sent out a notice to me 38 days prior and it was not their fault that i did n't receive any notification. When i told him that i did n't receive it and i had a right to request the information/documentation, he stated that it was n't in their best interest to re-send any documentation, as it would cost them more money and that was n't normal practice for them. I told him i would make NO intention clear if i did n't have any documentation. He said they would send it normal mail and it would come in 5-10 days. My fiancee, father and XXXX sisters also received the same voicemail stating that i needed to respond to prevent further legal action. I received a call and voicemail on Monday XXXX XXXX saying that this was a courtesy call to let me know that the information i requested would be to me by Wednesday or Thursday of this week. When i received the certified mail. It only had a debt validation letter with the bank name, account number, balance and pay off balance. When i called to tell them that this letter did n't have any actual information verifying that this was my debt. I told them that i had looked up the address and the name of the law group and it came back as a bogus address. I then asked for the XXXX name, as the people i had spoken with were just " paralegals ''. XXXX XXXX was the name i was given. I was told very forcefully that i would be served " in person '' on Friday. I looked for ANY XXXX XXXX in the state of California that was listed in XXXX, Ca. There were none. I then called wells fargo who transferred me to the wachovia rep. They both told me that they did n't have any information on my " account '' because it was more than seven years old and had been deleted from their system and my consumer report. As it is illegal to keep any records older than 7 years that have been closed out. I was then given the number for the early warning services. I called and spoke with a woman there who told me that she had received a number of calls about the same thing just today. I asked if there was anything i could other than doing what i had been. She stated i should call consumer finance to see if their had been other scams or complaints filed about " XXXX XXXX XXXX ''. I spoke with one of your representatives, he informed me of all the necessary information i needed to ask from the law group. He stated that i should ask for a license number for debt collection. As by law they are required to provide it, to be a legit debt collector. I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX back and when i asked for a license number for debt collection, i was put on hold for more than six minutes, then disconnected. I tried to call back several times to get the number, i got the after hours answering service. I reside in Va, they 're " office '' is in Ca. Even with the time difference, they should have been there not even six mins after i was disconnected.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation