Consumer complaint received 2019-02-27
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
State: PA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt was already discharged in bankruptcy and is no longer owed

Complaint:
On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX contacted my sister-in-law in an attempt to reach me. They provided her with a reference number, a phone number, and mentioned it was a litigation matter. I received the information from her and contacted Integrity. 

I was put in touch with XXXX at XXXX. She informed me that she had just received my account that morning and was trying to reach me to discuss the matter. I asked her to not contact my sister-in-law again and she confirmed my number. I questioned her on this being the first attempt to contact me as the number provided to me was in my call history ; the company had made previous attempts to reach me prior to the XX/XX/XXXX. 

XXXX assured me this wasn't the case as she had just received the account that morning. She stated that she was attempting to collect on an account on behalf of HSBC Consumer Lending from XX/XX/XXXX for {$1300.00}. I asked why I did not receive any physical mail about the collection efforts. XXXX told me XXXX only had the account for 3 weeks and she did not control what the mail department does in mailing out account details. 

I asked her to send me the information so I can review it and to include an address and account information for payments. She informed me they only take payments over the phone or thru the use of a prepaid card. I told her my discomfort and reluctance about providing debit/credit card information over the phone. 

I remembered I had an account with HSBC thru Beneficial but not in XX/XX/XXXX. I began to question the debt 's authenticity and she threatened to serve me at home or work with a court summons suing me for the debt. XXXX mentioned she was authorized to offer me a settlement of a payment schedule for a reduction of the balance. 


Once I began to ask questions to gather information about the debt, she became hostile and immediately stated she was putting me down as a refusal which meant this matter was going to court. I asked her wasn't she obligated to discuss settlement terms before she put me down as a refusal. I mentioned I was only trying to get information about the debt since Integrity 's policy is to not send out mail. 


XXXX put me on hold. After a brief delay, she came back on line and told me her supervisors were listening to the call and that she should discuss the settlement terms. She then mentioned that the HSBC account was actually from XX/XX/XXXX and that the account had been placed into collections in XX/XX/XXXX. 


She mentioned I needed to agree to the settlement that day only and had to consent in an email thru electronic signature on a form from them sent via email. I acknowledged that I had an account with HSBC but it was included in a XX/XX/XXXX bankruptcy and therefore the debt was no longer valid. 


We ended the call her and I contacted the attorney that handled my bankruptcy to discuss this matter. I talked to a clerk and discussed this matter and the above mentioned recollection of events. I provided XXXX 's number and left it there. I contacted XXXX and provided my attorney 's information and that the matter is to be directed to the attorney. My attorney informed me that she would provide Integrity with proof of the bankruptcy. 



My real issue is how and why did XXXX XXXX come into possession of this account considering it was discharged thru a bankruptcy. I contacted HSBC and they had no information attached to my social security number thus no active attempts to collect the debt. The aggressive nature of XXXX 's collection attempts, immediate refusal of offering a prestated settlement in lieu of me asking informative questions, and the threats of litigation were abusive in nature and combative. Due to the fraudulent attempts to collect and to avoid litigation, I felt immediate pressure to pay the settlement amount on the XX/XX/XXXX and even made a transfer of funds in my accounts to pay the {$750.00} settlement.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation