Consumer complaint received 2019-03-21
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: CA
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:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a phone call from an unlisted number, I didn't answer and they left me a voicemail saying " Hello this message is solely intended for ( my full name ) my name is XXXX XXXX, independent courier, calling in regards to a fax received here in the office. I am scheduled to deliver certified documents to your home address and place of employment tomorrow Thursday the XX/XX/XXXX between the hours of XXXX and XXXX. If you have any further questions, concerns, or need to reschedule before I arrive, it is imperative to contact the filing party 's office directly at XXXX and refer to the file number XXXX. ( My name ), you have officially been notified. '' This voicemail was also left on my mother 's, my sister 's, and my ex husband 's wife 's cell phone, all in regards to me. I called the phone number and no one answered " due to high call volume. '' I called again and a representative answered. I gave him the file number and he put me on a brief hold while he " accessed my documents. '' He then proceeded to tell me that he worked for a mediation company that was hired by Wells Fargo to file a civil suit against me for a defaulted account from XX/XX/XXXX. He said that according to " article 9 section 3 '' of the agreement I signed, that I could be liable for up to three times the defaulted amount, which would come out to {$1300.00}. He said if I wanted to avoid litigation I could settle over the phone for the original amount of {$430.00}. I asked for the name of the company he worked for so I could look it up and he gave me the name XXXX XXXX. I looked it up and found no web results, when I asked him about that he said that his company doesn't have a web presence.I asked if he could give me an address and he said that they had a XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, zip code XXXX ). Then I asked for his full name and he gave me XXXX XXXX. I said I didn't feel comfortable giving my debit card information over the phone and he assured me that I would only be charged the exact amount of the debt. He said he would transfer me to the billing department and then I would be sent an E document to sign to authorize the charge. I asked him if there was any way I could settle this directly through WellsFargo and he told me that " it would be pointless for them to go through the trouble of hiring a third party litigation firm if I were able to just settle the debt directly with them. '' He said that he wouldn't have all of my information ( Full name, DOB, social security number, and home address ) if he was intending to use it for nefarious reasons. With all that said, I agreed to pay over the phone, I was transferred to XXXX with XXXX XXXX, emailed the e document, and paid {$430.00} with my debit card, given a confirmation code XXXX, and emailed a receipt from XXXX XXXX XXXX. The man I spoke to made it clear that I had to pay right away to avoid getting sued and did not want me to call back at a later time because he was only allowed " one point of communication ''. After I got off the phone, I did more research and found out that I had likely been scammed. I immediately called my bank to cancel the transaction and get a new debit card.

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