Consumer complaint received 2019-10-22
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CO
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: I do not know
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
To whom it may concern : A company identifying itself as the legal department of " XXXX XXXX '' called my estranged ex-wife ( divorced for nearly 10 years, but on good terms ) attempting to contact me. The caller told her they " are on their third attempt at trying to serve me papers, '' and that she is my contact.I immediately called them at XXXX and identified myself using a 6 digit reference number they provided my ex. They answered the phone as " legal department ''. The representative named XXXX asked for my name and last four digits of my social security number. He then repeated my social security number to me ( weird and unnerving ). He knew my address here in XXXX XXXX as well. XXXX said his company was in the process of filing a civil lawsuit against me to collect on a debt for Bank of America. There is some legitimacy to this. Fifteen years ago ( as a XXXX year old ) I opened a joint bank account with a girlfriend in XXXX XXXX, Missouri. After we broke up, I think she ran up a few hundred dollars in overdrafts. I'm unsure of the details or the veracity of that, but do remember that a Bank of America collection showed up on my credit reports years ago. XXXX said that the suit hasn't been filed yet, even though I was allegedly served " 45 days ago '' at my address. I still had a chance to settle for ~ {$1600.00} on an original debt of ~ {$590.00}. However, if I did not respond, they'd file suit, we'd go to court, and I'd owe > {$4000.00} including court costs etc. I stated that I had not given consent for his company to access my financial information and asked how he had obtained it. He stated that I signed over permission when I first opened the alleged Bank of America account. I asked XXXX for more information about the original debt. He responded that it was my responsibility to keep those records. I then stated that I'd need to gather more information and would call back.This phone call was extremely upsetting. My heart was beating like crazy. I read a few articles about debt collection to develop a strategy. They include : XXXX - Sued for Debt? Here 's What to Expect - XXXX XXXX   XXXX XXXX - What is the statute of limitations on debt? - XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - Fake Debt collectors - https : //www.consumer.ftc.govXXXX XXXX - " XXXX '' - XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Armed with more information, I called back and was put on hold for 30 minutes. I called again and was connected to XXXX again. Just as an aside, they also had my name connected to my phone number in their computer system at this time. What's funny about that is my name is XXXX XXXX XXXX, but I solely go by XXXX. They didn't have my middle name and so on several occasions said that I was not the account holder. Anyway, I asked XXXX a series of questions : 1. Is the debt time-barred? 
XXXX would not answer this questions. He stated that his company was not a debt collection company. In regards to time-barred debt, XXXX responded, " I don't know what that is. '' He added, " I am not trying to collect a debt. '' It appears he was only attempting to serve me with a civil lawsuit as a threat to extract payment for a debt I never generated, but had a strong semblance to something that could be real, supported by how much they knew about my personal information! 

2. When was the date of last payment? 
" There has been no payment, but the account has been default since XX/XX/XXXX. '' 3. Will you send me a debt validation letter? 
XXXX said they would not send any debt validation and did not seem to know what this was. 

I called back one last time to ask for the name of the company and their physical address. The representative identified the company as the legal department of XXXX XXXX. He would not provide an address for the company and accused me of being unwilling to identify myself. When I identified myself as XXXX, he responded, " No you're not. '' Long story short, the representative refused to provide XXXX XXXX XXXX address. Looking up the number XXXX pinpoints the call to XXXX, California. This is somewhat corroborated by XXXX mentioning that his company is based in California during my first phone call. 
Further research indicates that the Missouri statute of limitation on debt collections maxes out at 10 years. Trusting XXXX XXXX default date, this alleged debt is over 13 years old. 
This experience consumed my entire morning. In fact, it's XXXX XXXX and I'm still actively thinking about it as I write this e-mail. I consider this to be a highly sophisticated scam that could easily entrap someone into paying for something they don't owe to a company that doesn't deserve payment from anyone. Their knowledge of my personal information and willingness to call my ex-wife is very disturbing as well. 

You'll see that the details of my experience are spot on compared to comments left on the XXXX comment thread. A few examples of these details include owing > {$4000.00}, attempts at serving a civil lawsuit 45 days prior, identification as XXXX XXXX, and unwillingness to provide a physical address or details on the account. Lastly and perhaps most bothersome to me, " XXXX XXXX '' called employers, family, and friends of some of the commenters stating they were attempting to serve a civil suit on a debt in default. Wow! If that's not illegal, it certainly should be. 

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope this will be worth publishing in some regard as this is a sophisticated and dangerous scam that is predatory and questionably legal. Please, let me know if I can provide any further details for you. I want to do whatever I can to ensure that no one is attacked by these people ever again. 
Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX candidate Department of XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX University  Addendum : My ex-wife has just informed me that the caller identified his/herself as the XXXX County " courier 's office ''. They called from an ID blocked number and told her that I was to contact XXXX legal team at the number I provided above. I contacted XXXX County courts. The representative did not know anything about the " courier 's office ''. My name was not in their system. She also stated that XXXX County does not serve civil suits by making calls over the phone.

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