Consumer complaint received 2023-08-03
Company: FORD MOTOR CREDIT CO.
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Auto debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue you for very old debt

Complaint:
Debt Fraud Attempt XX/XX/XXXX On Tuesday XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX I received a voice mail originating from XXXX from someone claiming to be a XXXX XXXXs from a Document ( unintelligible ) Services company that had received a complaint about me and that I needed to call XXXX to speak to someone at the firm to avoid further action against me. 
On my way home at XXXX I received a call from my aunt in Florida that she had received a call from XXXX as well and spoke to XXXX that told my aunt they were trying to deliver a document to me and asked if she was able to get a message to me. She told XXXX that she would forward the message. ( Note : my aunt has never been used a contact for me but does share the same last name after marrying my [ now deceased ] uncle and taking the family name. ) After I was home, at about XXXX I called XXXX to follow up. The first person I spoke with was a very rude female that did not identify herself and hung up on me after I told her I could not understand the voice mail I was left as the voice quality was poor. Before hanging up on me she did tell me that the company that was trying to contact me was a law firm called XXXX XXXX XXXX. 
I called XXXX again and then spoke to a male claiming to be XXXX XXXX, a Senior case manager or supervisor with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX a firm located in XXXX Texas. ( I verified the spelling of the firm to be as shown here. ) XXXX extension was given as XXXX in case the call was disconnected. After XXXX minutes of probing XXXX for information I was told that the first person that called, XXXX, was from a company that was hired by the XXXX XXXX XXXX to serve a summons to appear in a civil case against me. After further probing it was explained to me that the debt was for a XXXX XXXX with a VIN ending in XXXX. I do own a XXXX XXXX but I was not sure of the VIN at the time ( but was later verified as incorrect ) so I probed further. I bought the XXXX XXXX new and received the title after paying it off over 15 years ago and still own the vehicle. ( # Fordtough ) The original creditor was explained to me as being Ford Credit and the debt was later sold to XXXX XXXX and finally picked up by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The amount owed was first declared to be {$3500.00} and that I could expect to be served a summons to appear in court to settle the debt. I repeatedly claimed that the debt was not valid and that I have owned the truck free and clear for over 15 years. XXXX then claimed that I had a small window to settle the debt at a discounted amount of {$2300.00}. That amount was explained to be the original amount of the debt and the higher amount of {$3500.00} would be the amount owed if the matter was to progress to the court after the notice to appear was served but if I settled the debt at the lower amount that the civil case would be dropped. I continued to claim that the debt was not valid, and I did not believe the claim held any legal ground. It was then that XXXX apologized for not explaining the situation thoroughly and escalated me to his supervisor. I was on hold during the interim for about XXXX minutes and while on hold I was unable to find XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX or anywhere else for that matter. 
I then spoke to a man claiming to be XXXX XXXX XXXX, Administration Director for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. This is where the charm was turned on. In a deep toned laid-back texas accent XXXX XXXX XXXX continued the same rhetoric as XXXX but with allot, ALLOT, more personal detail about me. He began to list Credit Cards, back accounts, and other financial details that almost had me convinced this was a valid claim. XXXX said one phrase several times that made me doubt him and that was when he practically begged me to help him get this off my desk and off my list. XXXX asked me if I was willing and able to settle the debt at the lower amount if it would be in payments or a lump sum, I said that IF the debt was valid, it would be settled in a lump sum. He then claimed to take that back to The Entity that owed the debt to see if that would be acceptable to them and that if it was accepted that the civil case would be dropped, and no court appearance would be necessary. I allowed XXXX to put me on hold to reach out to The Entity with the request. 
While I was on hold for about XXXX minutes, I again searched for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, and XXXX XXXX all with no success. My concern escalated to a high level quickly. 
After XXXX returned to the call, I asked him why XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX could not be found on any web search and his reply was that it was a private firm. Yet another huge red flag. He continued that The Entity had agreed to the terms and that to submit a payment I would have to reply to a verification of my identity via XXXX. I quickly received an email from a XXXX XXXX via XXXX with an email address of XXXX The e-mail looked very official and valid, I snapped screen shots ( attached ) of the e-mail of the document pages but the PDF link said the document was unavailable, another red flag for me. The document listed Ford Credit and an original account number that I have not verified as true or false as to my original account number with Ford Credit but it did not seem valid in appearance. The e-mail has been retained and can be forwarded on request. 
The document listed amount filed as {$4500.00} an amount never mentioned at all prior, another red flag to me. The alarm bells were now glowing red in my mind that this was a very elaborate and sophisticated attempt to defraud me. I stated this to XXXX whom immediately became agitated that I had wasted HIS time and that I needed to proceed to settle the debt to again Get this off my desk. I told XXXX that he had not convinced me that the claim was valid nor that he was legitimate. After a few minutes of bickering XXXX hung on me after wishing me in a patronizing contemptuous texas tone, Good luck in court your gon na need it boy.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation