Consumer complaint received 2017-12-13
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION
State: KY
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:
To Whom It May Concern : My complaint involves the company XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a debt collection company who has regularly engaged in unethical business practices. My experience with them is recent, XXXX XXXX, XXXX - I had a voicemail ( and have saved ) to call their offices. The number they called me from is XXXX. It was an automated message that states, " Urgent voicemail message. We have sent multiple correspondences with no response and it is currently past the compliance period. Continued failure to respond can result in our recommendation of escalation without your personal statement being included. Please contact us at XXXX. '' When you call the line you ca n't get a live person and you are forced to leave a voicemail or hang up. I decided to leave a message because I had no idea what this voicemail was in regards to. A gentleman who said his name is XXXX XXXX called me from the number XXXX, which is a XXXX, Ohio area code. He stated that I owe money from an old bank account through 5/3 Bank. He did not give me the amount that I owed and I hung up with him and called 5/3 Bank. It is true that I used to bank with 5/3, from the XXXX 's until XXXX. I closed the account on XXXX XXXX, XXXX ( confirmed in a recorded call to 5/3 ) after moving from Ohio to Florida because they only had one branch location and I opened a new account with a different bank. I spoke to a collections specialist at 5/3 who stated that my account showed a XXXX balance and that even if I did owe the bank, the debt was so old they could no longer tell me how much the balance was. 5/3 also stated that at that time they used a company called XXXX for debt collection and they went out of business. 5/3 Bank does not employ the XXXX XXXX XXXX to collect debt on their behalf. I called XXXX back and let him know all of this and he insisted on calling 5/3 Bank while I was on the phone. There is no way for me to confirm that he really called 5/3 Bank. What I can tell you is that he has my social security number, my old checking account number, and an address in XXXX that I do not reside at. The person that XXXX called stated that at one time I did have a balance at 5/3 Bank, but again, no amount was stated and then XXXX hung up on them. XXXX then told me that at this point it 's an ethical issue and that he would settle this account for around {$230.00} but I actually owe {$300.00}. He said that I could be reported to the Chex system if I did not pay this and be reported to the credit bureaus. He then stated that if I did n't settle my account today ( this particular call took place on XXXX/XXXX/XXXX ) that interest and fees would add up to over {$600.00}. I asked for him to send me something in the mail with documentation from the original creditor ( 5/3 Bank ) because I needed to see something in writing, especially after my conversation with 5/3 Bank who advised me NOT to pay him and did use the word " scam ''. Again, this is recorded and can be proven. XXXX refused to mail me documentation and said he had already mailed me something and we were past the point of compliance. I was able to get him to agree to email me documentation. I did bring up that IF I truly did owe this debt, it was past the statue of limitations and this debt is considered time-barred. He then told me that in Florida that XXXX had changed and that even though it 's 5 years now it used to be longer and I fall under the old XXXX so they can come after me. I told him I was going to speak to an attorney about this and XXXX said he 'd be happy to speak to them too but that I needed to pay this now or I have 24 hours to pay them at most before they go after me. 

I have since called 5/3 bank and a woman by the name of XXXX has been assigned to my case. She specifically told me ( and again, another recorded call that can be pulled ) that even if I owed them at one point they can not see what the amount was because it 's so old. She then told me that they have asked XXXX XXXX to quit collecting debt on their behalf ( their legal department is now involved ) so clearly I am not the only one having this issue. XXXX is the one that told me XXXX went out of business and then a year or so ago this XXXX XXXX XXXX popped up trying to collect on really old debts. She also called them a scam and told me to avoid their calls. I forwarded her my letter sent from XXXX via email and she said she was passing it to their lawyers. 

I have also spoken now to 2 different attorneys - one in Florida and one in Ohio. Both advised me to not pay this guy and BOTH called the XXXX XXXX XXXX a scam. They both confirmed that XXXX is full of it when it comes to the SOL ( which does n't even fall in Florida because I did n't open the account there ) and that he is engaging in unethical business practices. The Florida attorney looked up the address they provided which is n't even a real office building. Their website is " under construction '' and their are law suits in Illinois against this firm. 

I want them to quit calling and threatening me. Further, I know I am not their only victim and this needs to stop. I am also reporting to the attorney general 's office in both Ohio and Florida.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation