Consumer complaint received 2018-06-04
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY
State: ID
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:
On Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX I received a voicemail from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX that stated the following : " Good afternoon this message is for ( insert my name ). My name is XXXX XXXX. I'm a private carrier and I'm calling you regarding your legal documents that we have here in the office scheduled for delivery today between the hours of XXXX to XXXX XXXX to the addess ... oh, okay sir, I'm looking here ... we don't even have an address for you. So it's very important that you call in and give us a good address because if we don't get these documents to you and get you to sign for them, I'm going to have to send them back as undeliverable and mark it as a direct refusal of compliance and also as a missed appearance. if you have any questions regarding your appearance, your documentation or wish to reschedule the delivery times and give a good address, contact the office at XXXX. When you contact the office you will need to provide the documentation number, which is XXXX. Thank you, have a good day. Talk to you soon. '' I called the number back and was told that I had by noon the next day ( Friday, XX/XX/XXXX ) to either pay the debt or I would be taken to court. I was told that their company was not a debt collection company, but instead a company that gets these accounts right before they will get taken to court ( however I could pay the full amount to the company to avoid being taken to court, which sounds like debt collection ). I was told their success rate in court is in the 99 % range and usually when these cases go to court they sue for 3 times the total debt owed. In my case this would have been around {$1500.00} because I was told I owed {$500.00} at one point, but then on a call later that day I was told I owed {$650.00}. The man on the phone said he could not even tell me which bank this debt supposedly originated from. He said it only came to them showing as a DDA ( direct deposit account ). 

He told me the account they were collecting on was opened on XX/XX/XXXX and verified some information with me including the last four of my SSN and also my old street address. Note : On the voicemail that was left he had stated that they did not have an address for me. Also my mom and I moved to that address in XX/XX/XXXX when I was a sophomore in high school, I moved out in XX/XX/XXXX, but my mom still lives there. No communications had ever been mailed to that address. Also, the phone number that he reached me on I have had since about XX/XX/XXXX. I asked how it was possible that for 10 years this debt had supposedly been owed, but yet I had not had one phone call or piece of mail from the bank or debt collectors, and then now this company instantly is able to reach me. The response was that their company has more resources to be able to track down people because they are not a debt collection agency. 

I told the XXXX XXXX XXXX employee that I was going to call the only two banks I would have possibly had during that year, Wells Fargo and XXXX XXXX, to see if I could get any information from them. I called both banks promptly and both were unable to find any information regarding the account number I had been given my the XXXX XXXX XXXX employee. The Wells Fargo employee even called her back office to have them check their records and they were not able to find any information. After talking to these employees I felt very confident that this was a scam. I researched online and came across the fact that under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that I have a right to submit a debt validation letter to the company and require them to send complete documentation to verify that I owed the said debt and that I had legal obligation to pay to the company. 

The next day I called XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX and got their email address ( XXXX ) and physical address ( XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX, NY XXXX ) so that I could send my debt validation letter in both forms. When I called to request this information I spoke to someone named XXXX and he said he was new and didn't understand what a debt validation letter was and asked me to repeat the name of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that I had mentioned so that he could write it down. I recorded these conversations in case they could be beneficial later. 

I sent my debt validation letter via email the morning of XX/XX/XXXX requesting the following : - Agreement with the creditor that authorizes you to collect on this alleged debt - The agreement bearing my signature stating that I have agreed to assume the debt - Valid copies of the debt agreement stating the amount of the debt and interest charges - Proof that the Statute of Limitations has not expired - Complete payment history on this account along with an accounting of all additional charges being assessed - Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state ; and - Your license numbers and Registered Agent On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX I received an email back with ONLY the following information : 1 ) My name 2 ) Last 4 of my SSN 3 ) Type of Debt : DDA 4 ) Acct number ( of supposed debt ) 5 ) Bank Name : Wells Fargo Bank 6 ) Original Repayment Amount : {$650.00} 7 ) Interest & Fees Amount Due : {$0.00} 8 ) Grand Total Due, Owing & Payable : {$500.00} 9 ) Original Loan " Charge Off Date '' : XX/XX/XXXX So the response email included nowhere near the amount of information or proof necessary to verify that this is a debt I owe. Also the bottom of the email read as follows : " In addition to the above, and in most cases, we can also provide ; your date of birth, drivers license number, and email address that was submitted when you applied for the loan. To maintain your privacy, however, we do not disclose this information in writing. As you can see, we have truncated ( masked ) your social security number ( except for the last four digits ) to protect your privacy as well. 

The account/debt described above and currently owned by XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX is a debt ; due, owing and payable in the total amount of {$500.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  XXXX has full power and authority to perform all acts necessary for the collection, settlement, adjustment, compromise and satisfaction of said debt ( s ). 

This communication is from a debt collector and is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. 

All of the information contained within this Validation of Debt is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and has been confirmed and validated by me through research and verification. 

Sincerely, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX '' So on XX/XX/XXXX, I had been told that this was not a debt collection agency, but then the email states that it is. The debt validation letter that I sent states that if their company is unable to provide the requested documentation within 30 days that all future attempts to collect the debt should cease. I am positive that this is some type of scam trying to scare me into sending payments to this company. However with this supposedly being related to something 10 years ago this company is making me doubt myself, and therefore has created a very stressful time for me trying to sort through all this. 

I would appreciate help from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since this is the Bureau 's expertise and may have a larger oversight or further information on this company and it's legitimacy. Also guidance as to what can and should be done on my end of this would be greatly appreciated.

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