Consumer complaint received 2017-04-27
Company: HSBC NORTH AMERICA HOLDINGS INC.
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:
Da y 1 :  Received an " unknown '' phone call, asking where I was yesterday,  XXXX   XXXX ,   XXXX  , in order to drop off some papers. I was very uncertain about what " papers '' these could be, and all the girl said, was, " They did n't call you and tell you? I can give you the number and you can call them first to see what it 's about before I drop off the papers. '' Stunned, I called  XXXX . I was not introduced with the name of the office. Instead, I was prompted to give them my social and some reference number. I was transferred to  XXXX   XXXX , who pulled up a " complaint, '' in  the county  that I live in. I was stunned further, because I am an upholding citizen who does n't violate the law, so how coul d the COUNTY  complain? He went further to state an old credit card company I paid off SEVEN YEARS AGO, in which it would have fallen off my credit ( and it has ), was SUING me after " multiple attempts '' to reach me. He was calm, cool, and collected, casually spewing off the name of the original bank, and then the debt collector it was sold to. I informed him that not only was this very old debt, but one I 'd settled with the bank years ago, and that they never contacted me since, and it was only until last year that I got threatening phone calls and " documentation '' of my original agreement. He advised me to get a hold of them to confirm the debt was paid off, and that if I did n't call him by  XXXX   XXXX  the next day, he would have to proceed with the collection agency to take me to court.     In a nutshell, I called both entities, the originator and the collection agency with no success.     Da y 2 :  Extremely perturbed from the day before, I called  XXXX  promptly to avoid delay. I asked him what he could do without having to go to court. He said the collection agency gave  XXXX  options of payment. I then proceeded to ask him what I could do if I was able to locate the documentation. He began stuttering and would n't give me a direct answer. He said that I would just have to keep trying to call the sources linked to my payment years ago, and that was it. He would n't inform me of how I could take reverse action if I located documentation of my payment. This debt is so old, it is n't on my credit report any longer. He said to call him back when I figure out a way to pay the debt off.   My wonderful fiancee and I have spent HOURS today since getting off the phone with  XXXX , and have come to find that this is an illegitimate practice.     First,  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  is not a public domain, one that is found online to research. They claim to be in a nearby city, but their name and number, again, (  XXXX  )  XXXX , come up as nothing but scam, with hundreds of complaints against them. A true attorney and legal office would have viable public footing online, to where you can see and review their practice, for their benefit of acquiring clients.     If a subpoena were going to be served, they would not call ahead of time to locate you. The point is to get you to accept the papers without prior notice.     I am now at the point where I feel illegally harassed and threatened, and feel the need to take legal action myself.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief