Consumer complaint received 2015-12-16
Company: ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC.
State: CA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card
Issue: Taking/threatening an illegal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue on too old debt

Complaint:
The issue is a XXXX XXXX Illinois judgment pertaining to Case Number XXXX issued sometime in XXXX. Plaintiff being Asset Acceptance , LLC represented by XXXX XXXX XXXX. 

I am in the process of securing mortgage financing related to the purchase of a condominium situated in XXXX XXXX, California. During the course of the mortgage due diligence process, the mortgage broker informed me that the above-referenced judgment was indicated on my credit report. 

My research on this matter led me to the conclusion that the debt giving rise to the judgment was originally associated with a credit card balance that I had due and owing to XXXX ( XXXX ). Apparently, after XXXX assets and deposits were acquired by XXXX XXXX ; XXXX XXXX sold my wife 's account to Asset Acceptance. 

All of my credit card transactions with XXXX were in the XXXX to XXXX timeframe. 

Hence, when Asset Acceptance , LLC initiated the lawsuit against me to collect the old XXXX credit card debt on Asset Acceptance 's behalf ; the statute of limitations had run its course, by several years, in the states of Ohio, the state in which I resided when the initial credit card was issued, Illinois, the state in which I resided at the time that the litigation was filed, and in Washington, the state in which XXXX was situated at the time that the credit card was issued. 

I am also more than well aware of the fact that in XXXX, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Asset Acceptance for deceptive practices. One of the main allegations of the Federal Trade Commission was that Asset Acceptance coerces consumers to pay their old debt without telling them that the statute of limitations had elapsed on the debt, and the consumers could not be sued to collect it. Other allegations include the misrepresentation of the details of debts, failing to verify authenticity of debts, giving credit reporting agencies negative information without notifying consumers, not conducting investigations after receiving notifications of disputes, and calling and giving information about debts to uninvolved XXXX parties. 

XXXX filing of the lawsuit against me also runs contrary to his present day firm 's commitment to compliance with regard to adherence to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as your firm is actively involved in local, state and national legislation involving legal collections and creditor rights. 

I am respectfully requesting that Asset Acceptance , LLC satisfy/vacate the judgment in XXXX XXXX on an immediate basis. 
Their failure to do so will leave me with no other alternative than to : 1. Engage the services of legal counsel in Illinois who will petition the Court to vacate the judgment on the basis that the lawsuit was not filed in timely manner, e.g., not within the statute of limitations. 

2. File suit against you personally for malicious prosecution. 

3. File a complaint against Asset Acceptance, yourself and your firm with the Federal Trade Commission regarding deceptive practices as defined and prohibited under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

The deception referenced above includes, but is not limited to, your and Asset Acceptance 's failure to notify me, the consumer, of my right to dispute the debt, either in part or in full, with the debt collector thereby effectively foreclosing my right to demand verification of the debt from the debt collector.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation