Consumer complaint received 2016-02-15
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: NY
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Credit card
Issue: Taking/threatening an illegal action
Sub-issue: Threatened to sue on too old debt

Complaint:
There were a number of other violations that I could have chosen on the previous question : Communication tactics : Threatened to take legal action, Continued attempts to collect debt I do not owe : Debt is not mine, False statements or representation : Indicated committing crime by not paying debt AND Impersonated attorney, and Improper contact or sharing of information : Talked to a third party about my debt. However, the threat to sue on a debt that is too old to be sued on is the most significant to me, as the alleged debt is outside the statute of limitations and can no longer be collected upon. 

My dad was called by someone who was serving him notice via phone of a " debt-related civil action pending against [ me ]. '' He was told to take down a phone number and a file number and have me call the company. When I called, I spoke to XXXX XXXX who, after several minutes of prompting, identified company as XXXX XXXX. I was told the company was a law office looking to collect on US Bank credit card account closed in 2008, an account I knew nothing about. I raised concern over the fact that I had never heard of the account or received any type of phone call or literature regarding collection, and over the fact that the debt was disclosed to my father, rather than through direct contact at my number. XXXX first told me they had been calling my number repeatedly and I had been ignoring the calls ( I had never received a call ) and later changed to " this is the first time we 've sought contact with you. '' I could not get her to tell me the dollar amount of the account more specifically than " over one thousand dollars. '' I accused the business and account of being illegitimate, and XXXX raised her voice at me and rattled off my full social security number to me twice, despite my protest and pointing out that practice was illegal. She spent the remainder of her time on the phone with me asking why I had n't paid, " what [ was ] wrong with [ me ], '' and telling me that I needed to pay or they would sue me. I was transferred to transferred to XXXX XXXX. XXXX gave me the total in question ( ~ {$1200.00} ). When I told her the account was not mine, she told me to visit my credit report and mark the account as being the product of identity theft. She told me an investigation into the validity of the account would take approximately 30 days and that she would start the process of having me served with a summons so I could later appear in court with the record of dispute. She asked for my current address to do this ; I gave it to her and got off the phone. 

I checked my credit report where I found no record of the US Bank account. I checked a report generated a year ago and saw the account. The account is not mine ; I have zero recollection of opening or paying on this account. I attempted to open a dispute, and was unable to because the account had come off my report the year prior. I called the company back. I initially spoke to a man who told me that this was obviously my account, accused me of deliberate lying, and demanded I pay the amount today because they planned to garnish my wages or put a lien on my car to satisfy judgment rendered against me. He was speaking to me in a very accusatory and threatening manner, so I demanded that I be able to speak to XXXX again. She told me my only option was to pay or I would be sued. I caved in and I agreed, setting up XXXX payments to begin on the XXXX for an account that is not even mine. I was then transferred to a member of the " accounting department '' who asked to record me. I allowed him, and he asked that I state my name, address, and telephone number to verify my personal information. 

I later contacted my attorney who informed me I had been victim to illegal practices under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and encouraged me to begin the process of protecting my information.

Company public response: Company chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation