Consumer complaint received 2018-06-04
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Indicated you were committing crime by not paying debt
Company: FIFTH THIRD FINANCIAL CORPORATION (FL)

On XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX EST I received a threatening phone call from someone who claimed they were with a " local courier '' by the name of XXXX XXXX. He left a voicemail stating that I better be available between XXXX tomorrow and that he would be going to my place of employment first and if I was not there would be speaking with my supervisor to find out when my next shift would be. He also indicated that he would then proceed to go to the homes of family and friends to locate me. He stated that I would need two forms of ID and a witness to sign for these documents. At the end of the voicemail he provided me with a phone number for XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) and a " case number ''. Upon calling XXXX XXXX XXXX with this information I spoke with XXXX who informed me that they were a mediation firm working on behalf of Fifth Third Bank. He stated that Fifth Third had found me to have committed fraud for my own personal gain and that they were moving forward with court proceedings at which time I would owe {$810.00}. I explained to him that I currently have an account with Fifth Third Bank and was curious as to why they had not contacted me about this old bank account. He stated that they contracted with them for mediation on it and that it had been in default with them since XX/XX/XXXX. I asked him what the amount would be if I paid today. He placed me on hold for 10 minutes and then came back to the phone and stated I could make a payment arrangement for 3 payments of {$180.00} or I could settle for a one time payment of {$270.00}. I advised him that I would settle but that I needed confirmation that the date was settled and advised him that he needed to contact this " private courier '' company to notify them because I did not want them showing up at my job, my house, or the home of my friends and/or family. He agreed to email me this notification which I have attached to this complaint. As soon as I got off the phone I contacted Fifth Third Bank to let them know about my experience. The representative that I spoke with stated that they wouldn't have any information about the account since they sold it to a debt collector. I told her I was very upset and ready to cancel my current accounts with them because of this to which she replied " Well that doesn't have anything to do with Fifth Third. '' I told her of course it does, you sold the debt to this company and they contacted me with threats. I called the FTC to file a complaint about this private courier for XXXX XXXX  XXXX and gave them the phone number I received the call from, however when you call the number it states to email any inquiries to them at their website and conveniently does not give you a website. I called XXXX back at XXXX XXXX  XXXX and attempted several times to get the information for this " private courier '' but he refused stating that they did not have this information. I explained that I intended to make a complaint with the FTC about this company and I needed their contact information. He continued to refuse and stated that they don't work directly with them but that he could report it back to the attorney. I then asked for the attorney 's contact information so that I could get the information myself, he refused to provide me with that as well. I informed him that since he was not willing to provide me with this information that I would be filing a complaint with consumerfinance.gov and his response was " Well if that's what you feel you have to do. ''