Consumer complaint received 2020-09-16
Product: Debt collection — Auto debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Pacific Retrieval LLC (CA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, a XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX # XXXX, License : XXXX ) that I had sold on XX/XX/XXXX was stolen from its parked location outside of the new owner 's apartment complex. The new owner of the car filed a police report with the XXXX XXXX Police Department, case number XXXX. They can be contacted for verification, XXXX XXXX XXXX is handling the case. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a bill for the storage and towing of the XXXX XXXX from XXXX XXXX   XXXX. The storage cost was $ XXXX and an additional {$220.00} for towing. In bold lettering at the bottom the letter says : If this is your vehicle and you choose not to claim it, you will be responsible for the total amount due at the time of lien sale, estimated to be {$2800.00} minus the amount your vehicle sells for a lien sale. 

I contacted the person I sold the car to and notified him that I had received this notice. He contacted the Police Department to follow up with his report of the stolen car. They assured him that it had been reported and was in the system. And they called me to verify that I was indeed the previous owner and that I had sold the car the previous XXXX to the person who filed the theft report. Normally, they do a house visit to verify in person, but because of Covid-19 they were verifying over the phone. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a letter from Pacific Retrieval LLC notifying me that they were attempting to collect a debt that was assigned to their agency by XXXX XXXX XXXX In the letter they reference the XXXX XXXX XXXX that I had sold on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from Pacific Retrieval LLC. They left a message asking me to call back. I didn't check my voicemail until Saturday morning and as soon as I heard their message I called back. They happened to be in the office and I spoke to a woman who was very polite and who encouraged me to pay down the debt so my credit wasn't affected. I told her that I wasn't the owner and she said that their records showed that I was and that she would pass me over to her manager to see if they could work with me.

I spoke to her manager and told him the whole story about how I had sold the car and it had been stolen from the new owner. He said that he recommended I talk to the new owner to help get payment for the fees because ultimately my credit was on the line and my name was still on the car. He said he didn't think I had a chance in small claims court which is where this would end up if I refused to pay their collection fees. He was surprised that I was a XXXX - because somehow he had documentation of that. And he said that they " Don't usually deal with people like me. XXXX and XXXX usually have their lives together. '' Then he went on to talk about how the people they usually talk to have bad credit and don't have any assets that they can come after to collect on the unpaid debts. During this conversation he informed me that the car had been sold for {$100.00}. 

I told him I would speak to the new owner of the car and call them back on Monday. I called the police department first thing on Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, and they assured me that I am not liable for the car and the fees incurred as I had sold the car the previous year. I was unsure what to say to the Pacific Retrieval, so I waited to get my paperwork together that the detective recommended I file. Pacific Retrieval repeat-called me 3 times on Monday, then called 2 extra times. They called me 4 times on Tuesday and left a message at my work asking to speak to the XXXX of the school where I work. Then left me a voicemail notifying me that they are attempting to talk to the school administrator and reminding me that I need to take care of my debt.