Consumer complaint received 2023-03-05 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Payday loan debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: V and H Portfolio
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
The original creditor, XXXX XXXX XXXX, has not pursued any collections efforts against me. I learned through brief online review that they are a payday loan guarantor/servicer who had only made XXXX allegation via an intermediary - and by mistake - that I took a pay day loan several years ago. The details could never be verified as to whom they were actually seeking in this effort. On or around spring XXXX, they were communicating through an aggressive debt collector that was since - presumably - disbanded for harassing family members and coworkers. Nevertheless, I did my best to support their efforts by providing the best information possible to respond to their crass and standoffish 'investigation '. I consulted an attorney and shortly thereafter, this matter closed without any production of my requested proof of account ownership, account validation, or other documentation that could ascertain the FCRA minimal burden required to establish account liability. To date, I have never received any correspondence from the original creditor, XXXX XXXX XXXX, which carried their letterhead and including identifying information. Without warning as I track my credit reports, I was just notified of a blemish on my XXXX report from a firm, Vance and Huffman LLC. This company appears to be acting in a retaliatory manner from a former, failed collections effort for a fraudulent XXXX XXXX account filed with the XXXX XXXX XXXX in a former attempt. Please call your attention to : " XXXX  Complaint Case # XXXX ( Ref # XXXX ) ''. They have been nonresponsive and noncommunicative. Now they are after my credit scores with ( again ) no foundation. Formerly, they removed the trade line in question only to add it back again here. Note their response dated XXXX : " Vance and Huffman , LLC has reviewed the complaint submitted by XXXX XXXX. Our records show that we have requested the credit reporting agencies remove this trade line on XX/XX/XXXX and have closed this account in our office. XXXX XXXX XXXX contact our office at XXXX with any further questions he may have ''. 

I request immediate engagement by the CFPB to ensure they no longer are able to tarnish my credit, and further submit that they should be enjoined from any financial matter of any kind involving my name, SSN, DOB, or other identifying information. Their negative mark is the only derogatory mark on my credit out of XXXX accounts. I have not missed any payments, maintain reasonable utilization, and am very careful with finances now more than ever. My only conclusion at this point is some personal agenda. This creditor made their last attempt to damage my credit ( and it worked temporarily ) when I was purchasing a home and they caused for my lender to drop my mortgage. I am chagrined that this same debt collector is back again, attempting the same styling of quiet credit damage. Unfortunately, I am not monitoring my credit as closely since the mortgage process is completed, or I would have engaged the matter sooner. Now that I identified this action, I also began noticing the interest rates increasing further, and at a time when they are high enough. May I ask for emphasis on their commitment to remove their mark from my report, as they published in the XXXX response. This should hopefully be a reminder as to what commitments were made and why it is unacceptable to damage my credit out of whichever punitive purpose motives.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation