I happened to be home last week during the holiday and received a phone call from Central Portfolio, specifically a male named "JOHN". He asked for my husband and I told him that he was not here, but if he gave me a number that I would have my husband return his call. He said "We have been trying to reach him since September and he hasn't called us back yet, how do I know if he is going to call me back now". I said he will call you back if you give me a number. He then asked me for a number where my husband can be reached. I told him that I was not going to give him my husbands # and that I would call my husband as soon as we hung up and have him call him. He was very rude to me on the phone for no apparent reason. My husband did call him and he proceeded to tell my husband that he owed $173.30 to JC Penny from 2001. My husband and I were both very confused since we had purchased a new home in 2003, and nothing concerning a past due amount to JC Penny had showed up on our credit report. When my husband spoke to John, my husband requested him to send us something explaining what the amount was for, and John responded " I will not send you anything else. We have sent you several letters. It is not my problem if you throw away your mail and don't pay your bills". My husband was furious and insulted. My husband said that he would check into things and call him back and then hung up the phone. John then called him back at his work and demanded to know when he was going to pay the money. My husband said when he found out what the amount was for he would call him back and hung up again. My husband then called me and told me what had happened. I decided to call JC Penny myself and see if I could get some clarification of the so-called charges, since Central Portfolio was being so belligerent and not willing to work with us to get the matter resolved. After speaking with a very nice lady at JC Penny it was discovered that the charge was from December, 2007 (not 2001) in the amount of $57.94, and the bills had been going to our old address and were being returned to JC Penny. In Dec 2007, my husband was shopping at JC Penny, didn't have his charge card with him, but was told that if he could show his license, he could still charge the merchandise. AT that time, we had not charged anything since 2001 and there was a $0.00 balance on the account. During the conversation with JC Penny directly the associate deducted all of the late charges and is going to send us a bill for $57.94 to our new address and we were told that once we paid that amount, the account would then have a $0.00 balance and no bad mark would go against our credit. I was so angry when my husband told me about his phone call with "JOHN" that I decided I was going to call back and talk to a supervisor. When I called the phone #, John answered the phone and I asked for a supervisor. He refused to transfer me and told me that he was a supervisor (If this company has supervisors that are this rude, they should not be in business). I then proceeded to tell him that I did not appreciate him calling and harassing my husband at his place of business, and that before he accuses people of things, he should make sure that he has his facts straight. I am still furious and I am not finished with complaining. I am going to file a complaint with the BBB against the company and "JOHN". Very Very rude individual and not a good way to do business. I realize that when collecting debts you need to be firm, but you do not have to be RUDE to get your point across.