Friend Received Summons, Not His Account

[fayerising]

A friend of mine received a summons to appear for an unpaid debt. The case has been filed with the courts and he has 30 days to respond to the courts. The original creditor was WaMu Credit Card, sold twice and the CA who owns it now is suing him for about $3700. The account was opened in February of 2003. The CA states he made a payment on this account in 2006 and I have told him to go back through his records this weekend and see if he can find the canceled check and any paperwork associated with this payment.

Problem is, he does not recall ever opening a credit card with WaMu and he has never, ever had any type of credit card with a balance higher than $500. The only account he has ever had was a mortgage with WaMu, but that was paid off in 2004 when he did a reverse mortgage. We SUSPECT that his friend at the time, who has since passed away, fradulently used his information to open and charge up this card but we have no proof, just suspicion based on other things he found out after his friend passed away. We tried calling WaMu to get a copy of the original contract, etc...but of course they have no information whatsoever. He has never received any bills, letters, or any type of correspondence regarding this debt. Also, the summons was issued to him, however, the last name is mispelled...What should he do at this point?

[Tazjeepcj7]

Answer the summons.

[swirlgirl]

Yes, answer the summons. If you sure that the debt isn't his, you also might want to report the Identity Theft (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/filing-a-report.html). Also, see if you can get WAMU to provide a letter saying they don't have any records of the account.

With the letter and the ID theft report, your friend shouldn't be on the hook for the debt.

[fayerising]

Thanks for the replies...I will let him know