Not our acct, CA will not remove

[sunset]

Hi! Still new here. I noticed on my DH EX report that he had a SS# variation. EX found two accts on his report that were not his and deleted. However, when he contacted the CA about this problem, they stated the acct was his and want us to pay. He refused and hung up. This has been going on for 2 mos now and they refuse to budge on this. Why? If it's not his, are they going to keep trying to collect from him? What can we do to get rid of these... um... people?

And another question along these lines... there is a medical bill from his son from a few years ago that a CA wants DH to pay. His son was out of school, working, living at a different address and they refuse to release DH from this as well. (this has been fought since DH found out about it in Nov 07). His son said he didn't put him down as guarantor of the bill. We live in GA by the way. Thanks for your advice.

[sunset]

I had just stated about a CA wanting to collect on a debt from hubby's son. The letter they sent us is from a lawyers office in Elmira NY. I went to the BBB website because I couldn't find anything in the yellow pages listed for their office. I put in the phn # on their letter head and it came up as a credit collection agency. Is this legal? Can a collection agency hide behind a lawyer's letterhead, etc?

[isislc]

Ok, to answer the first question about the account that isn't his. Have you tried calling and speaking to the OC yet? If you can speak to the OC and find out what information they have then you can get down to the bottom of this. If you don't know who it is, DV the CA immediately and tell them you want all information pertaining to the account because you believe that it isn't yours.

As for the 2nd account for the adult son. Speak to the doctor's office that sent this account to the OC. This is NOT his account and he should not have to pay for it. They should be able to clear this up. Also, yes, there are a few attorney offices out there that ARE collection agencies.

Quick question for you, by chance do your DH and his son have a name that is the same or close to each other? That could also be the problem.

[Ahntara]

"...not his...keep trying to collect from him..."

Why would they stop? And why would they believe him? CA's probably hear this a million times every day.

If the accounts are really not his, send the CRA's the required documentation to substaniate a claim of ID Theft/Fraud. That stops them and the CA in their tracks. The list can be found in the FCRA 1681c-2, Subsection 605B. There is a sticky at the top of the page. The definition of, and reason for, a proper Identity Theft report can be found in 1681a, Subsection 603(q). That section also provides alternatives to lazy local law enforcement officials who hassle consumers about taking reports.

You also need to get the erroneous SS# removed from Experian. That issue will continue to haunt him.

"...son was out of school..."

Was his son still a minor under state law at the time? If so, it doesn't matter where he lived or any of those other details. In many states, parents are responsible for the medical care (and bills) of their minor children. You need to find out if that applies to GA and DH's particular situation. If it doesn't apply, take this up with the medical service provider. They just want to get the money due and may cooperate if he can get sonny-boy to pay.

"...collection agency hide..."

Many collection agencies are affiliated with attorneys. They may not be 'hiding'.

[sunset]

When my husband contacted the CA telling him the account was not his, there is a different ss# on the account. They told him so. It is not his ss# at all. It has a totally different starting number and ending number, and is under a different name (they told DH this over the phone). They told him that the account belongs to him due to the fact that the ss# was also on his report, and they are refusing to budge. So, where are they coming from that it belongs to him? Is it because they dont want to take the trouble to locate the other person to whom the account belongs?

Son was of legal age at the time his Dr bill was incurred. Husband is OTR driver and wasn't even in the area at the time the bill was incurred. All the lawyers office will tell him is it came from Orthopedic Associates (tons listed that way all over the place) and the letter does not go into specifics on where the office is located and they would not tell DH over the phone where they are located either. (Neither would they mail it to him, they said their original letter is the only verification he would get). They told DH to contact the OC. How do we do that if we don't know where the office is?

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

With regards to the mixed up SSN and the CA refusing to remove, about your only recourse is to continue to demand they straighten it out (letters CMRRR) and/or to sue either the bureau or the CA or both. In the end, only a court can MAKE them do anyting.

If the adult son's bill is not on your husbands report; I'd simply tell the CA (or whoever is bothering you for the bill) what they shoudl go do with themselves - it would hlep, of course, if the son would step up and take responsibility for the bill to help clear it up.

Basically, you are dealing with outright stupidity and incompetence coupled with arrogance and sometimes the only thing that can get anyone's attention is a good, hard kick in a very sensitive region (i.e. a nice, fat lawsuit).

[BTO429]

A friend of mine found this on his report and he asked me about it. We fought for months and the CRA would not budge.

CRA's are required by law to report only accurate info.

We finally sent the CRA a notice of ITS(intent to sue) we had no plans to, it was a scare tactic and it worked.

We also went to the FTC(federal trade commission) And filed a report.

They finally changed his social

[jasen]

Even if you don't feel like filing a police report yet, you can fill out and send them the FTC ID theft affidavit (found on their website). This is not the same as the police report, and has no legal bite to force them to drop the issue, but the CRA's generally accept them without much question and delete the tradeline. Although, they sometimes like to stick your credit report into a fraud alert for a couple months after getting one. Minor annoyance to get rid of false information that they previously wouldn't budge on.

Some of these guys are more cautious, however I don't screw around with JDB's or CA's putting false tradelines on my report. I file the police report for ID theft immediately, send copies out to all involved, and that ends the issue.

The way I see it, if someone is trying to make me pay for something that's not mine, it's fraud. I can't tell if it was done intentionally or not, so I won't attempt to guess. And unless they have proof that it is really is mine, I'm not going to get in trouble for reporting it as such. That being the one danger to this method: be damn sure this is without a doubt not yours, otherwise you're falsifying a police report. What with banks and telecoms being bought, sold, and merged left and right, it might take a bit of research to ensure it's not an old debt from another company.

[sunset]

Thank you all for your advice. I wrote another letter to the lawyers office who wants hubby to pay for his son's bill (yes, it's on his report) asking for contact information, original creditor's address, so on and so forth. Hopefully they will give the information to us this time.

Thanks again! I'm learning quite alot here!