Lawsuit questions?

Question

I want to start a lawsuit with two companies, but I am quite unclear what do to. These will probably be in small claims court. If someone with legal knowledge thinks I can get more in regular court, let me know!

Company A: They sold my personal information. They sold my name, birthdate, address, phone number and social security number to company B. They sold the wrong person's information. They were not supposed to sell mine as I was a minor at the time of this (I have signed documents to this extent too).

Company B (collection agency): Purchased my personal information without even verifying that it was the correct person. I had a huge mess with these people. Absolute refusal to help or admit they had the wrong person. They even sent me proof of debt when the proof they sent was proof I did not owe them! They would not even recognize their own mistake there and still said I owed, even with their proof proving wrong.

Where can I file the lawsuit (whose county)?
Small claims best?

But what about in a case where a company does something illegal like selling a person's information (social security number and all)? And the other company purchasing it illegally? It's like receiving stolen property.

Something like that doesn't need financial damages in order to win a case, am I right?

They did not work hand in hand with the collection agency. They indeed did sell everything to them.

Already have filed complaints with FTC, BBB and my Attorney General.

Answer 1

Woah woah. "selling personal information" usually refers to lists of people sold for marketing purposes. It sounds like Company A provided your personal information to a collection agency so they could collect a debt. That's totally different.
But there are many attorneys around who do work related to consumer's debtor rights. There's also a federal statute, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that affects how a debt collector may handle its business. And best of all, most of the attorneys who practice in this area will take your case and not charge you an attorneys' fee (but may charge court costs) if you don't prevail. Call your local bar association and ask for a referral for an attorney who practices debtor's rights.

Answer 2

first contact the FTC, they regulate all of these issues. It sounds like... you had and acct at company A, defaulted and they sent it to company B, is that the basis? If so, (even if it was a big screw up), you will have to take care of company B's actions first. Odds are when acct at company A was opened there was a disclaimer saying they had the right to do this.
Depending on the amt, etc... it may need to be filed in federal courts. But I don't really know the details either. So FIRST contact FTC.
Company B and all collection agencies, are going to lie to you. You need to know your rights. If you contact the FTC find out the laws in your area, then you can keep it out of court and get your credit repaired by beating them at their own game. They lie and make a lot of false allegations to get you to pay. Most of them are always one step away from being shut down by the FTC.
So CONTACT THEM ASAP

Answer 3

To file in small claims court, you would have to have proof of damages and a reasonable way to estimate the cost of these damages. I think you'd need to approach this from another angle.