Can this people charge me a debt that is not mine?

Question

Now, there used to be a person living in the house I'm in that had the same name and last name as me, but different middle names, that person did not pay his credit card and cell phone bills when he moved. Now those companies call daily and demand that I pay them the debt and threaten with sending the police to my home. I have told them millions of times that its not me, they even gave me the social security number of the person that has the debt and its not the same as mine, and they demand I give them my social security number so they can double check. What can I do to stop them from harrasing me once and for all?

I guess I should have mentioned that the person that lived here was a distant relative, does that make me immediate creditor of his debt?

Answer 1

Honestly, the best thing for you to do would cost you a consultation fee with a lawyer, but if it is truely bothering you that much, it may be worth it.

Go to a lawyer and explain to them the situation. Have them draft up a cease and desist letter explaining the mix up. When you get the next phone call get the address to the companies that are calling you and send them a copy of the letter via certified mail with return reciept. If they continue to call you after that you have grounds for harassment.

Bring with you to the lawyer the name and the social security number if you still have it, along with a letter from your landlord that states that said tenant moved out and on what date. This should be sufficient evidence to get the letter and stop the harassing phone calls.

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. THE FACT THAT THEY GAVE YOU HIS COULD COME BACK AND BITE THEM IN THE BUTT. There are disclosure laws about that stuff. Tell them to call the police, there is no debtors prison in the US. The police would just laugh at them. Let them sue you if they really think they have a case.... if they do, file a counter suit for harassment. If it is true that the whole thing is just a really big coincidence... you will win. But dont do all this stuff if it really was you, not like I am saying it was. But you could be charged with more than failure to pay.

CHANGING YOUR NUMBER WONT WORK. They use a service that will look up your number and/or your address. They will just find you later. Best to do the cease and desist, pay a few dollars for your own sanity.

Also keep a good written log about who called you, when, who you spoke with, etc. Until they get a letter from a lawyer telling them not to contact you anymore, they are allowed to call you every day up to two times per day( check the laws in your state they may vary). They may not call you vulgar names or get abusive..... but they are allowed to do make threats... what ever it takes to get their money back.

THE POSTER NEVER SAID THEY HAD THE SAME PHONE NUMBER. A lot of times, when the companies do their investigative work, they look up the address of the violator. If the name at the address is still the same...or in this case reasonably close... they have no reason to think that it is not just the person they are looking for trying to get out of the calls by saying it is not them. The phone number may have changed... but if avoiding your creditors were as easy as changing phone numbers... no one would feel the need to pay their debts. You can go into any tax appraisal site and put in an address of a property and find out who lives there... it is a matter of public record. Free for anyone to look up. He (or she) would need to seek a professionals help to prove that they are not the person in question, but I would not provide that information to just anyone calling. Doing that is just screaming PLEASE STEAL MY IDENTITY. Do so through a lawyer and have the letter drafted.

Answer 2

They're not going to call the police (it's not illegal to be in debt)and even if they did what good would it do them if you're not the person they're looking for? I had a similar problem where a bill collecter kept calling for someone else and insisting I was the person he was looking for. He told me my only option would be to get a notarized statement stating that I was not the person he was looking for along with my SS #. so i got as much info out of him as I could as far as where he was then told him that since he was only a 6 hour drive away from me if he ever called my house again I was going to hunt him down and cut his tongue out so I would never hear his voice again. That was a little over a year ago and I have'nt heard from him since.

P.S. whatever you do do not give this person any personal info at all.

Answer 3

Tell them to stop calling, and also call the police to inform them you are getting harrasing phone calls. Legally once you tell them to stop calling they have to since you are not the person. Even if they don't believe you when you say it's not the person they must stop until they can verify that they are right. Just thinking they are right is not enough for court. Also note do NOT give them your SSN, they have no need or right to have it. Giving it to them will only cause problems.

If they call back after telling them to not call contact the police. They can get records from the phone company that you can't. If they say they can't do anything contact a lawyer. There's plenty of them, and they'll take the case for a portion of what they win for you. (These type of cases can provide big payouts)

Answer 4

In answering these questions, I always assume everything you've said is correct. This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act under fed'l law and your state will have a similar law. If they continue to harass you, they can be assessed triple damages in my state. Report them to your state's attorney general, consumer affairs division. It would be best if you consulted an attorney, because you have greatly increased your ability to collect damages if they ignore a letter from your lawyer. You do need to tell them to stop calling you in writing. Orally is not sufficient. After you tell them to stop in writing, further attempts violate state and fed'l law. I thought most of the other answers were also good, but get the name and address of every creditor that calls. If you cannot afford an atty, call your state bar office and ask for advice and referral to an atty who specializes in collection cases. It is likely you can get free legal help from a private atty or from your state's Legal Services office. Your state bar can give you those contacts also. Don't be too hesitant to call a lawyer. His/her atty fees are recoverable if you have to file suit to stop this harassment. I live in a state with a lot of Spanish names, so it does not surprise me that someone else has the same name as you unless it's an unusual name. For example, just sitting here, I can think of 6 people named John Martinez.

Answer 5

You can threaten to sue for harassment. I used to have collectors call me about once a week, thinking I'm some other guy. you might politely ask them who they can send payment to, then contact that company and threaten legal action.

The person they are looking for probably didn't even live there before you. It's a tactic they tried with me. "well, this is the last address he gave us, so it must be you." These people get your name from the phone book, and try to BS you.

Answer 6

this sounds really strange.
you live in the same house as someone who once lived there, with the same name as yours, what are the odds you ended up getting the same phone number? i dont know. what are the creditors looking in the phone book now?
just hang up if its not your debt, or change your number, or unlist it. they are not charging you it, they are charging the other person. so dont worry about that.
dont give them anything if its not your debt.
how did you end up with the same house, and the same phone number though?

Answer 7

I'd try to see if I could speak with the manager to resolve the matter. IF that doesn't work I'd block their number from my phone or even change the # at that residence and make it where it's unlisted/blocks certain numbers. IF all else fails sue for harrassment. But, you definitely shouldn't be charged for someone else's debt. And please do not give them your social security #.

Answer 8

Call a lawyer, or threaten to call the cops on them. They are not allowed to intimidate or threaten a person like that. Ask for their phone number and full names. If they won't give them up, hang up on them. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OVER THE PHONE. If they are asking you for it, they probably don't have it and they may be trying to scam you for it.

Answer 9

First off, you do not give them your soc sec number.
Tell them to go ahead and call the police because they do not have the ability to do that - its an empty threat.
If you really arent them you dont have much to worry about - the company is out of luck.

(and you better hope that you weren't using another name, because thats fraud, in which case you are screwed)

Answer 10

I would say, dont give them your SS#, and let them figure it out.

Though I find it hard to believe you lived with someone with the same name as you...

Is it possible you signed up for these things in a different name and SS# and you are hoping that cant go after you???

Cant help but wonder..., sounds fishy to me.