Collection agency posted adverse mark on my credit report that's not mine?

Question

I asked them for proof (copy of credit application) they said they don't have and all they can give me is a signed statement from the bank that it was opened in my name(but the bank could of made a mistake). I never received any correspondence from the credit card company or the collection agency and this account has never showed up on my credit report until now. I found out about it in November 2006 when my credit score dropped because of this. I contacted Equifax(all they did was contact collection agency that entered the inaccurate data) and the the collection agency. Agency said the last pmt made was 9/2001 I asked where was statements being mailed cause they never came to me. They say I have to pay, but this is not mine. I have excellent credit with low interest, this is going to make my interest rate jump to over 24%. What can I do? Shouldn't they have to give me proof. Do they have to take this off my credit report until this is settled? Help!
Thank you.

Answer 1

The advice given in the previous responses are ok but they won't help you one bit.

There is a very specific procedure that you need to follow in order to get negative information removed from your credit reports, and get collection agents off your back.

The key in your case is that you KNOW this isn't your debt, and you KNOW that the collection agency can not possibly have the proof.

What you need to do is send the collection agency a letter by certified mail/return receipt. In it, tell them that this is not your debt, and that you are demanding that they "validate" this debt. They must send you copies of all contracts, bills, receipts, and everything used to calculate what they claim you owe them.

A simple letter from the bank/credit card company saying you opened an account is NOT proper validation.

In your letter, it's very important that you let them know you understand the Fair Credit Reporting laws and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Inform them that because of this incorrect report to your credit history, you are having financial damage done to you by having interest rates increased on your other sources of credit. If this problem is not resolved immediately, you will sue them for $1000 and for any and all damages that have resulted from this.

If they do not remove it, then follow through with your threat. A small claims suit is very easy to file. If you have followed the procedures in the FCRA you will have a very easy case, and you will win.

Contact me if you need further help and advice.

Answer 2

Since you've already attempted the dispute process through a bureau and you got nowhere... the next step is to start over but do it a little differently this time.

Send a certified return receipt letter to the bank along with a copy of the signed statement that the collection agency sent you.

In the letter you will want to include your personal information so that they can do the research. Let the bank know the account is not yours and tell them the account was turned over to a (xyz) collection agency.

You should write that you will give the bank no more than 30 days from the receipt of your letter to correct the mistake, notify the collection agency, and remove the account from any credit bureau it was reported to; otherwise you will contact a lawyer.

If your letter does the trick... after 45 days, I would recommend that you pull a credit report from all 3 bureaus to see if the collection was removed from your file. If it was not, you will need to go through the dispute process once more with the bureaus. They will contact the bank and the collection agency and it "should" be removed at that point.

You are entitled to 1 free credit report a year from each of the 3 bureaus. I always recommend going directly to the source (the bureau) whenever pulling a credit report on yourself.

You can use this site to obtain your free credit report.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Otherwise, if you have exhausted your 1 free credit report for the year... you will need to pay for the reports. Never ever ever pull a credit report from a (3rd party credit reporting agency) and never purchase a 3 in 1 report. An agency is not the same as a bureau. Always go directly to the source - the bureau !

Here are the websites to the credit bureaus if you need to purchase a report.

https://www.equifax.com/
http://www.experian.com/index.jsp
http://www.transunion.com/

Good luck.

Answer 3

If you go online to either the site you saw the report on or go to freecreditreport.com you can look at Transunion, Experian, and the other one at the sametime as well you can file a dispute with all 3 companies. I dont know exactly how it works but I know that when my husband had a collections account posted to his credit on something that should have never been there to begin with like yours we filed a dispute/complaint and if its a credit card then they should have to provide proof even if its statements when you talk to them ask them about address listed for mailing and other things that can help prove your case that it wasnt you and with a filed dispute you should start to make some head way or last case call it identity theft if it wasnt you it think about people that may know your info and if they tell you the mailing address for statements you can figure out who it is as long as its a legit address and get the cops involved or proper authorities so good luck to you

Answer 4

A lot of the above answers are great and to the point...make sure when you dispute this collection account that you photocopy and provide everything you can that this isn't yours.

Also attempt to contact the bank that put this to collections. They should still have some original documentation. Put on the dispute letter that the agency has not been able to provide you with any solid information that this debt is yours. Also have your report and/or this account flagged with a fraud alert.

Answer 5

report them to the federal trade commission(they dont like and can get into big trouble) and get you a attorney that specializes in credit. this is so wrong.
equfax done me that way on a collection.
Took me over a year to get it off.
Keep disputing with equafax and experian and transunion,
"Put a consumer statement on your credit that disputes account. do not pay it..............
even if y ou pay it they wouldnt delete if off your credit.
Contact the bank and report it as fraud. go up the food chain.
They have to produce the documents.
Ask for a copy of the documentation.
dispute it every thirty days! This is what i had to do.
Looking back i would had got a lawyer right off the bat.
God bless you and fight on!

Answer 6

If you write a formal dispute letter to all 3 burueas, the debtor has 30 days to show proof that the account is legally yours, otherwise by law it must drop.

Answer 7

quite, there are some very undesirable solutions the following. Legally, charges proceed to be on your credit record 7 years from FIRST DATE OF DELINQUENCY. case in element, in case you grew to grow to be antisocial 30-100 and twenty days after due... that should be the starting up date of seven years. it really is customary that a number of those reported dates are off purely because of the time it takes to record them to a credit employer. you ought to anticipate customary delinquencies to proceed to be 7.5 years after first antisocial. regardless of the indisputable fact that, if something is asserted on your credit record for over 7.5 years from FIRST DATE OF DELINQUENCY that is a mistake. Dispute it. If that would not artwork, get a letter from the corporation that reported the delinquency that incorporates the first DATE OF DELINQUENCY and deliver this to the credit reporting businesses so that they ought to maximum ideas-blowing it. If the account grow to be grew to grow to be over to a unique corporation they could't restart the time. BTW... purely because the debt is off your credit record does not mean it isn't nonetheless owed. The debt is owed till paid no count number what number years bypass... regardless of the indisputable fact that, if the statute of limitations has run out on your state for a judgement antagonistic to you the vendors of the debt extremely haven't any teeth to make you pay it. solid success!

Answer 8

call the credit reporting agency (transunion ,experian ,exqifax and tell them you want to dispute something on your report. they will take it off