Hi, About two years ago I became aware that a credit card was opened by my mother and used without my permission. She said she was making payments and everything was fine. A year and a half ago, I was checking my credit and found out that the credit card was 180 days passed due and was in collections... I contacted the collections company and made payment arrangements and negotiated to have the collectors info removed from my credit report. I checked my credit report and the collections company information is off but the original creditor is still showing that I owe them 4700 bucks. I called the original credit card company and explained what happened and they told me that I needed to call the collections company and tell them to release my account back to them... So, I called the collections company and they said that they would send me a letter saying that everything had been paid and I would have to deal with the original creditor. So for the last year and a few months my credit has been showing that I am in debt for 4700 bucks (should have checked my report sooner). How should I approach the original credit card company? I would like to try and get their credit line off (if possible). They are reporting a debt that isn't owed isn't that illegal? Thank you! James
Did you ever get this letter? a. Do you have any of the dunning letters from the CA? Something in the wording should indicate whether the CA bought the account from the OC or they were merely assigned to it. If they were assigned, and based on the way the account is being reported, they kept the money instead of forwarding it to the OC who they were working for. b. Do you have the canceled check or money order receipt or other proof that you paid them? See #4. Now that you have disputed the debt with them, they are supposed to mark the debt as in dispute on your CR. This might mark the beginning of a string of FCRA violations that you can use as leverage later if need be.
Be careful with this one! Think about the consequences before acting too quickly. What may be involved here is initiating a "fraud" case against your mother...to state that the debt and account are not yours, the CC company will most likely require filing a claim of fraud, which will start legal action (i.e. police). So, speak to someone at the company first, be upfront about the situation, this will all come down to what actions you are willing to take against your mother.
