Accounts I didn't open

Did you apply for the accounts you mentioned? If so, the creditors simply opted to furnish the account information to the CRA's.

You will have trouble getting these accounts taken off your reports. If you're intent on attempting as such, calls the creditors and plead that you never activated the cards.

With that said, they will close the accounts if you wish. That action would be reflected on your reports sometimes thereafter. However, you would be wise to simply leave the accounts open and let them age (this is assuming the accounts have no annual fees). All leaving the accounts does is add more positive tradelines. It may drop your score marginally at first due to the relative newness of the accounts but over time, it will help raise your score.

 

Although if these are innocent errors on the part of two creditors, you might take advantage of any temporary boost in scores if you have limited credit history, or are recovering from damaged credit, you should also consider by what mechanism these are getting on your reports if you did not sign anything.

If you did apply, they would have the right to pull your credit reports, and to list the accounts on your credit reports, even if you did not activate the cards sent. If you did not apply, and they sent cards anyway, they should not have pulled your reports, nor should they have opened accounts or sent cards.

 

Generally, that's not the case.

 

"The gift catalogue card was just an offer I got in the mail. I shredded it without reading much of the information. I wonder if maybe there was some kind of fine print stating I had to contact them or they would consider it as I had accepted the offer? I doubt the catalogue card thing has anything to do with identity theft. Please, if anyone has input on this situation, I am all ears."

You shouldn't have to have your attorney review your junk mail before shredding it and throwing it out.

Claiming that an offer was accepted because the consumer failed to actively "opt-out", based on fine print representations in advertising sent thru the U.S. Mail, is called "mail fraud". If they are doing this, and actually pulled your credit reports and posted the account to your credit files, they are both blatant and stupid, which is a dangerous combination. Contact your Postal Inspector.

It would be illegal for them to pull your credit reports and open an account in your name based on you not responding to their advertising. You have no obligation to respond, and in addition, under postal regulations, if a company were to send you products, unsolicited, expecting payment, they are yours, free, with no obligation to return them. Small businesses sometimes get hit with scams like this over overpriced office supplies or directories. I would, however, be sure to file a postal complaint if they proceeded this far.

There are already plenty of scam companies skirting the line between legal and illegal who would love to claim that consumers had agreed to open accounts, order products, etc. Great business model: you don't have to have good products, happy customers, or good customer service. You can even forget to deliver a few shipment, which they didn't really order anyway, or send and bill for whatever you want to get rid of.

Some already create pretexts to claim that consumers have agreed to "memberships" or "subscriptions", based on some other reply, then claiming that the consumer now owes the payments on that membership they never agreed to, and, "Oh, we are sorry, but it is too late to cancel, since as we informed you in the welcome brochure we sent you, you should have done that within 30 days. Oh, you didn't get that? That's too bad. Better send us our money due so far, but we might make a special allowance just this time for you to cancel after next month. I'll make a note in our system." Yeah, right.

They may also proceed to claim that, based on your "membership", you agreed to other things, such as monthly shipments like membership book clubs, and of course when you tell them you aren't paying for something you never agreed to and don't even benefit from, they may threaten to send your account to "collection" and damage your credit. At that point, they go from attempted mail fraud to attempted extortion.

Under FCRA, credit reports can only be pulled for permissible purpose, which would require a transaction initiated by the consumer. Not responding to advertising is not a transaction, and is not initiated by the consumer. Willfully pulling credit reports without permissible purpose can result in statutory penalties and jail time.
See:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf
§ 604. Permissible purposes of consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681b]
(lists permissible purposes, all others are NOT permissible)
...
§ 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n]
(a) In general. Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of
(1) (A) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000; or
(B) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report
under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual
damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or $1,000,
whichever is greater;
(2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and
(3) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.
(b) Civil liability for knowing noncompliance. Any person who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose shall be liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever is greater.
(c) Attorney's fees. Upon a finding by the court that an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action under this section was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or other paper.

§ 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681o]
(a) In general. Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with any requirement imposed under this title with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of(1) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure; and
(2) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.
(b) Attorney's fees. On a finding by the court that an unsuccessful pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action under this section was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award to the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or other paper.
...
§ 619. Obtaining information under false pretenses [15 U.S.C. § 1681q]
Any person who knowingly and willfully obtains information on a consumer from a consumer reporting agency under false pretenses shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.


Do your credit reports show an inquiry, either "hard", or "account review (soft, but full report)", from this company indicating they pulled your full report?

FCRA would also prohibit posting of an account to your reports that you did not in fact open, since this would be reporting erroneous information. It would also falsely notify other creditors pulling your reports that you might have debt obligations which you do not in fact legally have, and your FICO scores might be lower as a result of any effect the age of this account has on your average account age.

If this is an accident of an otherwise legitimate company that is one thing. If this is the opening gambit by some fly-by-night scammer operating in another state or Canada, possibly under a variety of names, that is another.

What company are we talking about? Can you find any additional information about their activities or consumer complaints, say, thru bbb.org, ftc.gov, or ripoffreport.com?