I have two collection accounts listed on my reports for a small collection agency in the town I used to live in - I was renting a room in a private home when I lived in this town. The collections are for newspaper classified ads someone placed and I had no knowledge of - I mailed a validation letter and received photocopies of a ad placement ticket that was taken over the telephone. The "validation" copies contain my correct address at the time the order was placed, but utilize my middle name (which I only use with acquantainces) and a common misspelling of my last name. The amounts are negligible both less than 50.00. I know this will become an issue when I want to apply for a mortgage and really don't want to pay for ads I did not place. The collection agency insists they must be mine. Does anyone know of a sample letter for a situation like this or of any other suggestions?
One suggestion I would have is make sure you go online right away and remove any old addresses that may be listed in your CR's, if you haven't already. Also make sure that any alternate spellings of your name are deleted. This helped me with a couple of old paid collections. It just makes you a little harder to "validate."
