I need some major advise on how to handle a situation with Capital One..... There is an account listed on the credit report as a charge off with the original amout of $2,200.....the credit report shows that the last activity on the account was 12/2000. In the 81 month history it shows that the account went 30 days in July 2001, then 60, 90, and two 120s for some odd reason. It then just lists **** every month until the middle of 2005 when it starts showing CO - I guess that's a charge off. This account is not ours but was opened frauduenlty by a family member - we didn't find out about it until after it had gone to collection. We got a phone call and disputed it and it never came up again. We're in California, so both the 2000 date and the 2001 dates are outside the legal statue of limitations in terms of legal action. Here's the kicker --- I discovered yesterday that Capital One posted the account as a chargeoff/collection and updated the amount owed to $5,500 in August 2006. We have a very slim credit file, only 2 accounts open with credit limits totaling just under $8,000. Our balances on the two cards that we use are low - $1000 on one and $350 on the other. What Capital One has effectively done by reporting a $5,500 balance is say that we are using more than 100% of our available credit, for a debt that is not ours and is outside the SOL. I only found out about this because we applied for a mortgage - there are some late payments on paid off accounts and some small charged off medical accounts that our ours. Our credit score has dropped to 579 and we can't get a mortgage unless we pay off Capital One --- I have no intention of doing so. How in the world do I handle this? They are the original creditor and have not sold it to a collection agency. Do I dispute it as not mine, and outside the SOL? There must be a remedy for this type of situation and it needs to be a fast one and one that I can use with the mortgage lender.... I appreciate your advise...... K
I feel your pain. I am in the same boat. Capital One is poisoning my profile also. You are not alone. Furthermore, do simply accept the dates that Capital One is reporting. They play loose with those. I can't be of much assistance. Do you have any paperwork from the time when you originally addressed this issue of ID theft? Research techniques that have been used to deal with Capital One on this and other boards. Presently, I have submitted a complaint with the Va Financial office to go after Capital One for changing the DOLA, not reporting the date of 1st Delinquency and not responding to my request for information. Good Luck. Research Capital One.
I would send them a DV letter and request a written contract, also notifying them this is a ID theft. Ask for removal of the account
I have Capitol One problem too I have a Capitol One card since 2001. Its in good standing and I make payments frequently. I received a call ( two years ago) from a debt collector demanding payment for Capitol One and after screaming for a while we compared account numbers and sure enough it was another Capitol One they claim I opened in 1999. So I disputed their claims through a CRA and they never verified the account was mine but the CRA through out the dispute. So I called the OC directly and they said it is mine because the phone authorization for the card came from my phone number. Today it reads as a charge off with frequent updates to the LAST REPORTED dates -- last one is 8/06. So I know I am reaching the SOL on this but it will read as a charge off even afterwards won't it? Its causing a serious issue with my report and obtaining a mortgage. I am new here and just trying to figure out the best way to handle this. AJ
"I have a Capitol One card since 2001. Its in good standing and I make payments frequently. I received a call ( two years ago) from a debt collector demanding payment for Capitol One and after screaming for a while we compared account numbers and sure enough it was another Capitol One they claim I opened in 1999. So I disputed their claims through a CRA and they never verified the account was mine but the CRA through out the dispute. " If CapOne actually believed the defaulted account was you, they would have shut down your account in good standing. "So I called the OC directly and they said it is mine because the phone authorization for the card came from my phone number." Although it may be possible that the account was opened by a phone call from your number, perhaps due to id theft involving a family member, they may have just told you that, or they may have later obtained your number, either associated with your good acount, or from the CA who called, and attached it to the defaulted account. It wouldn't be the first time a fraud deparment "controlled fraud" by trying to shove the costs on someone else. One study found 7 out of 8 id thefts were treated as bad debts. You saw how they handled this account when they first called you. You told them you had not opened that account. Did they send you a fraud affidavit? Did they tell you to file a police report? Did they even claim the account was authorized by you from your phone at that time? They would rather maintain the fiction that you owe it, that you are a deadbeat, and get paid by you for their own security breach that resulted in the fraud, than admit that you don't owe them anything, and that they were defrauded. You can't trust verbal verification, you can't trust that an anonymous person is even competent enough to know what they are doing, and they haven't provided you all the information they have access to on the account, such as statements, billing addresses, and charge slips, that might make clearer the fraudulent nature of the account. If they just made it up, they haven't even committed perjury. Besides which, whatever they say is irrelevant. If you didn't open the account, it is not your account, and you don't owe it. Treat it as the id theft that it is. File a complaint with your local police, get a copy of the police report and send a copy to each CRA and to CapOne, along with an id theft affidavit and your dispute of the fraudulent account. If you have further trouble, contact an attorney with experience in FCRA and id theft law. The faster you deal with this, the less it will cost you. You should also ensure you have alternative credit relationships, should they close your legitimate account.
This is the path that I'll take --- do I send only to the Original Creditor, then wait and send to the CRA's? What is the strategy on that?
If you are claiming it is id theft, they they will probably ask you for both a police report, and an affidavit of fraud. If you do not send both, they will probably ignore your claim that it is id theft. Only after sending them does FACTA give you the legal power to force it to be removed as fraudulent.
