Recently my credit card APR's started going to the default APR. When I pulled my credit report to see why I noticed several collection accounts on my report that are not mine. I am pretty sure that these collections do belong to a relative with a similiar name. I have disputed this information with the 3 credit agencies but in the mean time I have the default APR on my accounts. Since the carelessness of the collection angency has caused me financial damages due to the increased APR's can I sue them or do I have any other recourse for this? What can I do in this case?
Go down both paths: 1) Dispute thru the CRAs, since without doing so, it is difficult to hold the CA liable for erroneous reporting that the CA can claim was an error of the CRA. 2) Dispute directly with the CA. Include a copy of your credit report, blacking out all but their tradeline. Include that this is not your debt, that you dispute this debt in its entirety, and that you request validation. 3) Build your paper trail in preparation to sue, should you have to. Make sure all disputes are sent CRRR, keep copies, make sure you have paper copies of your creidit reports showing the erroneous TLs, obtained directly from the CRAs, etc. If in phone contact, a CA agrees to remove, follow up with a letter memorializing that conversation, send it to them CRRR, and dispute thru the CRA. Insist that they acknowledge in writing that they will remove. Do not accept "it may take 90 days for this to be removed". They can have it removed within a day if it was going to cost them like it is costing you, and if you dispute thru the CRA and they "verify" after claiming they were going to remove it, sue. This may be either a CA or a CRA error caused by your similar names combined with common past or current addresses. It might also be identity theft if a relative used your SSN, in which case you will need to file a police report.
