A little off the topic but... In November of 2001, I was contacted by a CA regarding a $17,000 debt that was not mine. It belonged to another individual with a similar name in the same city but with a different address. After jumping through the CRRR mail hoops, I got them to admit that it wasn't me. But, they had my SSN, address, unlisted phone # etc, somehow. They claimed they found me using a "skip trace". I requested to know specifically who provided them that information, but they refused to provide it. Jump ahead to January 2003. Obtained a copy of my CR and found a bogus telephone paid collection on my record, for the same individual as the CA was going after, put there by the infamous Credit Bureau of Placer County. However, the CA had never pulled my report, so they obtained the information elsewhere. My problem is, apparently somewhere out in some database, I may forever be associated to this flake. I suspect that the Credit Bureau of Placer County somehow made the determination that I was one and the same with the flake (we both had a business with a similar name) and all 3 of us (flake, Credit Bureau and I all exist in the same small city) and notified not only Equifax, but some "skip trace" companies as well. Of course, I don't know that for a fact. I've disputed the item and it's gone from Equifax, but how do I correct the skip trace information? Could I at least request CB of Placer County to confirm that they never sent the information elsewhere and if they did to recall that info? Would anybody care? Is there any way I can get this cleared up since no one is willing to tell me who has this in their system? Oh, by the way, in April of 2003, I was again associated to the flake and received a notice to appear in Fresno County Superior Court on the matter...another successful skip trace performed. I don't want to live like this the rest of my life. Are there any regulations governing these kind of problems? Or am I just SOL (and I don't mean statute of limitations)?
Basically you have three options: 1: Live with it and accept it as one of life's little challenges 2: Legally change your name to something totally different from the miscreant's name, like Zygmundt Sigglempf, or 3: Hire a hoit man and get rid of the miscreant. I don't recommend #3. Skip tracers will end to re-trace the same steps when looking for someone who disappeared. Unfortunately, with a name similar to his, you have moire visible tracks, so the skip tracers tend to find you thinking you are him. The skip tracer works for a Collection Agency, not the Credit Bureau. What has probably happened is that the miscreant's credit file has bled into yours. One of the first steps in skip tracing is to run a fresh credit report. They do that and up you pop, so they go after you. Each pull of the credit file confirms the misinformation already there - taht's why you can't get rid of this problem.
Flyingifr, Thanks for the reply. I think I'll do a pseudo #1, write to the CA and request they recall it from whereever else they sent it...they probably won't respond so then I guess since they are only a couple of miles from my house, I could do #3. lol My wife already suggested #2. She suggested Richard Schwarzenegger, figured that was pretty uncommon, but now that Arnold is running for guvinator of Calif, I guess that would probably also be a bad idea. Richard
