I was served with papers to go to court for a cell phone debt that was accrued by my brother under my name which I never knew about. I filed a response and asked the agency to validate the debt. I went to court the first time and the collection agency was not there. The judge rescheduled and once again the agency did not show up the second time. When I spoke to the clerk the collection agency had dropped the charges and I was mailed a copy of this letter stating they were droping their case. However, this is still on my credit report. How can I get this removed from my report? Is there a specific letter here on credit net that can help me with this? I appreciate anybody's help. Thanks!
Others may know more, but unless the judge actually decided in your favor, even if by default, the CA may have just backed out, either to sell the account, or to file again later if they decide to. If your defense was that the account was fraudulent, and they thought there was a possibility they would lose on that basis, they may have preferred to sell the account to another CA before it was decided, since it would have less value after. Without an actual decision in your favor, how can you force the CA to remove their TL? When does the SOL run?
They have failed to validate the debt? Did you make a written request and send it Certified Mail? You need to send the CA the Validation letter by CMRRR. Then when you get the green card back from them dispute the entry on your CR. If they verify the information with the CRA without sending you proper validation they can be sued for FDCPA violations at $1000 per! This will give you "leverage" to ask them for removal of the TL
Also, if this really was fraud, you're better protected if you file a police report about it ASAP. Banks, judges, and everyone else are more sympathetic if you've taken all steps possible to document fraud. You may not want to send your brother to jail, and if you don't, I understand. Good luck, in any case.
