Credit report problem

[AmyAnne]

I need some advice from you knowledgeable folks. My 24 year old son recently checked his credit reports and found an item reported in collections that is not his. It is for $125 and seems to be for some medical service.

He immediately filed a dispute with each of the 3 credit reporting bureaus, using their online dispute system. Two of the companies removed the item right away - within a matter of days. The third, Equifax, took almost a month to decide that the charge is his (which it is is not).

Is there any point in him contacting Equifax further? Or should he move on to the collection agency that is saying the charge is his?

Also, if he just pays the $125 to get it out of collections, will the report that it was in collections still be on his report? It makes me furious that a charge can just be attributed to him without any real proof that it is his.

 

[jo-jo]

I don't have any advice. But what proof do they have that it belongs to him? Is there a dr name or something?

 

[jedijill]

DO NOT PAY IT!!!

He should send a Debt Validation letter to the creditor. If the creditor can't prove your son owns the debt, it has to be removed. There are specific steps that need to be followed to get this off his reports.

www.creditboards.com is a great resource. Have your son post the specifics and the great people on that board can walk him through the correct steps to get this off his reports.

Jill in CO

 

[AmyAnne]

I don't have any advice. But what proof do they have that it belongs to him? Is there a dr name or something?

I don't know what proof they have - his credit report lists some sort of medical provider and the Equifax report that said they had investigated but found the charge is his just gave the name of the collection agency. I do think it would help if he could get the medical bill - I suspect this person whose bill it really is has the same name as my son but I can't imagine the other details would match, like birth date.

DO NOT PAY IT!!!

He should send a Debt Validation letter to the creditor. If the creditor can't prove your son owns the debt, it has to be removed. There are specific steps that need to be followed to get this off his reports.

www.creditboards.com is a great resource. Have your son post the specifics and the great people on that board can walk him through the correct steps to get this off his reports.

Jill in CO

Thanks - I will send him the link. Just wondering - by creditor, do you mean the collection agency or the medical facility?

Also, just wondering why not to pay it - I mean, it would be a loss of $125 but would there be another consequence? I know he is considering it, if it would completely remove the bill from his credit report.

 

[Albort]

I don't know what proof they have - his credit report lists some sort of medical provider and the Equifax report that said they had investigated but found the charge is his just gave the name of the collection agency. I do think it would help if he could get the medical bill - I suspect this person whose bill it really is has the same name as my son but I can't imagine the other details would match, like birth date.



Thanks - I will send him the link. Just wondering - by creditor, do you mean the collection agency or the medical facility?

Also, just wondering why not to pay it - I mean, it would be a loss of $125 but would there be another consequence? I know he is considering it, if it would completely remove the bill from his credit report.

could be a mistake done by the collections agency. Most likely, the agency(Equifax) hasnt followed up on the debt verification from the collection agency, id probably call and ask whats going on. It will probably still hurt your credit report score though. will take a year to get back to where it was at originally. it sucks.

why pay? if its not your debt, dont pay. paying just admits guilt honestly.

 

[jedijill]

Paying resets the clock on the debt for another 7 years and will make it harder to remove from your reports. All communication should be done in writing via mail, not on the phone or online. Keep copies of all correspondance for your records. The website I linked earlier has all the steps needed to get this off his report.

Jill in CO

 

[adisneyaunt]

Imho, You should NEVER pay a debt that Isn't yours.
That mistake has Already Dinged his credit negatively, which Does have repercussions now and in future. (until corrected)

He should really follow the great advice already given and get this corrected ASAP.
Best of luck! Pls let us know how it works out.

 

[seashoreCM]

Has anyone billed him directly for the amount? If the collection agency sent him a bill he should write a dispute letter directly to them (with no payment). The collection agency has to prove the debt in the same way as the original creditor and he can ask for such things like the number of kilowatt hours used and when, the kind of merchandise purchased, the ailment for which the treatment was sought, the make and model of the car that was repaired, etc. whichever applies.

For now I am cautiously saying that he should not reveal information about himself and that includes his autograph also. He can assert that if the creditor thinks that he is not acting in good faith or in businesslike fashion because he did not autograph any documents that normally call for that, he can reply that the recipient should send him a copy of his autograph to prove that they already have it and then he can freely give it out and/or he can reply that they the creditor is showing disinterest in him by not continuing to communicate in a businessliek fashion despite the lack of selected information from him.

And the creditor's showing disinterest in him can be passed on to the credit bureau as grounds that the credit bureau ought to delete the entry.

As a point of information, slander of credit is prosecutable.

 

[starry_solo]

Have your son send a certified letter, asking for proof they have that the debt is his. If they can't provide it, then it is supposed to be removed from the credit report.

 

[perditax]

I don't know what proof they have - his credit report lists some sort of medical provider and the Equifax report that said they had investigated but found the charge is his just gave the name of the collection agency. I do think it would help if he could get the medical bill - I suspect this person whose bill it really is has the same name as my son but I can't imagine the other details would match, like birth date.



Thanks - I will send him the link. Just wondering - by creditor, do you mean the collection agency or the medical facility?

Also, just wondering why not to pay it - I mean, it would be a loss of $125 but would there be another consequence? I know he is considering it, if it would completely remove the bill from his credit report.

Definitely do not pay it. The collection agency "owns" the debt now, and once they have their money they don't care about your son's credit report.

(I had an unpaid electric bill from when I was very young and dumb, and by the time I paid off one collection agency, somehow the debt was being reported by two or three other agencies--apparently ownership of the debt had changed hands, so I had multiple "dings" for one light bill that looked like different collections accounts. The original electric company didn't care--they had "sold" the debt. (Which means that in your son's case, the original medical office likely doesn't care either.) All I could do was dispute the charges every few months (keep in mind that by this point I had paid!!) until the various collection agencies got bored of responding or went out of business.)

 

[cglaura]

Try again by submitting to Equifax in writing, not online. Make it so that it is not a computer or scanner approving. I had a something on mine that kept approving so I got a tip on the creditboards to submit in writing, on patterned background, using multiple font styles, sizes and colors. That way a scanner couldn't read it and a real person did.

Sometimes all an automated system needs to verify is that your name / address / phone matches.

I sent mine in on psychodelic tye-died background, neon fonts and scripty styles. It was a work of art

Received a letter 3 weeks later it was removed.

I've had my credit locked for 11 years now. I don't think I'll ever have it unlocked. If I need something I can temporarily unlock it and pray nothing gets frauded in that 24 hours.

 

[SharonZ]

Even if he pays the delinquency, it could still remain on his credit report. I agree with sending the collection agency a debt validation letter, asking for proof of the debt and make sure that you send it via certified mail, with signature required.