fraud on credit report

[whitneybin]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? CALIFORNIA

I kept receiving letters from Cavalry Portfolio saying that I owed them $24,000+ but it never stated for what reason. I knew I hadn't taken any loans or had any bills for that amount, I mean come on, so I always threw the letters away. I just checked my credit report, and it turns out that it has showed up on my credit report... I know this is false, it said it was only one month duration. Who can make $24,000 in debt in one month. It says the account is closed and that it has been sent to collection agencies. I did a little researching and found some websites stating that Cavalry Portfolio has made a lot of false claims. Who should I contact, what should I do in order to get this off my credit?

 

[Debt Guy]

Is there any entry other than Cavalry on your credit report that could possibly be this debt?

You will get different advice on how to handle this. Personally, I go for the effective and then the formal.

I would call Cavalry. Just tell them who you are and ask for the details of the debt. Mostly you want to know the name of the original creditor, the account number at the original creditor, the date of last activity and the date of chargeoff. They will harass you and want to know when you are going to send a payment, etc. Be nice. You want information. Just say that there is a case of identity theft and you need this information in order to take action.

Once you have this information, call the original creditor. Explain nicely what happened. They will try to shove you back off to Cavalry. Try to get as much information as you can. Ask if you can get a copy of the credit application so you can file the police report.

If, after all this, you are absolutely convinced this is not your debt, you probably should file a police report for possible identity theft.

You also need to formally dispute the debt to Calvary. Send a certified letter return receipt requested. Say "I dispute this debt". Ignore all the other rubbish you will find on the internet about how to write a demand for validation.

You will need to formally dispute the debt with each of the three credit reporting agencies. Again, send a certified letter return receipt requested. Attach a copy of the report from that CRA with the Cavalry entry highlighted. Say "I dispute this debt" and "I have never had any business relationship with Cavalry" and "I have had any business relationship with any original creditor that is remotely like the debt Cavalry is reporting" and "I believe this to be a case of identity theft". If you have filed a police report, attach it also.

Sometimes these things are really hard to get off your credit. The CRA will not do anything other than go back to Cavalry and ask if the info is accurate. If Cavalry says yes then that is the end of it so far as the CRA is concerned.

If Cavalry contines to verify and report the info, you only have two choices. The first is to sue Cavalry. The second is to wait until Cavalry sues you and then to countersue and conduct discovery to force them to prove up the debt.

This can be a real aggravation but this is the process you must work with.

By the way, in the future, don't throw away any correspondence you get from any collection agency. Don't ignore it either.