not my bill

[SBEASY]

What is the name of your state? INDIANA......................I am being billed and called on phone by a financial company for a debt for telephone service.they have my name and SS number.it is not my bill,and i live over 100 miles from where the service was.whoever used my name and ss # had the phone service for a period of 3 years!the financial company seems offended when i call them a collection agency and keeps telling me they arent-dont understand that-but anyhow-they bought the debt from SBC(now ameritech i think)the service was disconnected in 2001 and i never heard the first thing about it until april 2004.i reported the fraud to my local sheriff .my identity has never been used for anything else as far as i know.this is on my credit report,but hasnt really affected my borrowing as i have otherwise good credit.the bill started out being around $400,and the bat that kept calling me informed me it was an interest bearing account.so im not even sure how much they want now,somewhere around 650 i think.i could pay it,but they are so rude i just dont want to,not to mention-ITS NOT MY BILL.im married 23 years and the utilities have always been in my husbands name.the last call from these people informed me they have other options and one way or another they WILL get their money.i expect they will sue me.Am i obligated to pay this?The bill is in my name,can they garnish my husbands wages?i dont have a job ,so they cant garnish mine.what should i do?

 

[cmorris]

NO, you are NOT obligated to pay this debt!!!

Send a letter immediately to both the phone company and CA. Tell them you are the victim of identity theft and submit the police report. If you have it, send proof of your address for that time period. Tell them to only contact you by mail to resolve the ID theft, but to not harass you, the victim, to pay this debt. Send this certified mail return receipt. Also put a fraud alert on all of your credit reports.

 

[SBEASY]

the financial company tells me they dont care or believe it isnt my bill.they say i have to pay it and then its up to me to go after the person who used my ss #,even though i have no clue who it could be.my county sheriff called both the phone company and the ca.the phone co. told them they had no information,as they had sold the debt to this financial company.the ca had the cop put me on the phone and the first thing they said was "why am i talking to a cop".both were less than helpful.i filed the police report in like july or so,and at that time was told theres no report because it is an ongoing investigation.i will look into getting a copy of it tomorrow-shouldnt be a problem.the collection people tell me its a moot point because their deadline for sending them proof of fraud was like 30 days or so.i said my time limit for receiving bills was past too-remember the service was disconnected in 2001-i received the bill in 2004.im for sure not paying the bill unless a judge orders me to.i will also do the credit bureau fraud alert.isnt it kind of odd that someone would steal your id and only use it for telephone service?also -just wondering-can it really be an interest bearing account?

 

[cmorris]

They usually add interest plus fees. I'm assuming this is what they mean by an interest bearing account. Don't worry about what they say on the plone; they just want money from whoever will fork it over. Send the letters, certified mail return receipt. If it is on your credit reports, dispute them as "Not Mine" and mention ID theft.

Please get your reports from the 3 major CRA's (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) individually. The reports cost about $9 each. Do not do the trimerge.

The FTC site has info on ID theft and visit creditboards.com. Many people there have been victims of this and there is a wealth of info.

 

[Fat Tony]

CMorris, I see you (and others) always telling people to pull seperate reports from the 3 bureaus, and not do a trimerge. Any particular reason why? I dont mean to hijack the thread, but in my business, we live and die by the tri-merges. Just curious. Thanks

 

[cmorris]

Trimerges often cost more than the separate reports. Also, when it comes to disputing something with the credit bureaus, you need THEIR individual report number. Trimerges may also occassionally leave things off.

 

[cyana24]

Trimerges (3-in 1's) also generally lack Date of Last Activity (DOLA - very critical) and often lack any creditor or collection agency contact information. Plus, as cmorris said, they are useless if you need to dispute anything.