Wanting to take a collections company to court

[ngerasimatos]

What is the name of your state? CA

About 4 years ago I lived with a roommate whom stole my identity and really did a number on my credit. He was later charged with identity theft and went to jail for it. For the past 3 years I have been fighting to get my credit cleaned up but it has been tough. New items continuously pop up out of the blue and these companies are not receptive to my turmoil I have already endured.

My biggest problem is the collections companies selling the debt from one firm to another.

I need advice. Please.

At this point I have about 5 or so companies that are trying to collect from me. These are not high balances and I could easily pay them off, but why would I pay for something that is not mine.

Example of one of my issues. Cingular wireless shows a charge off for 1400 and when I contacted them they confirmed the name and all items on the account are NOT mine, BUT they sold the debt to a collections company and refuse to assist me in removing their INCORRECTLY reported credit information (the girl in the fraud department said "sorry, i wish i could do more").

Now my credit is getting ruined by not only THEM but another company trying to collect for Cingular as well. I have been denied certain jobs in my past because of this as well since most employers run credit checks now. One employer said that if I could not pay my bills why should they hire me...

I disputed with the credit bureaus, demanded Cingular and the collections company provide me with evidence the debt is valid and all documentation they can, and they refuse to provide anything. I get the general candid 'Cingular sold your debt and you need to contact another company.' No assistance, no proof, nothing..... This seems far from legal.

Mailing the collections company has only resulted in them sending me a bill. Wow, thanks for the help. Shesh.....

So at this point I would like to take these companies to small claims court if they are unwilling to remove this falsely reported data and for defamation of character, etc.

I can do this, right?

What steps do I need to take. Can someone recommend a good lawyer to handle all this. I would gladly pay to have this whole matter handled in a legal manner since I have tried, and tried and gotten no where.

If I can do it myself, that would be fine as well. Do i take them to court in my area or do I need to go to them?

Any information, assistance, etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

[StephenH]

Some Suggestions

1) I would Contact the Privacy Rights ClearingHouse at www.privacyrights.org, as they may be able to help you, or know of an attorney who can.

2) When dealing with these companies, ask for their "fraud investigators". This is often different than their usual customer service people.

3) Consider sending a copy of the police report to the collection agencies. Explain in a letter that you were a victim of a stolen indentity, and with a copy of the police report, they may beleive you. You should explain that it was your roommate that stole your identitiy, and they should be going after your roommate.

4) You may want to get an attorney here and sue the collection agencies.

 

[nurse_nan]

My now-ex husband did this to me. Took out credit cards that I was unaware of. Ran up balances. I got the best results by talking to the fraud investigators.