Collection Agency saying they are OC???

[MLMMBC]

I recently had this company called Chase Receivables added to my CR for 76.  Never rev'd a dunning letter.  

Per the report it shows that a company called West Bay Acquisitons is the OC (never had an account with them).

I called Chase and they stated it was for an old BMG account that I've never had in 2007.  I gave them new address to send a validation of debt.  They told me they had a itemlized list of things I so called ordered.

Never received a dunning from BMG, Chase or West Bay.  The address they had does not belong to me.

iSN'T it illegal for them to report as the OC?  

What's the best way to go about this?

[Shogun]

 West Bay Acquisitons is a CA.  They cannot be an OC.

[RobertEG]

Only the creditor with whom the original account agreement was executed can be the "original" creditor.

However, that does not preclude another from purchasing the debt, and thus becoming the current owner/creditor, and reporting as such.

The key to reporting by an heir to a debt is whether the debt was delinquent at the time of their purochase.  Under the FDCPA, a party who purchases a debt in good-stadning is not a debt collector, and thus their reporting would not be as such.

Thus, it cannot be assumed that the reproting is per se inaccurate simply because the normal business of the party is that of collection on delinquent debts incurred with another.  There is simply not enough info to maike a determination of the accuracy, particularly since the alleged OC account is considered to be non-existent, and thus any subsequent legal ownership of the "debt" is unknown.

Rather than dealing with all those unknowns, and challenging the manner of their reporting, I would recommend treating the alleged debt at not being authorized by the consumer, and thus any reporting, regardless of by whom and their status, is the result of someone using your identity.

The FCRA recognizes that a party who did not auhorize a debt cannot prove a negative, and thus cannot factually challenge such reporting.

It thus provides an identity theft process that avoids any and all factual proofs by either side as to the legitimacy of the consumer's authorization of the debt.

In a nutshell, if the consumer is wllling to put teir assertion that they did not authorize the debt into a sworn police report (which the FCRA calls an identity theft report), and sends a copy of that report to the CRA, any and all reporting based on that infrmation must immediately be blocked by the CRA from any inclusion in the consumer's credit report.  FCRA 605B.

Once obtaining blockage from their credit report, the consumer can pursue the factual legitimacy of the debt itself by also sending a copy of the police report to the alleged creditor, and reqire them to produce all business records pertaining to the establishment of the alleged debt within 30 days.  FCRA 609(e).

Then one has some facts fo work with.

[UserID732555]

Once you find out that your account has been turned over to a collection agency, you should contact the original creditor to make sure this is true and find out if there is any way to have your account recalled. The original creditor may take the account back if a reduced payment can be negotiated. If the original creditor will not recall the account, try to work out an agreement with the collection agency. If you are experiencing any financial hardship explain this to the collection agency. If you can afford to pay some or all of the debt at this time, you should.

If a payment has been negotiated with a collection agency make sure you ask them to send you the payment arrangement in writing to keep copies. You should also ask for the representative’s name that you spoke with. This will serve as proof of the agreement if any problems occur in the future. Most collection agencies will negotiate a settlement, which would be taking less than the total amount due. This normally requires a onetime payment in full. Be careful! A settlement may report negatively on your credit report. The IRS also considers a settlement taxable and treats the amount forgiven as income for tax purposes.