My credit report was illegally pulled for personal use - what can I do

[Anonymous]

I have not applied for any new credit since August of 2009.  I also do not have any collection accounts and I'm not past due or late on any payments.  I noticed a new inquiry in December on my credit report.  The company was not listed.  I found out today who the company was and was horrified to see that it is the collection agency that the son of a "ex-friend" of mine works for.  I am 99.9% sure that he pulled my credit report and gave the report to this person.

I contacted the collection agency today and they confirmed for me, on the phone, that there would be no reason for them to pull my credit and that I have no accounts with their agency - now or previously.

I'm just sick to my stomach about this.  This is a person that I want out of my life and to sit here knowing that they now know my mortgage, current address, car loan, credit card - all my very personal information makes me sick.

What can I do?  I'm not willing to just let this slide.  I want this taken care of and dealt with.  Can anyone lead me in the right direction to get to the bottom of this and make sure that someone pays - even if it means this friend's son loses his job?

[cdtotten]

Well, for starters I think you were barking in the right direction. I would send a written request to the company that "authorized" the pull. In your letter state the letter was not for a permissable purpose and threaten legal action and punitive damages.

I would mention in the letter your relation to the individual you believe pulled the file... I'm sure they can do an internal investigation to determine which employee made the pull.

I am not a lawyer and not an expert at letter writing, but someone can follow up with the FCRA violation numbers and everything.

[Anonymous]

If your suspicions are correct (and it would appear that the collection agency verified this), print a hard copy of your credit report as evidence, report the CA (with a complete explanation) to your AG, because this is a crime. You can also file a police report.

And then contact a consumer attorney to sue the CA and the son of your ex-friend (if you can prove that it was him that committed the crime).

[Anonymous]

I second the police report and AG.  It's inexcusable. 

Further, in your letter (link to letter below), I'd go after the $1,000 in damages.  That's just me.  Others may feel differently.  I have had inquiries successfully deleted for non PP with that letter, by the way. 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Non-Authorized-Inq-Letter/m-p/6469

[Anonymous]

Do you think the collection agency should/would have record of the employee (name or an employee number) that did the pull?  I would think they would have some way to track these computer requests.

[guiness56]

I would take the individual that pulled the report to small claims court.

[Anonymous]

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@guiness56 wrote:

I would take the individual that pulled the report to small claims court.

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I'd take the individual and the CA.  The CA has deeper pockets and it is easier to prove your case against them.  Also, the CA is totally responsible for the actions of their employees. 

And also file a police report!

[guiness56]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@guiness56 wrote:

I would take the individual that pulled the report to small claims court.

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I'd take the individual and the CA.  The CA has deeper pockets and it is easier to prove your case against them.  Also, the CA is totally responsible for the actions of their employees. 

And also file a police report!

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I meant the individual and the CA.  It is not totally the CAs fault.  The idividual that works for them made the decision to pull an unauthorized CR and should face the same, if not harsher, consequences than the CA he worked for.

Suing the individual may be a wake up call for some others who work for a CA and have considered doing the same thing.

[fishbjc]

I'm PIZZED just reading this!!!!  I would NOT take this lying down, no way in h e double L toothpicks.

According to my son, who's in IT for a large collector....each employee is assigned a log in # to get their work for the day.  Everytime they use a computer, they must insert this ID#...so more than likely....it can be determined by the Supervisor WHO PULLED YOUR REPORT.

This is BS...I would file a police report AND look for damages.