How much does this really hurt?

[Anonymous]

There is a paid collection acct on my credit reports.  It is NOT mine, however, I suspect it is a case of identity theft by some relatives since it has been paid and I didn't pay it.  I disputed it with the notation that the account doesn't belong to me, but it is still there.  I am wondering how difficult it is going to be to get this removed even though it never belonged to me and I have always had a Suddenlink account in good standing and still do.   With this being old and paid, is this hurting my score enough to be worth the hassle of hiring an atty or should I continue to deal with the CA or just wait for it to fall off?   I will be applying for a mortgage in the next year and this is the only collection acct I have.  My current scores are 663, 673, 689.

$0

Current Balance

SUDDENLINK COMMUNICATIONS

Original Creditor

$768

Original Balance

Jul 26, 2012

Date Opened

Mar 30, 2013

Report date

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There is a paid collection acct on my credit reports.  It is NOT mine, however, I suspect it is a case of identity theft by some relatives since it has been paid and I didn't pay it.  I disputed it with the notation that the account doesn't belong to me, but it is still there.  I am wondering how difficult it is going to be to get this removed even though it never belonged to me and I have always had a Suddenlink account in good standing and still do.   With this being old and paid, is this hurting my score enough to be worth the hassle of hiring an atty or should I continue to deal with the CA or just wait for it to fall off?   I will be applying for a mortgage in the next year and this is the only collection acct I have.  My current scores are 663, 673, 689.

$0

Current Balance

SUDDENLINK COMMUNICATIONS

Original Creditor

$768

Original Balance

Jul 26, 2012

Date Opened

Mar 30, 2013

Report date

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If it's your only collection, it's probably hurting your score pretty bad. I would call Suddenlink and ask where it came from. Others will have more details on how to handle possible ID theft.

[Anonymous]

Use the ID Theft provision of FCRA(Sec 605B)  to get it excluded. Google "FCRA 605B" and read it so you know what you have to send in and what the CRA's are required to do.

If its the only derog on your files, yes, it is hurting you signifigantly. Removing could see your scores shoot into the 700's easily, assuming you have adequate positive accounts pulling your scores up..

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Use the ID Theft provision of FCRA(Sec 605B)  to get it excluded. Google "FCRA 605B" and read it so you know what you have to send in and what the CRA's are required to do.

If its the only derog on your files, yes, it is hurting you signifigantly. Removing could see your scores shoot into the 700's easily, assuming you have adequate positive accounts pulling your scores up..

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+1   

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Victim-of-Identity-Theft-What-To-Do-to-Protect-Yourself/td-p/2059499