Medical Collection Isn't Mine

[Anonymous]

I have been working on cleaning up my report over the past few months. There is one medical collection owned by Bureau of Account Management for $78 that I am 100% positive is not mine. I called them, gave them my name and last four of my social and they wouldn't release any information to me because I wasn't the person listed on the account. I asked if they would remove the collection from my report since it apparently does not belong to me and they told me to contact the original creditor. I contacted the original creditor and they said they don't have any delinquent accounts on file for me and referred me back to the CA.

What is my best course of action to get this resolved quickly? I live in PA and the debt is still within SOL, but I know that it is not mine so I am not worried about being sued if I poke the bear, so to speak.

Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have been working on cleaning up my report over the past few months. There is one medical collection owned by Bureau of Account Management for $78 that I am 100% positive is not mine. I called them, gave them my name and last four of my social and they wouldn't release any information to me because I wasn't the person listed on the account. I asked if they would remove the collection from my report since it apparently does not belong to me and they told me to contact the original creditor. I contacted the original creditor and they said they don't have any delinquent accounts on file for me and referred me back to the CA.

What is my best course of action to get this resolved quickly? I live in PA and the debt is still within SOL, but I know that it is not mine so I am not worried about being sued if I poke the bear, so to speak.

Thanks for any advice!

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Use FCRA 605B. Treat it as if it is ID Theft.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried disputing it with "no knowledge of account" yet? Information should come back mismatch and get it deleted.

[RobertEG]

I would recommend sending the debt collector a direct dispute, with your infomation provided as supporting basis.

That will require them to conduct a reasonable investigation that must have some basis before they can verify the accuracy of the alleged debt.

Contact with the OC should specifically be listed as your basis for contesting any debt derived from them.

They must send their Notice of Results within 30 days plus five business days from your date of direct dispute.

If the debt collector officially veriifes, you have basis for contesting the reasonableness of their investigation.

The above process is additional to the process for blocking from your credit report.

I would, as recommended, file a police report and send it to the CRA and get the collection blocked from your police report under FCRA 605B.

In addition, you can send a copy of the police report to a debt collector and get info from them under the provisions of FCRA 615(f) abd (g)"

"FCRA 615(f)         Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Debt Caused by Identity Theft

• (1) In general. No person shall sell, transfer for consideration, or place for collection a debt that such person has been notified under section 605B has resulted from identity theft.

• (2) The prohibitions of this subsection shall apply to all persons collecting a debt described in paragraph (1) after the date of a notification under paragraph (1).

• (3) Rule of construction. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit –

• (A) the repurchase of a debt in any case in which the assignee of the debt requires such repurchase because the debt has resulted from identity theft;

• (B) the securitization of a debt or the pledging of a portfolio of debt as collateral in connection with a borrowing; or

• (C) the transfer of debt as a result of a merger, acquisition, purchase and assumption transaction, or transfer of substantially all of the assets of an entity.

 "FCRA 615(g) Debt collector communications concerning identity theft.

If a person acting as a debt collector (as that term is defined in title VIII) on behalf of a third party that is a creditor or other user of a consumer report is notified that any information relating to a debt that the person is attempting to collect may be fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft, that person shall –

• (1) notify the third party that the information may be fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft; and

• (2) upon request of the consumer to whom the debt purportedly relates, provide to the consumer all information to which the consumer would otherwise be entitled if the consumer were not a victim of identity theft, but wished to dispute the debt under provisions of law appli-cable to that person."

[RobertEG]

I would recommend sending the debt collector a direct dispute, with your infomation provided as supporting basis.

That will require them to conduct a reasonable investigation that must have some basis before they can verify the accuracy of the alleged debt.

Contact with the OC should specifically be listed as your basis for contesting any debt derived from them.

They must send their Notice of Results within 30 days plus five business days from your date of direct dispute.

If the debt collector officially veriifes, you have basis for contesting the reasonableness of their investigation.

The above process is additional to the process for blocking from your credit report.

I would, as recommended, file a police report and send it to the CRA and get the collection blocked from your police report under FCRA 605B.

In addition, you can send a copy of the police report to a debt collector and get info from them under the provisions of FCRA 615(f) abd (g)"

"FCRA 615(f)         Prohibition on Sale or Transfer of Debt Caused by Identity Theft

• (1) In general. No person shall sell, transfer for consideration, or place for collection a debt that such person has been notified under section 605B has resulted from identity theft.

• (2) The prohibitions of this subsection shall apply to all persons collecting a debt described in paragraph (1) after the date of a notification under paragraph (1).

• (3) Rule of construction. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit –

• (A) the repurchase of a debt in any case in which the assignee of the debt requires such repurchase because the debt has resulted from identity theft;

• (B) the securitization of a debt or the pledging of a portfolio of debt as collateral in connection with a borrowing; or

• (C) the transfer of debt as a result of a merger, acquisition, purchase and assumption transaction, or transfer of substantially all of the assets of an entity.

 "FCRA 615(g) Debt collector communications concerning identity theft.

If a person acting as a debt collector (as that term is defined in title VIII) on behalf of a third party that is a creditor or other user of a consumer report is notified that any information relating to a debt that the person is attempting to collect may be fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft, that person shall –

• (1) notify the third party that the information may be fraudulent or may be the result of identity theft; and

• (2) upon request of the consumer to whom the debt purportedly relates, provide to the consumer all information to which the consumer would otherwise be entitled if the consumer were not a victim of identity theft, but wished to dispute the debt under provisions of law appli-cable to that person."

[Anonymous]

Whew, that's a lot of information. I will try what lowkeyorca recommended first. I am going to file a police report as well to get that ball rolling. The names are obviously different enough that the CA recognized it wasn't me. Hopefully, the CRA recognizes the mismatch, too. Thanks!