Trouble with a wrong person collection

AZHeather · ‎04-05-2017

I have worked extremely hard to rebuild my credit and have had amazing success (thanks to all my FICO peeps!). However, there is this medical collection that keeps popping up on my credit every few months that tanks all three scores. The problem is it's not mine and the same CA keeps reporting it. As soon as I dispute it, it disappears only to come back again in a month or two. I know that it's not mine because I have seen the name of the medical facility on my report - I have never been there. I called the facility and confirmed that someone with my same name (I have a fairly common name) has been there, but they have a different DOB and address. I have asked them to please clear this up with the CA and they say they have no way of doing that. I don't buy it. I have contacted the CA each time that it has popped up and explained that I have talked to the OC and that I am not the correct person. They say they will look into it, but clearly they don't becuase it comes back again and again. This thing is not that old and it will be years before it will age away. In the meantime, it will just keep popping up and I can't have that. I am working on getting a new car later this year, increasing my current lines of credit and buying a new house in the next year or two. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get this to stop popping up? I am beyond frustrated at this point. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (Edited to fix typos.)

Anonymous · ‎04-05-2017

I would write a couple letters.... The first one would be to the medical collection company stating they have the wrong person as you have verified this with the Medical Center. Instruct them to immediately remove the entries from your CRA's and advise them of your intent to sue. Wait for a response and then if they don't remove it and continue collection efforts I would write a second letter to the CFPB about your situation and let them handle it.. In the mean time I would dispute it again to get it off your reports...

@AZHeather wrote:
I have worked extremely hard to rebuild my credit and have had amazing success (thanks to all my FICO peeps!). However, there is this medical collection that keeps popping up on my credit every few months that tanks all three scores. The problem is it's not mine and the same CA keeps reporting it. As soon as I dispute it, it disappears only to come back again in a month or two. I know that it's not mine because I have seen the name of the medical facility on my report - I have never been there. I called the facility and confirmed that someone with my same name (I have a fairly common name) has been there, but they have a different DOB and address. I have asked them to please clear this up with the CA and they say they have no way of doing that. I don't buy it. I have contacted the CA each time that it has popped up and explained that I have talked to the OC and that I am not the correct person. They say they will look into it, but clearly they don't becuase it comes back again and again. This thing is not that old and it will be years before it will age away. In the meantime, it will just keep popping up and I can't have that. I am working on getting a new car later this year, increasing my current lines of credit and buying a new house in the next year or two. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get this to stop popping up? I am beyond frustrated at this point. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (Edited to fix typos.)

RobertEG · ‎04-05-2017

You have an account not mine/debt not mine issue that you can have blocked from your credit report by use of the identity theft process under FCRA 605B.

The term "identity theft" also embraces any situation where you have an account or information that you can assert in a sworn statement before a law enforcement agency that you never authorized, and thus are not responsible.

I would file a police report and submit to the CRA, thus obtaining required block of the collection under the provisions of FCRA 605B.

No involvement of the debt collector or issue of verification of the accuracy of their reporting is involved in the blocking process of FCRA 605B.

Anonymous · ‎04-05-2017

@RobertEG wrote:
You have an account not mine/debt not mine issue that you can have blocked from your credit report by use of the identity theft process under FCRA 605B.
The term "identity theft" also embraces any situation where you have an account or information that you can assert in a sworn statement before a law enforcement agency that you never authorized, and thus are not responsible.

I would file a police report and submit to the CRA, thus obtaining required block of the collection under the provisions of FCRA 605B.
No involvement of the debt collector or issue of verification of the accuracy of their reporting is involved in the blocking process of FCRA 605B.

The police told me that filing a police report that it you know not to be identity theft and/or fraud is a crime. They specifically told me not to include the ones that were not related to my identity theft in my report.

I am currently in the process of filing a complaint with the cfpb against Equifax for a similar issue from mixed credit files. You can file a complaint with the Attorney General, or the BBB, against the collection agency in question.