Verizon Wireless National Recovery

[Anonymous]

I've recently discovered that I have a Verizon Wireless account listed on my credit report (all 3) as past due and in collections.  I have never been a Verizon customer, nor do I owe them a debt.  I need advice on what steps I should take next.  Here's what I've done so far:

• File a dispute with each CB stating that this debt is now mine.  
  • Outcome: all 3 were able to validate the record and there was no change to my report.
• Contact Verizon National Recovery via the 800 number as shown on my CR.
  • Outcome:
    • Initially they claim to be unable to find any account listed for my Name, Address, or SSN - they can only search by account # (which is only partially listed on my CR)
    • Upon asking a supervisor to search for an account by SSN, they are able to identify an account using my SSN.  They ask me to validate my identity by providing my name and address, which of course do not match the account in question.  Because I cannot verify my identity, they can not give me any further information.
    • After going back and forth with them about fraud and getting overly frustrated, I eventually ended the call.
    • On a 2nd call attempt, I was referred to a collection agency which supposedly owns the account.
• Contact the collection agency
  • I am 100% thoroughly convinced that the collection agency has no knowledge of me in any way (they don't have my social, phone number, name, nothing).
  • This is corroborated by the fact that there are no collections items on my report
  • I made 2 separate calls to be absolutely sure - the first requesting information, and the 2nd claiming that i recieved a letter and wanted to pay.  In both cases, I am completely unknown to this collection agency.

Given the above information, I ask the community for help.  What is my next step in getting this deliquent Verizon account off my report?  I can't exactly prove that I have never been a Verizon customer (can I?).  Verizon won't help, and the alleged collection agent can't help.  The CBs have all supposedly validated the record.  What's next?

[chevyman]

Big question is as anyone else ever gotten access to your ssn and can u find out when this account was opened and in what store

[RobertEG]

The first step is to follow the FCRA identity theft procedure to immediately get any and all information related to the matter blocked from your credit report.

There is no need for any input or concurrence by either the creditor or debt collector.

It requires that you file a police report and send it to the CRA along with proof of your identity and an identity theft affidavit.

FCRA 605B.

If you wish to additioanally pursue the theft itself, you can also send a copy of the police report to the OC and get all busniess records in their possession related to the alleged identity theft.  FCRA 609(e).

[Anonymous]

I'm not really concerned about identity theft. This is the ONLY incorrect entry on my credit report, and I've never had another reason to believe my identity was stolen. I'm nearly certain that this is the result of a typo by someone at Verizon. The little information I have gotten says that Verizon (accurately) has no record of me as a customer. The only thing they have is somewhere in a computer they have my SSN and it says "report that this person owes money". It isn't even tied to an account. It's a typo somewhere. What I'm really interested in is how I can get the item off my credit report.

[Anonymous]

Chevyman - as far as I can tell, no, nobody has ever gotten my SSN. Verizon won't provide me that information. They can find the collections account via my SSN but the name on the account is not me. I've also gotten some additional information - Verizon is able to confirm that an account has never been opened in my name or SSN. They are also able to confirm that their collections team thinks there is a past due account with my SSN but not my name or anything else. None of it makes any sense.

[RobertEG]

The "identity theft" process is an inference, and not necessarily a factual assertion that your identity has been stolen.

It is a process that permits, based on a sworn statement that you never authorized the account or transaction, the block of that information from your credit report.

It is an inference that if the creditor has some documentation that asserts you are respnsible for the account, it may have resulted from soneone else using your identity.

You are not required to identify a culprit, only assert that you did not authoriize or approve.

The dispute process fails because the creditor can verify if they have some basis, and is not required to conduct a private investigation to prove that docements, for example, were actually submitted by you.  That is why the "identity theft" provisions of the FCRA were enacted...... because the dispute process usually does not require removal by the creditor, and involves the input from the furnisher of the disputed information.

The identity theft process under FCRA 605B results in immediate block of the information from a consumer's credit report without any involvement of the creditor or debt collector.

You might wish to reconsider use of the identity theft provisions of the FCRA, which permits immediate block of the information from your scoring.

[Anonymous]

Understood.  I was not aware that this is how the identity theft section of the FCRA works - I assumed that it asserted that my identity HAS been stolen, and involves so much more.  One question I do have is this - if I envoke the identity theft method, how does that affect my ability to apply for future credit.  Will any creditor running my credit in the future see that I have a block on my credit, and therefore deny my recieving credit?  

[RobertEG]

The FCRA mandates that any information related to the asserted identity theft must be blocked from your credit report.

A third party thus wont be aware of the information, period.  They cannot consider that of which they are not aware.

Two other advantages to the identity theft provisions of the FCRA might be of interest.

First, once you have obtained block under FCRA 605B, that also imposes an automatic bar on the party from sale of the debt.

Thus, you can prevent the whole credit reporting cycle from starting anew by another debt collctor.

Second, you can additionally send a copy of the police report to both the creditor and debt collector and require their production of records are related to the asserted identity theft, thus permitting you to "investigate" the facts behind the matter.