Equifax collection dispute - Steaming mad!

[greeneyedlady]

I received word from Equifax this morning that the collection agency verified the account placed on my file that is not my account! So, I told the rep that they're lying and this is not my account, and asked what I can do about it. I told him that it is my husband's account, and he said that they said it is a joint account. I told him that it is being reported as an individual account and it is not my account. He checked that and told me he will put in another dispute as it was reported as individual.

So I asked the Equifax rep what I could do about them reporting this false information to my account, and he told me I should call the CA and tell them that I spoke to Shane at Equifax and he confirmed it is an individual account, and that i have filed another dispute. I'm afraid I'm going to blow up when I call, but I guess it's back to the boards for some reading.

If anyone has any advice as to anything else I should say (or not say!), please chime in here. I am wondering how many times we can go back and forth about this and if they can just say "oops, we meant to say joint account," because it appears that they did not have to provide any proof on the last dispute. Thanks a bunch for your input!

[Sadie5150]

Your post is a bit confusing.  You state that it's NOT your account and EQ rep told you that it's being reported as an "individual" account.  Then at the end, you refer to the CA possibly telling you OOPs, mistakingly reported it as an individual accout.  

Are you saying that this is your husbands individual account alone, and should be reported as his only?

[greeneyedlady]

Hi Sadie5150!

Sorry for the confusion, just really, really mad. Actually, I informed the EQ rep that it is reported as an individual account, which I was aware of only because of credit karma. They are also why I am aware of this on my report at all. The EQ rep put me on hold and verified individual account and said he would file another dispute. I filed the first dispute after calling the CA and telling them that this is not my account. Their response to both me and the EQ dispute is that it is a joint account. If that were true, and I have a stack of invoices that do not have my name on them anywhere, why did they report it as an individual account? I also logged on to the OCs web site and only my husband's name is on the account there too. I was just wondering if they will say to EQ regarding this 2nd dispute, "oops, we meant to say joint account," since they did not have to provide any proof on the dispute where I said it was not my account, they just said yes it's accurate and is a joint account. And I wonder if they would have to prove it this time. It is also reported as an individual account on my husband's file, BTW. He believes that he paid it and wants to check some records he has in storage, but in the meantime I want them to leave me out of it and let me get on with my rebuild 😉

[Sadie5150]

Do you mind telling us what the account is?  Credit card?  Did he list you as a Authorized user?  If so, your name wouldn't appear on the invoice anywhere.  Rather, just on the account info that you hold a card.

[dragontears]

If I remember right from other threads, the account the OP is referring to is a utility collection

[dragontears]

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/NFCU-rebuild-conundrum/m-p/5483753#M579343

[greeneyedlady]

Hi Sadie5150,

You may have checked out the link provided by dragontears and seen that it is a utility bill. I learned today that in some states that are not community property states there may be a way to still hold married couples jointly responsible for utility accounts that are only in one of their names. I am unsure about my state, but I was told that it has to do with a Family Expense Act under which all or most states have laws. I actually had seen something similar the other day, but referred to food and something else that I can't recall at the moment, so I intended to check further into that before escalating this. I was/am so mad at the CA that I wound up calling an attorney today. He brought up that act during our conversation and a cursory look online shows mostly information regarding divorce-related childrearing expenses, but I have not completed my investigation and the attorney was unsure about my state.

[CreditInspired]

Hi @greeneyedlady
So sorry this is happening to you. But all is not lost; you definitely have another place to turn too—the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau . Below is the link to submit your claim. When Equifax validated my IRS dispute, I filed a claim with CFPB, and I’m not lying, within a week, the debt was removed from my EQ report. TU and EX removed it immediately when I filed the dispute with them, but not EQ.

GL2U

https://www.consumerfinance.gov