New Post/Thread Notification: CreditWrench

Hello,

Creditwrench has just posted in the CreditWrench forum of CreditWrench under the title of Original Creditor.

This thread is located at http://www.creditwrench.com/consumers/showthread.php?threadid=718

Here is the message that has just been posted:
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We live in Utah. We have been dating now for almost 5 years now. I have been working with her to get all of her credit cards paid off. So, now she only has one active credit card. All of the others have been cancelled and paid off. Neither one of us had heard of this credit union until they sent her a notice she needed to bring her account current. She believes it may be an identity theft. The letter came addressed to her in her maiden name which she hasn't used for the last 35 years.
Ok. That helps some. If she believes that it is a case of identity theft then she needs to file an identity theft complaint with the local police department. That would be the first step. The second step would be to do the same, file complaint with the FTC over identity theft.

But there is also the very real possibility that it isn't identity theft at all but rather some collection agency who simply has the right name but the wrong actual person. That happens about as much as real identity theft cases do. So she needs to stop thinking in terms of her having to prove that she don't owe the debt (if that is indeed the way she is looking at the situation) and start thinking in terms of making them prove that she does owe the debt.

One should never try to prove a negative. And one should also never try to prove how smart they are by sending off a validation letter containing a bunch of silly questions or legal gobble-de-gook. After all, the point is to force them to prove how smart they are rather than trying to prove to them how smart you are. They don't listen too good anyway.

One should prepare himself for the time when he very well might have to prove how smart he is and should be well prepared to make that a very expensive lesson indeed for them.

She should also contact the origianl creditor and attempt to find out when the last payment was made on the account or if any was made at all and record the phone conversation and ask the creditor to send that information to her by mail. That establishes when the actual date of last activity was which then marked and commerated the start of the statute of limitations and tells her whether or not she has a SOL defense in the event that she is sued over the debt.

So she has not one but rather three things to worry about. Possible identity theft and the possibility that she might be sued for the debt whether she actually owes it or not plus the damage to her credit reports.

If it is identity theft she has to make a positive effort to establish that fact by filing reports with the proper authorities.

If it is simply a case of mistaken identity by a debt collector she has to take immediate and positive steps to build her defense by making them prove she owes the debt.

Clear up the problem and then worry about credit reports, not the other way around.
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