ID Theft

[Aananla]

Do I need a lawyer?

A few months or so ago, I received a delenquency letter from a collection agency about a college loan which was behind in payment. It was a loan I never applied for, nor went to school with. After several phone calls, I believed they had it figured out. I received no more letters or phone calls at least.

March 11, 2005 I'm sent another delenquency letter from a different collection agency (CBCS) saying I was past due on an electric bill from Mutual Energy Texas DBA Polar Power, which I have never heard of. I called the collection agency to tell them they had the wrong guy. They asked if I knew who lived at X address and I said no. In order to dispute, they said, I need to send a letter to the electric company with two forms of ID, one with my SS number, and three different bills with current address prior to February 2005. Now this sounds like a crock of ****. I don't want to send any information to a company I've never heard of.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

[Greebo]

I think you had better start checking out your credit reports and consider it...

[Shiz]

I would take a different tack. Ignore it. A collection agency has no legal power. They have bought the debt from the original creditor. Tell them they are wasting time since you are not the right person but it is their time and they can do what they want with it.

Seriously, don't spend any effort whatsoever sending ID anywhere. I had this happen to me once and the agency figured it their mistake eventually.

Collection agencies cannot even affect your credit rating in any way (unless you sign an agreement to pay and then renege on that.) The original creditor is the one that can do that.

[Aananla]

I am taking both of your's advise. I've requested a credit report from Equifax, and I am not sending anything to anyone.


Thanks.

[Crim]

I agree. If they don't already have your SS Number, don't send it to them. This sounds like a scam to me.

[Shiz]

As far as I can tell, Mutual Energy Texas DBA Polar Power does not exist. Polar Power? What the hell is polar power?

[Greebo]

Sorry - I wasn't meaning to suggest you consider doing what those companies said - I meant check w/ Equifax and consider a lawyer.

[Aananla]

I tried googling the Mutual Power... and found nothing. I did find a site for the collection agency CBCS, which claims to have been in business for 50 years.

[Xaxor]

I've had collection agencies calling and leaving messages, call this number. They would call and call and call. I 'd call back and they would tell me sorry, I'm the wrong person, etc. They would make a note not to call me back, but, same thing a few days later. It's a pain. /agree with Shiz and Greebs

Check your credit report for any funny business, but I wouldn't worry with those guys. They seem to be thick skulled about chasing the wrong leads.
Good luck Aan, hope everything turns out ok.

[Shiz]

Well, from the collection agency's perspective "you have the wrong person" is probably the most common initial avoidance tactic.

[Aananla]

Just got through reviewing my credit report. Nothing suspicious. Actually looks great. I'd loan me money, if I didn't know I was in debt up to my eyeballs.

There have been no charges on my credit cards that we didn't do ourselves, so I don't believe whoever is doing this has more than my name and address.

I traced the address they are claiming I am paying electric on and found it is to an apartment complex here in Dallas. Might stop by there and talk with management, or see if I can get a key to my apartment. ;) j/k

[Raveneye]

Polar Power is a manufacturer of energy and HVAC equipment based in California. Go here http://www.polarpowerinc.com/company/index.htm for more information.

You could try contacting them directly to see if they have "you" in their records and at least find out the supposed address and other information attached to the debt. It's likely that if you explain to them that they had the wrong person, they could then update the collection agency and get them off your back. We do some collections work here at the firm for banks and such, and most collection work is done as a representative of the client, with the agency getting a cut of any money collected, so you're more likely to get good results getting the client to absolve you than attempting to fight the agency directly.

A word about debt collection: Obviously most debtors are easy enough to track down through their current address information, job information or other identification information they used when filling out forms for the place they owe the money to. However, debts are handed over to collection agencies on a routine basis usually for one of two reasons, first because the debtor simply will not respond to the company's own requests for payment, or secondly because the company can no longer locate the debtor.

In the second case, many debt collection agencies have access to online databases they can use to track people by relationships. We have a subscription here at the firm, and let me tell you IT IS SCARY. When I say relationships, what I'm taking about is the connections between your adresses, your phone numbers, your employment history, your DMV information, your social security and other government ID, etc. This is the stuff that got some companies in hot water recently because they were providing access to these databases to anyone that would pay a fee, with no background checks or other confirmation that the "business" was actually a legitimate law office or debt collection agency.

Using these databases, you can literally track a person's history including where he's lived, where he's worked, what he's driving, what he's purchasing, who his relatives are, where they live, where they work, what they are driving, etc. etc. etc...

Problem is, not all the relationships are valid ones. Information can be accidentally assigned to the wrong person with the same name as the correct person, including incorrect Social Security numbers (though those are supposed to be cross checked). This can lead to the relationships being screwed up, which in turn can result in all sorts of problems. Something like this is why you might get calls at your house for someone with your name that owes money to some company you've never heard of. Or they might tell you that you cosigned on a loan for "your son" when you're 24 and single.

When this stuff happens, the best thing to do is attempt to contact the creditor you supposedly owe money to and get them to straighten things out. Do not fight the collection agency, and do not give the collection agency any addition personal information beyond what they have, especially not Social Security numbers. Dealing with the orginal creditor (a bank, a car company, an electric company or whatever) is the only way to insure that you get erroneously assigned debt stricken from your record.

[DirkDarkBlade]

I'd recommend looking at www.clarkhoward.com (http://www.clarkhoward.com) for info on ID theft.

I don't know a lot about it, except it is a case where you have to prove you are innocent. You can get a statement put on your credit reports.

Good luck!

[Draknor]

You've told them that they have the wrong person, that's all you really have to do. Checking your credit report was going that extra mile (and actually a really good idea). I've been through this a few times - most recently with two collection firms calling my dad's residence looking for my brother.

If they keep bugging you, call your state attorney general's office and ask them about it. No need to spend your money fending off these feebs at this point.:lowsmile:

[Aananla]

Many thanks guys. I am a little less concerned now after looking at my credit report. I am writing a letter to Mutual Energy Texas DBA Polar Power requesting proof of debt or a copy of the judgment.

Fun stuff.

[Okamekage]

It might not be stolen. someone might have just written their SSN down wrong.


Happened to my brother a couple years ago. He was trying to transfer his account to a new bank when he moved to louisville but they couldn't transfer it because of some bounced checks or soemthign associated wiht his SSN. It was fixed that day thoguh because with further investigating the problem accoutn was in the name of some woman in Texas. (they had transposed some of the numbers.)

gah... There was a site where you could find out everythign about Id theft and what you can do to correct it.... but I can't remember the name. it was in an article on MSN, so you could probably search that to find it.

...oh! one other thing, they might have just given you your credit report, they might have left out any use of your SSN number with another name on it. again somethign I read on MSn, (Was talkign abotu how lax that department is in investigating misuse and the like.) Might want to ask if there is any activity with your SSN but with another name.

[Queed]

One quick question about collection agencies,

If I go to the original debtor, whom "someone" has honestly, truly been meaning to pay, can this person pay the original amount and not have to deal with the agency anymore?

You know, hypothetically.

[Shiz]

One quick question about collection agencies,

If I go to the original debtor, whom "someone" has honestly, truly been meaning to pay, can this person pay the original amount and not have to deal with the agency anymore?

You know, hypothetically.

It depends on whether the original creditor has hired the collection agency to help collect or sold the debt outright. You...err the debtor...cannot really know. However, if it has gotten to the collection agency step, you can usually satisfy the creditor (original or otherwise) with partial payments. You credit rating has already been dinged so I wouldn't go back and offer 100% right off the bat. Offer 50% and don't budge. I bet they take it. Collection agencies usually pay as little as 5-10% of the original debt so a 50% collection is a goldmine.