Credit Improvement Scheme

[chrisdykestv]

I was put in contact with a man claiming to be a CPA back in April 2017. The CPA asked a bit about my interests and future endeavors, before talking about himself. He said he wanted to help me boost my credit which would in turn allow me to apply for larger lines of credit. The only thing he requested from me was supplying a bit of personal information. Shame on me for foolishly doing so and not inquiring more about the specifics of what he was going to be doing. There was never any discussion of a contract, how much this was going to cost, and I didn't sign any kind of paperwork. Over the next few months, I didn't hear much from the guy other than a few texts assuring me that that the process had been started. In the beginning of July, I got a text and a call from him saying that I should have received some information in the mail. In the mail I noticed that he had applied for cards in my name with extended lines of credit totaling to more than what I make annually. I have another call with the CPA asking about the cards, but his only response is that business has been done and now I need to pay him. I have put a fraud alert on my credit report and gone to the police, because he has tried to apply for more credit cards in my name. He is now threatening to sue me if he is not paid. What can or should I do to resolve my problem?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[quincy]

I was put in contact with a man claiming to be a CPA back in April 2017. The CPA asked a bit about my interests and future endeavors, before talking about himself. He said he wanted to help me boost my credit which would in turn allow me to apply for larger lines of credit. The only thing he requested from me was supplying a bit of personal information. Shame on me for foolishly doing so and not inquiring more about the specifics of what he was going to be doing. There was never any discussion of a contract, how much this was going to cost, and I didn't sign any kind of paperwork. Over the next few months, I didn't hear much from the guy other than a few texts assuring me that that the process had been started. In the beginning of July, I got a text and a call from him saying that I should have received some information in the mail. In the mail I noticed that he had applied for cards in my name with extended lines of credit totaling to more than what I make annually. I have another call with the CPA asking about the cards, but his only response is that business has been done and now I need to pay him. I have put a fraud alert on my credit report and gone to the police, because he has tried to apply for more credit cards in my name. He is now threatening to sue me if he is not paid. What can or should I do to resolve my problem?

Thanks,
Chris

You should continue to check your credit reports and report any erroneous information that appears. You should follow up with the police to see how their investigation is going.

And you should file a report on the fellow with your State's Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division.

How or by whom were you "put in contact" with the man? Depending on facts, you might think about reporting this contact to authorities, as well.

 

[Zigner]

Other than applying for cards in your name, has he done anything nefarious?

Increasing your available credit without adding additional debt, generally speaking, will improve your credit score because it's lowering your debt ratio. Of course, this has to be factored in with the lowering of the average age of your accounts. Frankly, though, it sounds to me like he's doing what he said he'd do...

 

[quincy]

Other than applying for cards in your name, has he done anything nefarious?

Increasing your available credit without adding additional debt, generally speaking, will improve your credit score because it's lowering your debt ratio. Of course, this has to be factored in with the lowering of the average age of your accounts. Frankly, though, it sounds to me like he's doing what he said he'd do...

Opening too many accounts in a short period of time not only leads to many hard inquiries on your credit reports and the lowering of the average age of the accounts, too many cards opened in a short time can also indicate the account holder is a credit risk. One or two new cards would not be a problem but the best way to raise a credit score is to have a good payment history on one or two cards rather than many cards that are never used.

What concerns me here is that there is no written contract, no outline as to what would be done, no permission granted by chrisdykestv to open accounts in his name, and additional cards still being opened. All that apparently is in writing is a bill for the "CPA"s services.

I would be interested in learning who put chris in contact with this CPA.

 

[adjusterjack]

I have another call with the CPA asking about the cards, but his only response is that business has been done and now I need to pay him.

How much?

I have put a fraud alert on my credit report and gone to the police, because he has tried to apply for more credit cards in my name. He is now threatening to sue me if he is not paid. What can or should I do to resolve my problem?

Well, he appears to have done what he said he would do.

Ask him to send you an invoice. Tell him to include his full name, address, and CPA license number.

Contact your state agency that regulates and licenses CPAs and check him out.

Meantime, call all the credit card companies and see if you can find out what criteria they used to qualify you for the cards. If there was any fraudulent information provided, cancel the card. Figure out if any have annual fees and cancel those, too.

Don't feel that you have to use the cards just because you have them.