husband in collections for a debt not his own

[pokey17]

What is the name of your state? Oregon

My husband received a notice in May from Palisades Collections that he was past due on a telephone account from March of 2004. The original company was supposedly AT&T but we had T-mobile at this time so there would be no need to get AT&T. We have tried to tell the collection agency numerous times that it is not his but they say that it has been confirmed as his bill. Then they sent this notice in May that said if he wrote them asking for it, they would send all the original information on the bill. The letter was mailed May 30, 2006 asking for the information and no response has been made. The collection agency has no telephone number and is not responding to mail sent to them. Obviously they are not sending the information asked for because they don't have it since it isn't my husband's debt. What can we do to get this off his credit report? We have looked at our reports and this is having a negetive effect on his.

 

[Debt Guy]

There is no painless answer to your problem.

The first step should be to call AT&T and talk to someone there. Find out as much as you can. You just want to be really sure this is a mistake.

You can ask Palisades to validate the debt (which you have done) but they are not really required to respond or send you anything.

Your next best bet is to write a letter to each of the credit reporting agencies (send the letter certified mail return receipt requested), attach a copy of the credit report with the offending item highlighted, say this is not your debt and ask them to remove it. You should receive a response in 30 to 45 days.

They may or may not remove the item depending on what response they get from AT&T/Palisades. The CRA is not a cop and they only report what they are told. The law provides this dispute mechanism to force the creditor to "verify" the accuracy of the information. But, that "verification" is in the form of an answer "yep, they owe" -- not proof in the form of documentation. Once the creditor says it is accurate, the duty of the CRA is done.

If it goes away, great. If not, send another dispute letter to both AT&T and Palisades, say this is not your debt and you dispute the debt. Again, send the letter certified mail, return receipt requested. You are building a paper trail that will be important if you must proceed to the next step.

If that does not work, your only remaining alternative is to file a lawsuit against Palisades and AT&T for violation of Fair Credit Reporting laws. This is a real pain and you will most likely need an attorney (unless you are willing to teach yourself). You might be able to find a local attorney who will do this for you without an advance fee since FACTA provides that the creditor must pay your attorney fees if you win.

But, before you go though all this, take a deep breath, look your husband square in the eye and make absolutely sure this is not his debt. If it turns out to be his and they can prove it, you will have gone through a lot of heartburn and money for nothing.

 

[pokey17]

We are quite sure it does not belong to him and will try your suggestions. Thank you very much for your help.