Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC CLAIMED I OWED $1,373.99 to AT&T WIRELESS/CINGULAR AND COMPLETELY RUINED MY CREDIT. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM CINGULAR AND HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER FOR YEARS!!! RIPOFF Hawthorne New York
I just recently got out of the military and am trying to settle down and buy my first home. Little did i know my credit was ruined due to CAVALRY PORTFOLIO SERVICES for some debt that isn't even mine. They claim i owe $1,373.99 to AT&T/CINGULAR and have put it on my credit as seriously past due. No matter how many times i dispute it, they do nothing. When i call them, they say the only thing they can do is send me a fraud form to fill out...but this so called form is requesting that i send copies of police reports and proof of residence at the time the account was established??? Are you kidding me??? I don't even know when or how the account was established because I DIDNT DO IT...i have tried to explain to them that this is obviously Identity theft (which i have notified the credit agencies of) but still...they do nothing. The weird thing about this is i am a current customer of Cingular and have been for years...and they know nothing of this debt!!! If anyone out there has any advice, please let me know because i am desperate to get this cleared up!
Sarah
Apollo Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
StarChild
Binghamton,New York,
USA
Hope my rebuttal can resolve your situation as it did for my husband!!!
#4Consumer Suggestion
Wed, September 27, 2017
if you haven't tried already, I would contact AT&T and Cingular (if they have two separate customer service departments) and inquire about your so called outstanding debt. If you ever owed them money in the past before they became one company & especially if they sold your debt. They will have a record of it, upon request they will even provide you with the collection agencies name. if they tell you that they have never had any record of an outstanding unpaid balance (ask if they could provide you with a email confirming this). Then figure out which credit report company has this fraudulent hit against your credit score.
Finally, contact said company (my husband had the best luck over the phone) and explain how you have spoken with the company you allegedly owed money to and that they have confirmed that you do not now nor ever owed them an outstanding sum. (NOT use the phone number offered to you by the debt collection agency... I've heard it only connects you to a cavalry prerecorded message instructing you how to pay them) When this happened to my husband we called the credit report company affiliated and they removed the fraudulent hit to his score within one week and within a few weeks they were able to restore his credit score. PS I hope you didn't fill out that form they sent you, the only form you need to fill out will be provided to you directly from the credit score company. DO NOT EVER answer any personal information such as your address phone numbers & especially NOT your SSN!!! Hope this helps you resolve this issue!
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
U.S.A.
Stop talking and start writing!
#4Consumer Suggestion
Sun, September 02, 2007
Things to do:
FIRST - Read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm.
SECOND - send a certified letter, return receipt requested, to the DEBT COLLECTOR to dispute the debt and request written validation of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such validation or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor. Also, include a statement stating that you do not wish to be contacted again until you receive all the written debt validation information you have requested. In your case you want to clearly state that this is NOT YOUR DEBT and you should specifically ask for the following documentation:
What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account;
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state;
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.
THIRD - Once you received the written validation information requested, contact the CREDITOR (who owns the debt) via certified mail to resolve the matter. In your case you would ask that the report to the credit bureaus that this item be removed because it is not your debt.
It is important that communication between you and this debt collector be in WRITING! So, I wouldn't not talk to them, EXCEPT to obtain an address for sending a certified, return receipt requested letter to dispute and demand validation of this alleged debt.
Good Luck
Amethyst
Anytown,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
at&t can tell you the date and time the account in question was established.
#4UPDATE Employee
Sun, September 02, 2007
at&t can tell you the date and time the account in question was established. They can also tell you how it was done, Internet or in person, through a 3rd party site or directly on the company website.
If you are a current customer, when you opened the account, did they ask for a deposit? If yes that could be because you had a charged off account with at&t. You said cingular does not know about this debt, this means you don't have a second account with cingular and the debt ( charge off ) was from at&t before the merger in Nov 2004. Before this time they were 2 separate companies.
We are able to look up old accounts from at&t before the merger. It is a different billing system but possible. First ask the credit collection agency for the account number, usually with that we already can see which part it belongs too. Old at&t, before Nov 2004, cingular, or new at&t ( after Feb 2007 ), Cavalary can give you the date from when the debt was first reported to them, ask them if they bought it out from another credit collection agency to get the correct original date of debt. There are primary and secondary collection agencys working on it. If you have the original debt date, you can base it on the time line I mentioned where to look.
Good luck.