Jennifer
Huntsville,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 30, 2003
You should get in touch with the Ministry of Consumer and Business Affairs to file a complaint against this company. They will send you a claim notice and will begin an investigation into your situation. They may suggest that you speak to the ombudsman for this agency before filing a claim with the Ministry, but this is an important step to ensure the ministry doesn't get stonewalled by the company when they start their investigation. Some points to remember when filing your claim: By law, it is illegal for a collection agent to contact you more than once a day : It is illegal for a collection agent to contact you AFTER a settlement has been agreed to, unless the contact is made only to remind you of the agreement (usually the day before the settlement becomes due) : Collections agents are not allowed to threaten you, share any information with ANYONE other than yourself (in some cases they cannot even tell which company they represent) : An agent that is abusive and overly forceful can be reprimanded and even fired. Although I know some of these points would be of more interest to persons who actually OWE money (of course you're saying that the issue is that you don't owe any money) remember that everytime you talk to an agent and they don't get a promise of payment or some sort of settlement worked out, they will most likely put a note of "refused to pay" (or the like) on your case file. This is a general statement but of course it looks very, very bad. If I were you I would contact the police about Identity Theft and see where you can go from there. Call the company and tell them the name of the officer you have spoken to and that you will be willing to deal with them as long as they co-operate with the police investigation. Good-luck to you!