Lisa
Myrtle Beach,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, December 14, 2004
In order to get rid of this and other companies who engage in similar practices forever, you need to: 1. Document all times and dates they have called you. Keep this record! 2. Report them to all 3 major credit bureaus. Tell the credit bureaus know under no circumstances is the company to be given any of your private information because unfortunately they probably have it by the time they call/write to you. Tell them you believe they are trying to steal your identity. At least this offers some recourse if they try to 'black mark' your credit. 3. File a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov. You can do this online or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT. This is your best recourse because this company also called my home and threatened my husband indicating that if he did not pay a debt - they claimed he owed over $500 from a Visa card 20 years ago; whether he owed it or not, which is doubtful, the statute of limitations for collection is up in almost every state at this point - they would put a 'black mark' on his credit file. And yes, they had our unlisted phone number, our address, and my husband's social security number. 4. The FTC will give you a case number. You must then send this company a certified letter and basically tell them to never contact you again by phone or mail, or you will sue them. Indicate that they are harrassing you, that it is past the statute of limitations, reference the complaint number, and tell them they are in violation of THE FREE TRADE ACT. Per the FTC they are legally able to contact you one more time within 30 days of receipt of your letter. If they persist after that, get a lawyer and sue them. YOU WILL WIN. My husband and I did this and we haven't heard from them by phone or mail in over 6 months. If we do, we will most certainly sue them. Companies like this that try to "strong arm" and threaten people with good credit over 20 year old debts that they claim are owed - it's doubtful half their claims are even valid since they could not offer us any proof when we asked for it - should not only be put out of business, but sued and heavily fined.