Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
In 2007 my purse was stolen containing my wallet with my military ID, CA ID, SS Card, banks cards, etc. They opened a T-Mobile account in my name and never made payments for it. I had no knowledge of this except that they had charged 2 full tanks of gas at a Circle K in Antelope, CA on my Washington Mutual bank card the same night everything had been stolen. I had those charges disputed from my account immediately, for it had put me almost $200 negative on my account balance, and then forgot about it since. I have just received a letter in the mail from the Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay, P.C. saying I now owe them $861.35 for this T-Mobile account that is now in my name with an address I've never lived at in Antelope, CA. I have contacted this law office and they told me I needed to write a letter to them explaining the whole situation. I'm afraid I might actually have to pay for this fraudulent account. How might I go about fighting this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Go to your local police department and file an identity theft report and ask for a copy of the report after it has been filed. Provide all the information you have about the crimes.
You need to also request a current copy of your credit report and see what other accounts may have been fraudulently opened up in your name. If there are additional accounts, make sure you update your police report.
When you have filed your identity theft report with the police department, send the debt collector a letter stating you're a victim of identity theft and include a copy of your police report. In your letter request they cease all contact with you about this claimed debt, except with the creditor or consumer reporting agency, as necessary, to clear your name. Also, request a copy of any applications, transactions, or other documents they have as proof of your debt.
If they continue contacting you and attempting to collect in regard to your debt, you may be able to sue them and receive up to $2000. You can contact consumer rights firms, like ours, that focuses in this area for help in this matter. We handle all types of consumer identity theft cases and provide sample letters you can use to send to creditors, consumer reporting agencies, and debt collectors.
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