Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Collections Fraud
I rec'd a phone call from a collection agency stating I owe $6,775.00 on a Worldcom Wireless cell phone. They gave me a phone number that I never heard of, I've never had an account with worldcom, I've never received a bill from worldcom. The caller told me if I did not pay in 3 days the information would be reported to all credit agencies, and he would settle for $5200 if paid in 3 days. I refused to pay anything, he put his ''boss'' on the line. I asked him to fax me anything with my name on it ref. this phone number, any bill, etc. He said he would..all he faxed was a statement from his co. with a worldcom acct #, stating they would settle for $3400 if paid by 4/30/04. He told me bills had been sent to my home for 14 mos, I've never rec'd any bills. He said payments had been made, I asked for copies of checks, etc. He had nothing. He had my name,address,ssn,phone #. I told him this must be identity theft, he basically called me a liar. 4 phone calls so far, now threatening to sue me.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Collections Fraud
I'd invite him to sue you, in which case your are far more likely to prevail than to lose, and warn him that if he reports this matter negatively to any credit agency you will sue his company for defamation of credit, assuming you have, otherwise, good credit. If you would be reluctant to do as I suggest, make sure, when the account is reported to a credit agency, you notify them of your position, in writing, at least that will go out to anyone checking your credit, along with the negative information. The first advice, seems to me, to be better.
Re: Collections Fraud
You may be able to bring a lawsuit against this company under the Federal and/or State Fair Debt Collection Act. We also can help you with this debt. Please contact our office on Monday for consultation and review of your documentation.
Re: Collections Fraud
I disagree with both of my esteemed fellow LawGuru attorneys. You need to pull copies of your credit reports at three credit bureaus right away, you may be a victim of identity theft. If indeed you are a victim of identity theft, immediately go to your local police station and make out a police report. Send copies of the police report to the collection agency and to the 3 major credit agencies (Experian, Trans Union, Equifax). This triggers certain important rights you have under California law -- California has several new laws on identity theft that may help you. Please do email me with any other questions. In any event you must write (do not call) the collection agency within 30 days and inform them that the debt is disputed.
You may wish to do a Google search on one or more of the following topics: Identity theft California; Fair Credit Reporting Act (or FCRA); Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (or FDCPA). Look up the California Civil Code on credit reporting, identity theft, and debt collection practices at www.leginfo.ca.gov . If there are entries on your credit report(s) that are incorrect, you need to initiate formal FCRA disputes. You can do this by writing letters to the credit bureaus, I have found it convenient to join pay services like Creditexpert.com (run by Experian credit reporting agency) that offers online dispute initiation. The collection agency or other reporter has 30 days from the date of dispute to verify the credit report entry or it goes away. If you send a police report or other evidence you do not owe the debt to the collection agency, then you may have the right to sue under the FDCPA. You will be able to find an attorney to take the case, because FDCPA provides for attorney fees to be awarded against the violator(s).
Re: Collections Fraud
Worldcomm was known as MCI, did you have an account with them. I would obtain their address and write to them asking them to provide all proof of the debt. If it is not you, file a police report. You may want to sue them yourself so that your credit is not affected.
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