Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Your post is confusing. How did your name get on the apartment lease? And what proof do you have that the gym company was to pay for your living expenses?

What I would do is write a certified letter to the debt collector and dispute the debt. When they call, get the name of the debt collection company and their correspondence address. Verify it by going to go the company's website. Many debt collectors have similar names so make sure that you get the right one.

Has the debt collector sent you anything in writing regarding this debt? They are required by law to send you a written letter within 5 business days after making phone contact with you. If you have not received the letter yet then call back. Ask the debt collector if the call is recorded (it is but you want them to confirm). Tell them that you have been advised of your rights under the FDCPA by legal counsel. Ask them if they sent you a letter about the debt. If they say yes, ask them where it was sent. If sent to the apartment address and you are not there any more, give them your home address and see if they will re-send. If they say no, give them your home address and ask them to send. If they get ugly or rude at any time, hang up.

When you get the letter from the debt collector, you need to dispute this debt within 30 days as per the FDCPA. How successful you wil lbe depends on what proof you have that the gym was to pay your living expenses. And I don't quite understand how your name appeared on the lease. Have you talked to the gym owner about this? If so, what has been said? How long has it been since the debt was owed?

You can add a 100-word statement to your credit report about this if the debt is already on there. If its not on there, you need to do the dispute letter as I have suggested. It is a violation of the FDCPA if the debt collector refuses to validate and reports this debt.

The debt collector cannot contact you if they know that you are represented by counsel so you may wish to hire an attorney to draft the debt dispute letter for you or assist you in resolving the debt if you are going to be held liable. I would be happy to draft a debt dispute letter for you for a reasonable fee. I can also assist you in resolving the debt. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested.

If you lived in a place and didn't pay, it sounds like they should be contacting you especially if you signed a lease. They aren't a party to any deal you had with your employer. You might be able to sue the employer for whatever they collect from you.

Rachel gave some useful suggestions if you have an actual dispute over what you signed or didn't sign anything.