Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri
False Identity in the family
My mother-in-law has been getting phone calls from three different collections agencies that claim that she is delinquent on credit cards that she never opened. The agencies have given her address as that of her son and daughter-in-law in Florida as where the bills are being sent. The daughter-in-law has admitted that they have taken the cards out in her mother-in-law's name but claims she had permission to do so. The ''permission'' she claims she has was when my mother-in-law gave them a credit card so they could purchase some supplies to update their home. The card company went out of business and sent the offer of a different card to the Florida address as they had been previously paying the bills. The collection agencies say that my mother-in-law is responsible for the bills unless she presses charges. One of the companies did send her an affidavit to sign that she was not the person on the account that she signed and returned. Despite my repeated requests, my mother-in-law will not press charges. What are her options? Can the credit card companies accept a written statement from my mother-in-law that she is not responsible for the bills or does she have to press charges? It's family and she really doesn't want to do that
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: False Identity in the family
Often times bill collectors simply say things that are not true. It is clearly not true that your mother has to press charges. She is not a prosecutor; she does not determine when a criminal case is brought.
Your mother in law should invoke the protection of the fair debt collection practices act and tell the collectors to stop calling. If they want their money they should sue the people who used your mother in law's name, not her. If they sue her, of course, they have to prove that she knew and consented to the use of the card. That they probably cannot do.
So if she writes to each of these collectors and says "stop calling, stop writing, and cease all collection efforts" and sends this by certified mail, return receipt requested, each of the collection agencies will be forced to terminate their collection action against her. Of course, they can still bring a lawsuit, but they have to prove it, and that won't be easy for them. If she does wind up getting sued, get an attorney immediately.
Your mother in law should also send a statement to each of the three credit bureaus indicating that the person with those cards is not her, that her name and identity were stolen and used for fraudulent purposes, and that she is not responsible for the credit card debt attached to her name. That should alleviate her issue with getting credit in the future.
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