Legal Question in Criminal Law in Oregon

Re: idenity theft problem

First let me express sympathy for what you are going through. Identify theft at its least is exasperating. There are bills before Congress to increase consumer rights in terms of credit reporting agencies, but it won't really change the aggravation of it all. Fortunately you have some paper trail, but from the very first phone call with the "we'll take care of it " you should have followed up with a letter confirming that conversation. At this point I would continue to build your evidence. With the Texas collection agency I would send a letter with a concise statement explaining the factual circumstances and attach prior correspondences. I would not just ignore it. This will not make it go away and it won't improve your position.In the unlikely event that a collection agency brings legal action against you to collect it is likely you will prevail. You may be able to recover attorney fees and cost by raising counterclaims for Unlawful Debt Collection and Unfair Trade Practices. However, I doubt this will ever see the inside of a courtroom. Rather it will be reported to a Credit Reporting Agency as a charge off or uncollected debt. In this event there is a procedure under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require the Credit Reporting Agency to investigate and correct disputed information. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is located at 15 U.S.C. section 1681. The Federal Trade Commission is the agency that regualtes Credit Reporting agencies. To report complaints about indentify theft and Credit Report Agencies call 1-866-653-4261. At this point you probably do not need a lawyer although it is going to require alot of persistence and letter writting on your part. If legal action is brougt against you or you bring legal action against a debt collection agency or a credit reorting agency you will need legal help.