Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
My brother used my personal information to open a credit card account, i never gave him permission. I knew nothing about this until i got a letter from a debt collection company. I told the debt collection company i knew nothing about this and that it was fraud. I followed the standard procedure, filed a police report, placed a fraud alert and such....... The debt collection company found me as not responsible behind the account. The account was cleared from my credit profile and they offered that my brother fill out a resonsible party affidavit. This affidavit claimed tha the was the repsonsible party behind the account and that it was his financial responsiblity. However the original creditor will not allow me to claim fraud now because of this affidavit that was filled out. At this point I want the original credit card account cleared from my credit profile. Is this possible at this point? What can I do to get this account cleared from my credit profile?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It sounds as though the debt collector has still maintained the account in your name but it has been agreed that another party, your brother, will be responsible for payment.
The problem is that if it was your brother, he should be prosecuted for identity fraud. Can you determine if the card has now been placed in your brother's name?
You can try sending a letter via certified mail to the creditor and explain what happened (send any documentation like the police report, responsible party affidavit, letters form the debt collector absolving you of any responsibility) and ask the credit card company to remove this from your credit file and report it on your brother's report. Also ask them to advise the credit bureaus to remove this account from your credit file.
If they refuse, you can write to the credit bureaus and ask that a 100 word statement be added to your credit file indicating that the account was procured through fraud and that you are not responsible for the debt.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
