Erika asked:


So here’s what happened:
I check my credit report, and my husbands monthly through a credit monitoring program called, “my credit keeper” I last checked my report as well as my husbands Jan 01, 2010 and my scores were good and my husbands were in the range needed for us to buy a house about a 640.
We just started doing the paper work for a home loan and of course they ran both of our credit reports and all of a sudden a “new collection account” showed up on my husbands report!
Apparently an old collection account from about 4 years ago was bought buy a new collection agency and they re-opened it as of Jan 18, 2010 showing the original reporting date as the same, Jan 18, 2010.
This action plummeted his score all the way below a 600! I am under the impression that this is illegal because they would be extending the statute where derogatory accounts can only be on your credit for 7 years. so technically this should be off in 3 but by their (collection agency) standards it will be there until 2017…
The agency is really hard to deal with (super nasty) and I am just thinking of getting a lawyer to handle it. Just was wondering what others thought and if this is truly illegal.
Thanks for the advice, fortunately we have pretty much no debt its just that this one account is so old that surprisingly it will not affect my husbands score is a positive way to even pay it so we rather just keep saving our money for a house. I just wanted to make sure this practice so that I wasn’t wasting my time with a lawyer today. Its a shame that companies can’t just act within the law and that I am driven need legal services for something like this! I just want to buy a house darn it!
Oh and please excuse my spelling and grammar errors in my “details added!” sorry.

Bessie

cruz asked:


My friend found out someone was stealing his identity (like a few weeks ago) before it got out of hand… i just found out and i never really asked, but how do you know (or figure out) that someone’s doing that, i always thought people never find out until years after when creditors are calling and harassing… im just curious because he said it happened because he used an online payment (like amazon or something) and i want to know how to avoid it

>>people tell me to get a credit-monitoring account (like solusid)… what’s the best one to use (or do you use)… thanks

Alex

missy4230 asked:


Recieved a letter 2 yrs ago by a bank that I had not used in yrs, that a debt collecter had inquired about assets & address. Didn’t recognize name of creditor at all. Called office # provided & it was a “law office” stating that debt was originally from Providian. Up until that time I had only identified myself by name, no further info. He then started yelling at me & demanding me to confirm to him my last 4 # of ss, in which I refused to confirm anything. He then stated I had a Judgement against me & proceeded to abruptly hang up! Never heard from them again until recently when my credit monitoring co. contacted me for a monthly update. I noticed this particular “law firm” had made an inquiry in which I immediately sent certified letter requesting removal of an unauthorized inquiry. 2 months later, I recieve a letter stating they can place inquiry, there is a judgement and I should contact them to set up payment. To date, I have never had a Judgement on my CR. Can this happen?

Erik

Bean asked:


I have heard some pretty crazy things about lifelock and will not use them but I like the idea of being notified if someone tries to open up a credit card under my name. How can I do this myself? I checked out the Transunion website and you can get credit monitoring done where they will alert you if their are any major credit changes on any of your 3 reports for $15 a month. Has anyone done this? Do they contact you if someone is trying to get a credit card with your name? Please share your experiences and make some recommendations. I filled out a rental application yesterday and had to put my social security number on it, I get freaked out about that stuff. Thanks!

Jesus

Poison Girl asked:


I realize that this site is the only Government-recognized entity for free credit reports but I am slightly worried as to what can happen after I submitted so much information to them. I am sure I am not the only one this has happened to…let me detail the situation. I read an article on Yahoo! about things you could get for free and one of the things listed was the aforementioned credit report from this website.

I proceeded to the site by entering it into my browser and reading the information that came up next. I saw nothing about a credit monitoring service so I believe I am safe there but what got to me was when it was time to “verify my identity”. They asked me for the numbers of my credit cards (a couple of which I am sure do not exist) and also my loan account numbers. I typed them in only to be dumbfounded when the answer was repeatedly “we cannot verify your information”. They even locked me out and said I would have to get it by mail but that’s beside the point.

What I am concerned about is the fact that I provided a lot of personal information (I do not need a lecture about how wrong this is) and I want to be sure that they won’t use it in the future for their own gains. I declined any of their efforts to e-mail me when it’s time for my next report as I will not be using their service again. I just don’t see how that information that I provided (the loan numbers and account numbers for the credit cards) can be used if they didn’t even accept them as a way to verify my identity. I hope this has not become too muddled with words.

I have read numerous accounts of people being scammed through these very services (Experian and TransUnion) so my concern is growing with each testimony I read. Any information that is provided will be appreciated, save those efforts to make me feel like I did something of inferior intelligence to even visit the website, honestly.

Randall

jake asked:


So my undergraduate school recently announced that they let a computer with my name, address and SSN get stolen (along with 38,000 other people’s SSN). I have already signed up for credit monitoring and put a fraud alert out, but my question is:

What will the thief do with my SSN? What do you think is the most likely thing? Should I be worried about the thief gaining access to existing accounts and credit cards?
I should add, my university has already disclosed the theft of the computer with the SSNs. I haven’t noticed any attempt yet to misuse my SSN yet.

Thomas

ME asked:


I will pay someone really good money….secured via paypal….to put me in contact with an insider at Experian. I have had the craziest dilemma. My credit file has been mixed with someone else’s. I need to get it straightened out. My credit file has been locked because of it, I think so I can’ even get a copy of my credit file. I have called (certifiably impossible to reach someone, there is no way around the automated system without a copy of your credit report), written on numerous occasion (to the Allen, TX center….which I only live about 30 mins from…and the Irvine, CA corporate headquarters , and managed to find an experian fax machine and I faxed my request over to them. I have included my social security card, driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, lease, electric bill, telephone bill, and cable bill, and 2 denial letters! I can’t get a copy from freecreditreport.com, annualcreditreport.com, or any credit monitoring service even after faxing this documentation to them. All because of Experian. I am desperate need to buy a car and I know I have great credit. I am dumbfounded! Please someone help me!!! ALL I WANT IS A COPY OF MY CREDIT REPORT! Has anyone else had this much trouble?!

Bonnie

Jack asked:


I took advantage of BOA offer on my online BOA page for balance transfer at special low rate [.99%] and they use my response to their offer to slash my credit line by 75%. Months later they send me the same offer in a letter with my name on it and my then available credit line written on the letter and when I respond to their solicitation {they made the offer at least 3 times and had sent me a letter after slashing my credit that I was welcome to use the remaining credit!!!} they then tell me they are canceling my credit card completely and I know they new my credit score {which was still good} before making the offer as I have credit monitoring and now for the second time BOA continues to damage my credit just because I attempt to take their offers!!! WHY!!!! AND CAN I SUE THEM?

Adam

Reggie asked:


I have a credit monitoring service on my credit and found out I had a credit inquiry to open a utility account under my name. The company told me that whoever did this needed my SSN in order to open the account. I would like to believe that she would not do anything this low but can a spouse open an account in your name? (we are currently in the process of a divorce).
I am going to place a fraud alert and credit freeze on my credit immediately but the account was created in a city about a 45min. drive from me and I’d of course would love to find out who it is.

Tamara

Computer Tech Mike asked:


I have bad credit and I am trying to improve it so I signed up for credit monitoring at freecreditreport.com and on my credit report it has the account numbers to all my accounts except the last four digits, but in order to pay things off I need the whole number. Where can I get this? I dont have any of them
Ok I dont have the old bills which is my problem and as far as freecreditreport.com no kidding they are going to charge me a fee that is for there service da. I want to monitor my credit not see my report once a year. Just because they advertise doesnt make them sleezy get your head out of your ass

Raul