Legal question here...debt collection but not mine

[Demonaut]

Any legal scholars out there?...

I recently got a letter from Citi that they were retracting an offer on my heloc due to derogatory information on my credit report, then I got two letters from the bureaus stating that I have received negative information on my history.
Turns out that a collection agency in Denver had reported bad debt on me...said that I owed money on rental apartment.
the agent I talked to said we had talked before and that the ssn I gave him matched his info, I told we had never talked before and I didnt know what he was talking about, I said that I had been paying my mortgage for 15 yrs and hadnt lived in an apartment for those 15 yrs

turns out that a guy with my first and last name was listed as an emergency contact on the lease, had the wrong birthday and wrong phone number and did not have a ssn listed at all.

this is a clear violation of the FCRA and I'd like to go after this company for screwing up my credit
How do I start?

[noamnety]

1. I had a fraud case once

different details, but same basic idea of my credit being screwed up from an identity theft thing (charges on a credit card).

I couldn't get it resolved until I reported the credit card company (discover card) to the better business bureau through their online complaint form. It was quick, it was free, it was low effort on my end, and it got results - unlike multiple frustrating phonecalls to customer support at discover.

You can file a complaint against the collection agency online, spell out all the details of what happened, and there will be a spot where you write what you believe an appropriate and fair resolution would be.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. The first thing you should do is

consult an attorney................

[noamnety]

4. I don't know about that

it depends on disposable income I guess. The BBB process doesn't cost any money, and if it works, why pay for an attorney?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. Because the OP

stated "Legal question" - at least that's what appeared on my screen................

[taterguy]

3. First you need to find 9 RC Cola bottle caps

Then you need to realize that the Internet is a terrible place to seek legal advice.

Consult a lawyer.

Or ask a librarian what resources are available in your jurisdiction.

[blueknight]

6. just do this

go to a website called bud hibbs, this is a very smart consumer advocate, he has tons of info on there and will answer emails

[Demonaut]

7. got the caps but one is a pepsi cap....am I screwed?

thanks but hoped we had a lawyer here

[MajorChode]

8. I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

The first thing a lawyer is probably going to tell you is that you need to make a request to the credit reporting agency(s) in question to investigate. There are certain time limits that they have to investigate.

In other words, you have to make a reasonable effort to straighten this out through the credit reporting agency (not the collection agency or the apartment outfit).

You don't need a lawyer for that.

[SoxFan]

9. Call your local legal services office

Even if you don't meet the income guidelines for representation, they can usually hook you up with some basic information on how to handle this sort of thing. You're going to run into state and federal provisions that may or may not match, so you really should talk with someone first.