That is really sucky :(

How do I request a "fraud alert" be placed on my file?

You have the right to ask that nationwide consumer credit reporting companies place "fraud alerts" in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you. It also may delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two, which then also must place fraud alerts in your file.


· Equifax: 1-877-576-5734; www.equifax.com

· Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/fraud

· TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

Same with my husband. We got a letter from a collection place saying he owed MCI about $300 from a long time ago.

1. We never had MCI that we can recall.
2. It's been so long - why are they just contacting us about it now. It's not like we're in hiding or haven't applied for credit for things before.


So - I called the place up (mistake!) and asked them about it. Every sentance ended in "how would you like to pay for that?". Round and around - asked them for proof - they told they wouldn't be providing it but they'd just send it along to another credit agency they were related to and they would just continue to do that, wrecking our credit in the process. I was so pissed off I hung up on them.

Did some research online and we are clearly not the only ones. What I learned is to never call them. Don't accept calls from them.

Do everything in writing. Ask for proof that you owe this debt. Which we did and rec'd a letter, if you could call it that. It was more of a piece of paper that said: You owe us $x amount of money because you owed MCI. Nothing else. No account number. No dates of service. Nothing.

About a week later we rec'd another letter saying they were investigating. (Why they sent that after the first - I have no idea.) Haven't heard a thing since and that was several months ago. Just the same, we signed up through our credit card for a credit monitoring service.

Other things I read to ask for is proof you agreed to pay the debt, proof of debits and credits made to the account, proof the collection agency is a licensed to collect debts in the state they are in, and proof that they are licensed to collect debts in the state I am in.

Another strange thing recently happened - my husband got notice through work that he had a point on his driver's license. Called the DMV and they told him the date - which was the same day he was in an accident on the 91 fast track when someone pulled in front of the car in front of him and they all collided. WE're thinking - did the cop put the wrong violation number on it? He never signed anything - never got a notice to appear in court. Nothing. The DMV woudn't tell us anything but the court it was out of - in Northern California! Which can't be right. Turns out - someone with the same middle and last names and a similar first name got mistaken at some point for my husband. They were able to correct it at the court level pretty easily but the DMV isn't nearly as quick or responsive.

Oh, that really stinks. But, the good part is, they got the guy, and here's hoping he did not have enough time to do any real severe damage to your credit history.

I'm sorry, I'm sure all the red tape and hoop jumping will be a PITA, but in the long run, it will be worth it.

:(

At the library we send people to the collection agency for large, way late fines. Most people are freaked out at the concept that we can mess with their credit. What's more shocking is the amount of people that say "whatever, send me to collections, I'll deal with it eventually." It's not often, but it does happen, and I'm always put off by these people. I make sure to say "just so you know, this will affect your credit rating" but that doesn't phase them. They must have awful credit to begin with.

BTW - Checking your credit too often can actually worsen your credit rating, so don't overdo it.

When I checked my credit a couple of weeks ago, I recall something to the effect that when you have been hit with a ID theft (as Zap was) that you are eligible to get free reports once per quarter.

I used that site recently to get my reports. Probably took me about 15 minutes to get all three - mainly because of the security steps.

This happened to Ryan. He has this alleged debt on his credit, and that's all they sent him - a one-line Excel spreadsheet with his name, a date, and an amount. That's it. Nothing about what it was for or anything.

We contested it with the credit reporting agency, but apparently that "proof" is enough for them, and they refused to remove the debt. I'm sure there's a way to thwart the reporting agency, but I'm not sure what it is.

I'd suggest copying the spreadsheet and adding the words "paid" in the next cell and submit that as evidence of payment.