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I'm 23 years old, and now want to fix my credit. The accounts are now with a collector. Some of the credit card accounts may have been set up before I turned 18 (how can I find out), what would be the best route to go to get these taken care of? Or have I already waited too long?
Who would you guys recommend to seek for help in situations like this?
I am not sure but I would think that you could do something about this, you need to get your hands on the original contract, so you need to find out who the account was with and contact them along with your states attorney generals office, but be prepared to file charges on who ever did this to you, I am sure that this will be hard especially if it is a family member.
I have seen parents put utilities in childrens names and not pay the bill then later in life the kid pays the price. I think they should be checking age when people apply for credit and make sure they produce information to prove it to them.
Kurt,
Pull your credit report and go through it properly. Find out if any there is any other inaccurate information in your report. If there is any such information, then dispute it with the credit bureau. This will help a little to clear your report. Apart from this, check the accounts you have doubt with and find the name of the collection agency. Send debt validation letters to the agencies. They should provide copies of your original contracts with the original creditors. Then you can check with them.
For the rest of it, I think you need to put a fraud alarm on your report. Hence contact the credit bureaus regarding this. File a complaint with the FTC and State Attorney General. Also do not forget to file a complaint with the local law enforcement body.
credit
Kurt......how did you find out that the person who did this was a family member? I DO want to add I'm sorry this has to happen to you. I'm very close to my family......I don't know what I would do, if i was in your 'shoes'. Of course, I'm sure you would have a chance to take them to court, if that was your decision.
Yes, I know several families who have run up utilitiy bills in all of their kid's names, ran the bills up until they were shut off, and then put the bill in the next child's name or another unwitting relative's name. The children cannot get utilities in their name now. They should have some way of checking to see how old a person is before they turn on utilities on. I'm not sure if they still use social security numbers, if anyone knows let us know.
credit
I would think these comapnies (utilities, CC's, etc) WOULD check #SS numbers. Or some OTHER type of proof who they are. That's just horrible to do. 'What comes around, goes around'...eventually these 'family members' ( I wouldn't call them 'family' after all that..) will get caught.