Identity theft and debt collections

[Brainonska511]

Update in post 23 - problem resolved


Original post:
Anyone have any experience with identity theft resulting in debt collections?

In short:
Last summer, someone used a copy of an old license I had from another state (which was technically invalid anyway) to rent a car; the rental company identified it as fraud after the fact: 1) they contacted me about this frauduluent transaction; and 2) when they actually ran the license number through their more sophisticated database, they actually confirmed that it was not a valid license. According to the state police, the perpetrator was caught (even had security camera video showing that it was someone who definitely didn't look like me), and I thought that was the end of it. Starting in February, the rental company started trying to get money from me. I provided them with all the documentation I had and told them to talk to their own damn people, but it seems that they've decided to go the hard way and send it to collections, despite knowing it was fraudulent.

From my googling, the first step is to send the collections company a debt validation letter, and obviously call back the faceless car rental company to demand that they fix the problem. What other steps can I take to protect myself?

 

[Sgt. York]

Tell them to prove you owe the money. They have to provide documentation.

 

[highland145]

..

 

[Brainonska511]

Tell them to prove you owe the money. They have to provide documentation.

Yeah, working towards that part. Debt validation letter goes out tomorrow morning

Dispute the trade line on the 3 bureaus. Provide all of your documentation. Might need to file a police report for more documentation.

And tell them to eff off.

I haven't seen anything on my credit report yet. And I definitely have a police report.

I need this like a hole in the head. This company is so fucked up - they know it was fraud, yet they still decided to send it out for collections.

 

[pcgeek11]

I would also file a complain with the BBB. I had a similar issue with a business and it was dropped with a letter clearing up the issue and an apology from the CEO.

 

[Brainonska511]

I would also file a complain with the BBB. I had a similar issue with a business and it was dropped with a letter clearing up the issue and an apology from the CEO.

Thanks. Will definitely consider this too if I get nowhere with the company directly. The only annoying part is there seems to be a zillion Big Name Car Rental in the BBB database to really confuse things.

 

[highland145]

..

 

[Iron Woode]

last resort for added fun:

file a case against the car rental company in small claims court for the amount they are trying to collect plus $500 for punitive damages. When you win they will be out even more money.

 

[highland145]

..

 

[darkswordsman17]

Damn, that sucks and is fucked up.

I'm guessing that it was kinda automated, or something like the fraud department didn't handle it before the finance or whatever department that would be in charge of payments got it and then showed it as delinquent which then punted it to collections.

last resort for added fun:

file a case against the car rental company in small claims court for the amount they are trying to collect plus $500 for punitive damages. When you win they will be out even more money.

Wouldn't he need to file that in the area the rental company is in? He's in a different state now so that'd be extra hassle, probably not worth it.

Maybe he could get a lawyer (or there's like a legal template he could use) to draft a letter threatening to if they don't get this sorted out. I'm guessing though if its already at collections that they're the only ones he can do much about. Some of them are scummy as hell and don't care if the debt is valid or not, they're just hoping to fleece people by scaring them with legal threats.

 

[Brainonska511]

Damn, that sucks and is fucked up.

I'm guessing that it was kinda automated, or something like the fraud department didn't handle it before the finance or whatever department that would be in charge of payments got it and then showed it as delinquent which then punted it to collections.

Yeah, it is pretty fucked up. Even when I've spoken to them on the phone, they have the account marked as fraudulent, but some bean counter still pushed it to collections. Maybe they don't have internal controls just because they figure that some may end up paying for their own losses.

I think what also bothers me is that when they ran the license number, it actually came up as invalid, since I had turned it into the RMV a year earlier when I had moved states. It tells me that they don't really do any real license checking when renting out a car. They just do the nonsense of "I see your license name matches your credit card"...

Wouldn't he need to file that in the area the rental company is in? He's in a different state now so that'd be extra hassle, probably not worth it.

Maybe he could get a lawyer (or there's like a legal template he could use) to draft a letter threatening to if they don't get this sorted out. I'm guessing though if its already at collections that they're the only ones he can do much about. Some of them are scummy as hell and don't care if the debt is valid or not, they're just hoping to fleece people by scaring them with legal threats.

Haven't looked into this part too much, but since the company does business across the country, if I had to, I could file within my own state. I'm hoping I don't have to go that far. Still trying to get Big Name Car Rental to fix the problem on their end - since at least half the company knows that it is identity theft related - just have to get them to get the other half of the company to listen. It's like they've had a corpus collasotomy. And I sent off my debt validation letter today to buy some time on that end and make them provide proof.

 

[Gardener]

Debt Collection FAQs

Is a debt collector calling? What can you do? What are your rights? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when they collect debts. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about your rights.

www.consumer.ftc.gov

Request verification of the debt, try 1 phonecall, send back-off letter, monitor your credit report. As far as I remember, once the debt is sold to collections its out of the hands of the original creditor.

FYI the BBB is for dunces. Look at all the mattress vendors, some of the shadiest operations out there, who rate A+.

 

[Brainonska511]

Debt Collection FAQs

Is a debt collector calling? What can you do? What are your rights? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when they collect debts. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about your rights.

www.consumer.ftc.gov

Request verification of the debt, try 1 phonecall, send back-off letter, monitor your credit report. As far as I remember, once the debt is sold to collections its out of the hands of the original creditor.

FYI the BBB is for dunces. Look at all the mattress vendors, some of the shadiest operations out there, who rate A+.

Already sent off the verification letter. I've gotten someone at the original rental company to look into it further (a regional risk manager, so not some basic CSR), so really pursing it from both sides.

 

[Sgt. York]

Look on the bright side. If they screw up your credit you can sue both the debt collector and the rental agency.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sounds like a pain in the ass. Something similar happened to my dad many years ago. He was getting all sorts of threats etc for not paying for a TV he bought, which he never bought. They had the wrong person, but once they latch on to you they never let go and will never take no for an answer. I don't even remember how he was able to get rid of them.

 

[Gardener]

If you want to end this harassment, every communication should be in writing, keep copies, use some sort of delivery confirmation. Send them a letter that includes:

I did not rent a car from this dealer at any time, this is not my debt, my expired drivers license was stolen and used fraudulently to rent this car. I have a police report which confirms this. Stop harassing me. All future communications to me must be in writing.

Once you send a letter, things get taken seriously, this will get bumped up to their legal department.

 

[Lanyap]

How did they pay for the rental car?
If all they had was an old drivers license how did they track you down?

 

[Brainonska511]

How did they pay for the rental car?
If all they had was an old drivers license how did they track you down?

From what I recall, the perpetrator presented a credit card with my name on it, but from a review of my credit reports since the incident, it was not actually in my name. As for how they tracked me down: with the interconnection of everything, probably through a database linking phone numbers with names and licenses.

A contractor working on the fraud side of the business originally contacted me by phone. Then I was put in touch with a regional risk manager - everything was confirmed from there. A week later, a MA state police detective also contacted me, since apparently those things are in some massive database (yay!). Thought everything was settled on that side, but apparently not... some bean counter just decided to push the uncollected file towards collections with whatever names were attached to it, probably hoping to recoup the company's losses on the back of someone else.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wonder if this is due to the Equifax hack. Tons of our personal info including SSN is out there on a database right now. Equifax execs should be doing life in prison right now. What they allowed to happen is going to ruin a lot of lives.

 

[Brainonska511]

Wonder if this is due to the Equifax hack. Tons of our personal info including SSN is out there on a database right now. Equifax execs should be doing life in prison right now. What they allowed to happen is going to ruin a lot of lives.

I'm guessing that's where my license info got out, but honestly, that could have happened from a number of places. Plenty of places request copies for different things. All I know is that it happened from some breach pre 9/2018, when I turned the license in question into my current state's DMV.

 

[Brainonska511]

An update:

With some wrangling, I got put in touch with the regional risk manager at Big Name rental company. She handled the case with the corporate office and got them to close out the account so that they will no longer persue me. Plus got something in writing from their collections office attesting to the account being closed and me owing nothing, and an apology (for whatever that is worth).

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

An update:

With some wrangling, I got put in touch with the regional risk manager at Big Name rental company. She handled the case with the corporate office and got them to close out the account so that they will no longer persue me. Plus got something in writing from their collections office attesting to the account being closed and me owing nothing, and an apology (for whatever that is worth).

lol - well, if they sold off the debt it isn't always easy because it might be in the debt collector's database, and then they subsequently sell theirs to another debt collector, etc...

Hopefully it's the end though....

 

[Brainonska511]

lol - well, if they sold off the debt it isn't always easy because it might be in the debt collector's database, and then they subsequently sell theirs to another debt collector, etc...

Hopefully it's the end though....

They hadn't sold it yet, so that was definitely in my favor

 

[IEC]

@Brainonska511
I dealt with a similar situation in the not-too-distant past. A fraudulent account for $$$$ was opened with a creditor using my information. I wasn't aware until it popped up out of nowhere as a collections account on my credit report. I filed disputes with all three credit bureaus to no effect. I then filed fraud alerts, froze my credit x3 and filed an identity theft report with the FTC. Additionally, I sent a letter disputing the account to the debt collection agency and demanded documentation of the debt, to which I never got a response.

Eventually, I managed to get the fraud department of the original creditor on the phone and explained the circumstances, got them to investigate, and within a month it dropped off of my credit report. I spent probably 20+ hours researching, writing letters/emails/filing reports, holding on the phone, etc. Document everything, save receipts and log your time...

Because it turns out my data was part of the Equifax breach, making me eligible under the terms of the class action settlement for at least partial reimbursement. So I filed for reimbursement of some of the time spent dealing with this headache. That being what time I could justify based on timestamps of documents, emails, and receipts I have.

Best of luck getting this cleared up. Thieves suck.