Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois
Not My Debt
Someone in another state has used my social security number on some transaction involving a cell phone company. A collection agency found me through my social security number by ordering a credit report. And now they are trying to collect the debt from me. The collection agency started calling me in early January and have been doing so every week since then. Now I am getting threatening letters from them that they are going to sue me. I do not know the entity owed monies to and I have I never lived in any other state other than my own all my life. I want to stop this harassment or I want to sue them for harassment. Can I?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Not My Debt
There is a federal statute that protects people from the actions of collection agencies. It is called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"). The FDCPA provides a mechanism for contesting wrongly assessed debts, but there is a timetable for doing so. If 30 days has not yet passed from the time that you received the collection agency's first letter, you could submit -- in writing -- a statement that you dispute the debt, after which the collection agency must submit to you some proof that you owe the money.
The FDCPA must be strictly adhered to by the collection agency, and the letters they send must not be misleading. Many such agencies run afoul of the statute, so it is possible that you may have claims against the agency that is harassing you. Moreover, if the agency's standard form letter is deficient, you may be able to bring a class action against the collection agency.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman Law Offices, LLC; [email protected]; www.lawyers.com/alo
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