So today I get an email alert from Equifax (free from Paypal) saying that my credit limit has been reached with my Bank of America credit card. Problem is, I've never had a Bank of America account in my entire life before! So at this point I'm really mad! I call Bank of America and they tell me someone must have inputted the incorrect social security number (mine). They have all of the account information under someone else's name/address but with my social. So now I have someone's home address, credit card #, and full name.
They told me it was corrected and I have nothing to worry about. They told me it would come off my credit report after some time and nothing else needs to be done (which I think is BS). What I don't understand is why it says the account was opened in 01/01/05, and yet I have never seen this on any of my reports since last year. I wonder if this has reached the other credit bureaus. Can I make them pay for my other credit reports?
I honestly have no clue what to do at this point. Any suggestions? My credit score must be somewhere around 800 and I'm about shop around for a mortgage for a new home sometime soon and I don't want anything negative in my account.
EDIT: I changed the title of the thread, since I figured out how to get a free report to file disputes online for all 3 credit bureaus. So maybe this can help someone in the future, since they weren't that easy to find. I directly linked them below:
The following central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. www.annualcreditreport.com
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Once you have your 3 reports and confirmation #'s, this LINK has links to all 3 online disputes.
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Message edited by: Vmaxer on 2008-03-20 16:25:30 CDT
Well so far I checked Equifax & Experian and apparently you need a current credit report to dispute anything. I don't have any of these on me and on top of that, the last time I checked them none of them had this BOA account on it.
And I'm not even sure if this would even be considered "identity theft". Apparently, or at least this is what they tell me... some idiot at BOA inputted my SS# into someone's else's info.
Stop being cheap and fork over $11 to pull your credit report that could potentially save you thousands because of bad credit over identity theft, error(s), or whatever comes out of this ... sheesh, penny wise and pound foolish
I had the similar issue with Experian. They had some stranger's collection record on my credit report, but Equifax & Trans didn't (from citi identity monitoring 3 free reports). Thought about my options (sue, and etc), and reached to a conclusion that I didn't have many. Paid $15 to get Experian credit report online and disputed it online. They removed it next day. Still a bit pissed off about paying my own $15 to fix their mistake & whatever possilbe damages it might have done on my credit. But sometimes the best thing to do is just accept it and walk away.
SS7Man said:Stop being cheap and fork over $11 to pull your credit report that could potentially save you thousands because of bad credit over identity theft, error(s), or whatever comes out of this ... sheesh, penny wise and pound foolish
I'm all for freebies but this isn't the time ..
I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to order more than just one report, from more than one of the credit agencies to see if this problem is eventually fixed.
I guess my main problem now is with BOA, and how they pretty much said "my bad, it was an error on our part - now go fix the problem yourself!". You know how many hours I spent yesterday trying to sort this problem out? This was all new to me so I had no clue what to do. And it's not just about the money, it's about how much of an inconvenience this is to me, the time I'm going to spend trying to fix this problem, and how BOA can care less about the problem they caused me.
Well, they are correct. You can also dispute this with credit agencies and ask them to remove the info, but my experience is that it will disappear by itself. Wait 1 month if time is not critical resource for you, sheck report again. It should disappear. It not - start disputing.
use your current confirmation # of your free Equifax report to dispute it online. enter your name, ssn, address, #, etc. Equifax will give you a list of your current accounts. just pick the fraud account to dispute it. or make a call to Equifax, you can use your free Equifax confirmation number to touch a rep. it's easy.
you can only dispute from a bureau, because the dispute result will spread to another 2.
Why not detail your conversations with the BoA CSR's and write a letter (CMRRR) to the BoA chairman stating that you expect BoA to correct the errors that they created ASAP. Include the fact that you expect them to immediately correct these errors with all three CRA's. Also, should you suffer any ill consequences because of their errors that you will then hold them accountable and responsible.
Of course, if you want something done right, you're better off doing it yourself rather than relying on others. However, by putting BoA on notice you strengthen your position (in our litiginous society) should you choose to seek damages.
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So now I have someone's home address, credit card #, and full name.
