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Cleaning Up Credit After Identity Stolen By Parent

Reader’s Question

Hello,
My mother used my name without my permission when i turned age 18. I found out about it when i turned 20. By then i owed about 12,000.00 dollars on 8 credit cards. I was able to remove 7 of them on my own. I was so happy. The last one is giving me problems. Its Capital One. 5,000.00 is owed. Half is all fees. I contacted the FTC, made a police report, and contacted the fraud department of Capital One, also sent many letters to the credit agencies. I call every week and have sent many letters. Nothing is helping. I am now age 24 and still cannot buy a car. How can I get it removed so i can buy a car or house someday?

Response

Hi [name removed] -
Unfortunately, your situation is not uncommon and it can be a hell of a task cleaning up the mess your mother created. However, you have made some good progress and taken all of the right steps to get this Capital One card taken care of. Capital One aren’t easy to deal with and I’ve also had problems. My recommendation is to contact the CEO directly. His office is pretty good about getting back to people if the problem is legit and it sounds like yours is. I suggest writing them a very kind and specific letter outlining your situation –similar to the letter you wrote me. Here is his mailing address:

Richard Fairbank, CEO
Capital One
1500 Capital One Drive
Richmond, VA 23285-5520

Let me know how this works out.
Best,
Ryan

[ratings]

Posted in Reader Questions | 2 Comments »

Do I have to pay credit cards that are not in my name?

Reader’s Question

Hello Ryan,
I recently had about 4 accounts removed from my report because they were opened by someone else when I was underage. I have been paying these credit card bills because the person who opened them stopped paying and they were affecting my credit. My boyfriend recently told me I shouldn’t have to pay since I didn’t open them and told me to dispute the accounts which I did. So they were effectively removed from my credit account but I am still receiving bills from these credit card companies. If I stop paying will they be able to put it back on my credit report?
Thanks in advance!
[name removed]

Response

Yes, more than likely they will –you need to start by calling the credit card companies right away and tell them that these are not your accounts and to stop sending you bills. If they are not in your name, they are not your legal responsibility. If you made some sort of arrangement with the person who opened the accounts and this wasn’t identity theft, I would suggest honoring that arrangement for moral reasons.
Best,
Ryan

Posted in Reader Questions | No Comments »