Identity theft and charge offs

I attempted to contact a bank which had given a credit card to an impostor using my SS number and D.O.B. I have contacted the FCC and even a police report but the collection companies still hound me for this debt. Many have taken the notice and respectably removed me from their books. I only have one company which is still persistant.
I am told that it is I who have the burden of proof laid on me, is this true? Shouldnt the original company have to show where I had allegedly rtaken on this debt? thanks for ALL your help, JW

HI jwgrisham,

Well, you should contact the original creditor who had sold off the account to the collection agency and convince them to negotiate with the collection agency. It will be easier for you to stop those harassing phone calls if the original creditor negotiates with them. However, it is a fact that it will remain the discretion of the creditor whether or not he will negotiate with the collection agency.

Take care

Contacting the original creditor is a waste of time. The account has been sold and the OC has no interest in it. All disputes must now go thru the current account owner.

No, the burden is not upon you, and no, contacting the OC is not a waste of time.

Your situation is expressly covered by FCRA 609(e), and gives you a powerful form of legal "discovery" not otherwise available to a consumer.
I works like this.
If you assert a fraudulent transaction resulting from identity theft, you have the right to compel the creditor to provide you the necessary documentation to support their reporting of the information.
Send them the following information (see FCRA 609(e)(2)):
Proof of your identity in the form of any government-issued ID, and a copy of evidence of your claim of identity theft in the form of a copy of the police report evidencing your claim, along with an affidavit asserting your claim.
Once provided that information, the creditor is required to provide you, under FCRA 609(e)(1), "a copy of application and business transaction records in the control of the business entity" evidencing your authorization and use of the account.. They have 30-days to comply.
If they dont comply, they are in violation of section 609(e).
The provisions of section 609(e) are not contingent upon the creditor still owning the debt. The origin of the debt is still at issue, and they are the originator.

Once the account is shown to not be yours, the debt collector is obviously precluded from attempting any collection of the debt from you.
Once substantiation of the illetitimacy of the debt is established, a quick direct dispute sent to the debt collector should compel their CR deletion in its entirety, and a cessation of any collection activities.