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How to stop a garnishment that was result of identity theft

Date: Thu, 01/11/2007 - 13:31
Submitted by aswift on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 13:31
Posts: 4
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I really ned help here I am the victim of identity theft, I joined the Fnited States Marine Corps in 1997 when I waa 17 years old. When I left home I didnt have any accounts or even a license in my name. I returned home 4 years later I got my own place and tried to get elctricity in my name and was told I had an outstanding balance that must be paid. This was the first of many fradulent accounts, someone got phone services, cable services, a checking account and even got tickets in my name while I was away. They got ahold to my info b/c my mom moved while I was gone and left out birth certificates and SS cards in the house by mistake in a little box she kept hidden away. Well my license that I never obtained was suspended and I owed almost everyone. Well I went straight to work I placed a fraud alert on my credit report, filed police reports, went to court to get my license back once I proved to the judge I wasnt even in the state those cases where therew out. But for some reason two companies refused to budge.Both companies had sold my debt to a company called CFC Financial I contacted this collection agency and provided them with proof that I wasnt even in the state and I even gave them copies of all police reports. That was in 2002 in 2004 I recieved a letter from a company called Asset Acceptance . They stated they where collecting on the debt from the phone company. I explained everything to them and went over the whole story. I asked for their fraud separtment but they told me I would have to just see them in court for the debt. This debt is a phone bill that soemeone obtained in 1998 the bill is a total of $2,154 now how can a phone bill be that much I dont know. I asked for proof of the original debt but I was never sent anything. In October of 2005 the company garnished my wages, they obtained roughly $900 before the garnishment ran out. I sent a letter to the court objecting to the garnishment and was told I could not object on those grounds they said it was not their job to determine the validity of the debt just to enforce it. They advised me to get a lawyer. NOw I am a single mother of two and I cant afford a lawyer just to get rid of a debt. I contacted Our local Legal Aid and was given the run around no one would call me back so eventually I said foret it. The garnishment had stopped so I decided to try again with the company. I contacted thema nd they told me to set payment arragements other than that they knew I owed the money. Now a year later they are garnishing my wages for the rest of the money. Come to find out CFC Financial and Asset Acceptance is the same comapny I found that out placing a complaint on ripoffreport.com Now I have debts of my own that I am struggling to pay. I am not a saint and my credit is not A-1 but I dont want to pay a $200 phone bill that I dont owe. And isnt there some type of time limit this debt iss 8 years old. Isnt there some type of statue of limitations on it ??? Why wasnt I notified to come to court during the judgement so I could have proved the validity of this debt? Is there anything that can be done now without an expensive lawyer. This garnishment is 25% of my wages. With 2 kids that I am taking care of alone , and my own debts I am drwoning. Someone help !!!!


Hi Swift, This site will help as much as possible. There is a lot of good information in here.
Now as for the garnishment, yeah that's going to be tough to beat. If you had gone to court with all of the information to prove that your identity was stolen when the collection agency was attempting to get the judgment, you probably would have prevailed. But as far as the courts are concerned, you didnt show up and the judgment is good and the debt valid in their eyes. The collection agency probably doesn't care that your identity was stolen and that the debt owed to them is not theirs. As far as they are concerned, they're getting paid which is all they want. You really only have two choices that I can see and I hope someone out there see's more. Deal with the collection agency and try to get them to see that the original debt is not yours and you are the victim of identity theft. OR, you will have to get a lawywer. NACA web site is a good referral for people who can't afford a lawyer and need one. Also, some or all states will also have some kind of legal help for low income people. As for any new debts or collections, read through a lot of these posts to get ideas on how to handle them. Plus, someone from this site should call you as well or you can call them for help.
Good luck and we are all here in the same boat and will help in anyway we can.


Submitted by outlaw8117 on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 13:55

outlaw8117

( Posts: 164 | Credits: )


I am not sure how the judgement was gotten. I assume there was some kind of court date I was never notified of. I wasnt served a writ of garnishment from the company either, the onlyw ay I even knew I was being garnished was because my employer sent me a copy of the garnishment letting me know when it was to begin. I have cobntacted the legal aid here for low income as I stated but they gave me the run around. No one responded to my messages and most of the time the hold times to get through was 30 minutes or longer. I would love to prove that this debt isnt mine but I dont know how..


Submitted by aswift on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 14:10

aswift

( Posts: 4 | Credits: )


swift,
here are some resources in Michigan. These are lawyers who work with lower income people. Many lawyers offer free initial consultations or may work on a pro bono basis, meaning they get paid if they win money. These lawyers specialize in dealing with collections and the fdcpa. Or you can get some referrals.
The attorney general's office should be of some help too. I listed the consumer affairs number on dealing with collections.

Legal Aid Defender Assoc.
313-964-4700
Detroit

Kurt O'Keefe
(313) 962-4630
Detroit

Christopher Winkler
Consumer Legal Services
(734) 261-4700
Garden City

Referrals State Bar of Michigan 306 Townsend St
Lawyer Referral Service Lansing MI 48933
800-968-0738 (toll-free MI Only)


Creditor Collection Practices Office of the Attorney General PO Box 30213
Consumer Protection Division Lansing MI 48909
877-765-8388 (toll free in MI)

Third Party collection agencies Dept of Labor & Economic Growth PO Box 30018
Bureau of Commercial Services Lansing MI 48909
Commercial Enforcement Division 517-241-9202

Start reading the Michigan collection protection act 445.251 and the consumer protection act 445.901. They will give you insight into what collection agencies can and can not do.
Good luck and let us know if there is anything else we can do to help


Submitted by outlaw8117 on Thu, 01/11/2007 - 15:04

outlaw8117

( Posts: 164 | Credits: )


I just wanted everyone to know I filed an objection to the garnishment.Went to court and also filed a complaint with the Attorney General once I got a court date I provided my proof that I wasnt there. My judgement was dismissed without prejudice and my garnishment was immediatley released..

Thanks for all the help I have gotten on this site it helped me get through a really tough time. Now I feel as if I can deal with anything else that comes up as a result of this Identity theft.


Submitted by on Tue, 03/06/2007 - 13:33

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First off it felt so good to have CFC Financial (Asset Acceptance) contact me and tell em to come pick up a check.they eneded up paying my court cost and lost wages plus giving me back every cent they ever took. It almost felt like a victory until!!!!

After recieving my credit report the judgement was on their as well as 10 other negative accounts that I have no knowledge of. i sent them all the collection agencys as well as the credit bureau my idenity theft reports, dd214 from the military, and my police report, as well as the charged off garnishment. I have had a response from 5 of the 10 creditors. All utility companies, phone, cell phone , cable etc. These people werent into credit card ot bank accounts just into getting utilities and never paying the bill until it got shut off. But 2 of the companies . Sent me letters verifying the debt. They didnt send me any copys of any agreements with my signature , they wouldnt give me the address where the services where obtained, they just sent letters saying this debt is valid this is the amt. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. This has taken my credit score from 620 to 412 in 2 years. I cant even get a decent apartment right now without showing a slew of paperwork. the worst part is. Whomever this is seems to have shared the information. I was cited with a ticket in Colorado. I've never been to Colorado. The ticket was for speeding and not showing a valid license... Of cousrse not it wasnt me. They also obtained some type of payday loan because One Click Cash called my employer threatening me with a prosecution. So now my employer has had to see me deal with a garnishment and now this. I work in the insurance industry for Medicare. I cant afford for these type of things to be on my record when dealing with the government and peoples personal information. There is a total of $4366 in debt on my report not including the dismissed garnishment. Should I just pay everyone so I dont have to got through this again? Not tthat I actually have it I am a single parent of 2 , but I dont want to lose my job !
So I go to get my license renewed in Michigan and I have to pay Colorado $240 to clear a ticket. My information is still out there and the more things I fight even with the fraud alert on my report things are still added. Utility companies and phone companies and cable companies dont run your credit right off so how will they know about the fraud alert. I'm almost ready to give up?? You guys helped me once before any new suggestions??


Submitted by on Tue, 04/03/2007 - 08:50

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...Just a quick note that, typically, cases that are dismissed without prejudice can be reinstated at a later date.


Submitted by on Tue, 05/15/2007 - 20:18

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