Dispute charges/ Identity Theft

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 22, 2020
1 reply
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Hello there,

About 2 and a half years (possibly 3 years) ago, my identity was used by someone other than myself. I had to close a bank account, change all of my passwords, etc, etc. I did not file my taxes for 2018 and I did not even think about checking my credit to see if there were any disputes that needed to be made on fraudulent activity. I checked my credit report and sure enough there are a few if not all charges that need to be disputed. Please help me. I have no idea how this all works.

Sincerely,

~ Alyssa

Not A Product Question

Opus 17

Start by going to each of the three credit bureaus — Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. Register for an account on their websites. Each bureau has a free account I believe, although they will offer you additional services with a paid upgrade. You do not need to pay for an upgraded account to dispute these items, but it may be easier to work with them if you at least have a free account.

Then look for each credit bureau’s instructions on how to appeal or report an error. There may be an online form. You may need to submit proof of the identity theft, such as police reports and other documents. Personally, even if there is an online reporting process, I would probably choose to report my issues by mail so that I have copies of everything, and I would use a delivery service that had tracking and proof of delivery. By law, the credit bureaus must respond to your complaint, although I don’t know what time frame they have, and things might be delayed right now due to the coronavirus shutting down nonessential work.

Separately, you should contact each lender that has an item that does not belong to you. Again, you may have to supply proof of the identity theft issue. You will have to get them to take the debt out of your name and off your credit reports. If the lenders refuse to remove the negative items, you can then escalate your complaint to the state banking department of your state, as well as the state banking department of the state where the lender is headquartered.