How can I escalate a credit dispute when the bureau “confirms” the item?
"I was I a similar position as you, and sometimes credit bureaus might be difficult to deal with, especially when high amounts of money are involved. To make the long story short, someone opened a store credit card under my name and made a charge of around 3k. After reporting this to the bureaus, they did not want to remove the account from my credit report citing that the claim was ""frivolous"". After filing a police report, the police officer gave me the phone number for the fraud department of this store credit card, and after they investigated, they removed the account from my credit. I would suggest to do the following: Communicating with Creditors and Debt Collectors You have the right to:  Stop creditors and debt collectors from   reporting fraudulent accounts. After you give them a copy of a valid   identity theft report, they may not report fraudulent accounts to the   credit reporting companies. Get copies of documents related to the   theft of your identity, like transaction records or applications for   new accounts. Write to the company that has the documents, and include   a copy of your identity theft report. You also can tell the company to   give the documents to a specific law enforcement agency. Stop a debt   collector from contacting you. In most cases, debt collectors must   stop contacting you after you send them a letter telling them to stop.   Get written information from a debt collector about a debt, including   the name of the creditor and the amount you supposedly owe. If a debt   collector contacts you about a debt, request this information in   writing. I know that you said that the main problem was that your credit account was combined with another. But there might be a chance that identity theft was involved. If this is the case, and you can prove it, then you might have access to more tools to help you. For example, you can file a report with the FTC, and along with a police report, this can be a powerful tool in stopping these charges. Feel free to go to the identitytheft.gov website for more information."
"It is called ""Credit card installments"" or ""Equal pay installments"", and I am not aware of them being widely used in the USA. While in other countries they are supported by banks directly (right?), in US you may find this option only in some big stores like home improvement stores, car dealerships, cell phone operators (so that you can buy a new phone) etc. Some stores allow 0% financing for, say, 12 months which is not exactly the same as installments but close, if you have discipline to pay $250 each month and not wait for 12 months to end. Splitting the big payment in parts means that the seller gets money in parts as well, and it adds risks of customer default, introduces debt collection possibility etc. That's why it's usually up to the merchants to support it - bank does not care in this case, from the bank point of view the store just charges the same card another $250 every month. In other countries banks support this option directly, I think, taking over or dividing the risk with the merchants. This has not happened in US. There is a company SplitIt which automates installments if stores want to support it but again, it means stores need to agree to it. Here is a simple article describing how credit cards work: https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/how-credit-cards-work.html In general, if you move to US, you are unlikely to be able to get a regular credit card because you will not have any ""credit history"" which is a system designed to track each customer ability to get & pay off debt. The easiest way to build the history - request ""secured credit card"", which means you have to give the bank money up front and then they will give you a credit card with a credit limit equal to that amount. It's like a ""practice credit card"". You use it for 6-12 months and the bank will report your usage to credit bureaus, establishing your ""credit score"". After that you should be able to get your money back and convert your secured card into a regular credit card. Credit history can be also built by paying rent and utilities but that requires companies who collect money to report the payments to credit bureaus and very few do that. As anything else in US, there are some businesses which help to solve this problem for extra money." First things first, its always good to set the records straight. When you are trying to clear your debt do them one by one and ask the collection agent that you would pay in full only if the records would be deleted from your credit history and most of the collection agencies are happy to take it off your credit report as they are getting the money. This would work generally only when you pay the full amount. I can guarantee you this because I have tried it myself after hearing about it from my friends.  If you have already paid whole amount already then records of your payments generally will not be available after 2 years with any banks even the big ones like Bank of America or Wells Fargo. That means if they don't have the records no body else would because its a burden as your payment is written off. You can file a dispute to credit bureaus for your payment history and if they couldn't provide you the history they have to take your record off your history even they know that you have delinquent history because they don't have enough proof to confirm that. And when you file a dispute its always good to file it by paper as they have to write back and you can ask hard copies of the proofs which are very difficult to get. One more thing if you want to dispute it might take couple of months atleast and you need to have patience because you already might have known how important credit history is. The first thing you need to know is that getting a new social security number will not erase your credit history. In fact, using a name change or a social security number change to get out of debt is considered fraud in most jurisdictions and you can be arrested for it. As soon as you are issued a new social security number, your old number and new number are linked in the government and credit bureau files. Everything that was on your old credit report will appear on your new credit report. The second big thing to know is if you suspect that your social security number has been used fraudulently in regards to credit, stop reading this right now, immediately call one of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax), and place what's called an initial fraud alert. You only need to call one of the three. The one you call will notify the other two. This places a flag on your credit file at all three bureaus which says that your identity may have been stolen and any financial institution which is processing an application for credit should immediately contact you at the phone number you provide. The alert is good for 90 days and you can renew it as many times as you wish. I suggest using TransUnion as your one call because I've called them when my identity was stolen, and they're automated system is very well designed. Now that that is out of the way... you said that they have your email address, but it is very unusual for people to be contacted by email for a debt. In fact, I would automatically disregard any emails about debts. Every legitimate financial institution I've ever come across will either call you or send mail to your last known address. Regarding what's being reported on your credit report, you need to type a letter to each credit bureau which is reporting the information telling them who you are and that you are disputing this information on your report. Mail it to the bureaus by certified mail with return receipt. Under United States law they are required to verify the information on your report, if you dispute it, and remove the information if they are unable to verify it. In many cases, it's too much of a hassle and the bureaus just remove the information. The other thing I'll leave you with is that you said you've only had credit in the past six months. Six months is not enough time to build an adequate credit profile. You really need to be strategic about your credit score. Every time you apply for credit, it drags the score just a little bit lower. Your question wasn't really about building credit, so I'll spare you the novel on that, but I would encourage you to seek out one of the many resources which are readily available online. I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice. You should consult with an attorney who is licensed to practice law in your particular jurisdiction. You can dial the phone systems of the credit reporting agencies directly to put a freeze on your credit report account. The phone systems require quick responses or the systems will fail you out, but **this work is relatively quick** and probably easier than trying to do this on the websites that try to re-direct you to buying credit monitoring services. Here are the phone entries you will make as a guide for the phone menu of each of the credit reporting agencies:  **Transunion** 888-909-8872:      enter zip code     press 3 to add freeze     enter social security number     enter date-of-birth as 8 digits MMDDYYYY     enter house number from street address then # key     choose a 6 digit security code     credit card number for $10 charge     4 digit expiration date of credit card MMYY  **Equifax** 800-685-1111:      press 3 to select freezes     press 1 to continue     say your state then 1 to confirm     enter social security number then 1 to confirm     enter house number from street address then # key, then 1 to confirm     press 1 to select a freeze     there will be a long pause at this point but when the bot comes back it goes very fast.          Write down the 10-digit pin provided XXXXXXXXXX then later,          Write down the 10-digit confirmation number provided XXXXXXXXX.          Press * to repeat both until you have it correct  **Experian** 888 397 3742      press 2 for freeze     press 2 for freeze     press 1 for add freeze     press 2 for no fraud report     enter social security number then # key then 1 to confirm     enter date-of-birth as 8 digits MMDDYYYY then 1 to confirm     enter zip code then # key     enter house number from street address then # key     press 2 for not blind     press 1 to pay by credit card     wait through list of charges by state     select credit card type 1 for mastercard, 2 for visa, 3 for american express, 4 for discover     enter credit card #, then 1 to confirm     4 digit expiration date of credit card then # key MMYY#  Cross-posted this from the megathread in r/personalfinance. Run your credit reports for the 3 major agencies to find out which of them have the debt was reported on and initiate the dispute process with each agency that reports the invalid debt. This will cause the person who put it on the report to either prove that it is valid or remove it from your report. Ignoring debt collector calls is not a good option, regardless of whether the debt is valid. They obviously think the debt is yours so their response is naturally to put it on your credit report. In most cases it is a good idea to respond in writing that it is not your debt. I doubt you have much recourse against the creditor. For one thing they DID try to contact you and you dodged them. That is not their fault. Secondly, it is unlikely you would prevail unless you could prove that they maliciously put false information on your credit or through gross incompetence did so. More likely is that they are mismatching you to a debt from someone with a similar name, or there is an accounting error somewhere. Or possibly you owe the debt and no one ever sent you a bill. It happens with medical bills all the time. I froze my credit online yesterday.  Last page of process confirmed I had frozen credit and told me to print last page because it has information I will need to unfreeze it.  Page was blank. So I waited. Then I got timed out.  Then I got a page telling me I had not frozen my credit.  I had called a few times yesterday but always got a busy signal.  So, at 5:06 est I called them again. Before patching me through to a live person that asked if I'd be willing to take a short survey after speaking with rep, which I agreed to do.  When my call was transferred I got a message saying they worked nine to five and to call back later.  Then the survey started.  Needless to say, the scores were the lowest possible.  And apparently unfreezing my credit will be problematic.  Yippee! "Sue the debt collectors in small claims court.   There are several example stories around the internet, but this is a well written one from the consumerist. If your phone is a cell phone: ""it  is against the law for a company to  leave a pre-recorded message on your  cell phone."" In fact, the call frequency increased   once they realized they had reached a   live person. I called each of these   companies multiple times, and though I   was given assurances each time that my   number would be taken off of their   lists, the calls continued, morning,   noon and night. At my wits end, I   decided the only way to have the   harassing calls stop was to file suits   against the collection companies. It's   very important to understand that it   is against the law for a company to   leave a pre-recorded message on your   cell phone. Armed with this knowledge,   I filed suit against several of the   collection companies. I filed in small   claims court so I did not need to hire   an attorney, and the process was as   simple as completing a paragraph on a   complaint form. For evidence, I had   over a hundred Google Voicemail   transcripts showing the times the   companies called and the text of the   pre-recorded messages. Mysteriously, the calls all stopped   immediately on the same date the   collection companies received the   certified letters stating they were   being sued. Then a new flurry of calls   began pouring in. This time it was   their attorneys. The attorneys representing these out   of state collection companies were all   desperate to settle out of court. hey   did not want to incur the expense of   traveling for court or hiring a local   law firm who wasn't on retainer. They   also understood they had no   justifiable defense for the calls. To   make a long story short, so far I have   successfully sued 3 of these   collection companies and settled for   more than $5,000 out of court. All it   cost me was $35 and 20 minutes per   suit. Making these companies pay is the only   incentive for them to stop their   illegal and harassing practices. If   more consumers knew their rights and   actually took a few minutes to stand   up for them, it would become less   profitable for these companies to   conduct business the way they do now. -Source And whether you have a cell phone or land line,  It is illegal for the debt collectors to tell you they are calling to collect a debt for someone else under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (wikipedia, ftc docs). What Remedies Are Available If The   Debt Collector Violates The Law Under   the Fair Debt Collection Practices   Act, you have the right to sue a debt   collector in state or federal court   within one year from the date of the   violation. If you win, you may recover   damages in the amount of any losses   you suffered as a result of the   violation, plus an additional amount   of up to $1,000.00. You may also be   able to recover court costs and   attorney fees. If the same debt collector has engaged   in unlawful conduct with a number of   consumers, it may be possible to find   a lawyer who will file a class action   lawsuit. -Source With regard to whether you can sue under FDCPA if you are not the debtor, one FDCPA lawyer (take with grain of salt) says yes: Did you know that it doesn't matter if   you owe the account the debt collector   is calling you about or not? If a debt   collector violates the FDCPA (the   federal Fair Debt Collection Practices   Act, 15 USC 1692 et. seq.) that debt   collector could be liable to pay you   statutory damages, actual damages,   attorney's fees, and court costs. -Source" I wouldn't lose any sleep on it until it actually happens.  I believe generally the agreement of the merchant with the credit card company says they must submit to the company's arbitration.  If they come back to you, I would definitely get in touch with Visa to complain. Here's some great advice on dealing with unscrupulous debt collection, the main points being It's actually you that should be threatening to sue them if the repairs were incompetent or dangerous!