Consumer complaint received 2020-07-01
Company: ERC
State: MA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not yours

Complaint:
Good Afternoon, For the last 6-12 months I been fighting with different creditors and especially an unknown XXXX and collection companies for an account that was open due to Identity Theft. Again, I am a victim of identity theft. I learned that my personal information was used to open an account at your company XXXX. I did not open or authorize this account, and I, therefore, request that it be closed immediately and DELETED from my credit report. This letter is regarding the account shown above, which you claimed to the credit bureaus ( XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX  ) that I owed you money and it was charged-off in collection status. This is a formal notice that your claim is disputed. 

Please be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 { b } that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. 

This is NOT a request for " verification '' or proof of my mailing address, but a request torVALIDATIONmade pursuant to the above-named Title and Section. I aggressively request that your companyprovide me with physical evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you. 

Please provide me with the following : What the money you say I owe is for Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable Identify the original creditor Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account Show me the you are licensed to collect in my state Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent or Agent of Service At this time, I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau 's, XXXX, XXXX  or XXXX, this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any derogatory mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent, I will not hesitate to bring legal action against you for the following : Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Defamation of Character If your offices are able to provide proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist. 

Also, during this validation time, if any action is taken which could be considered harmful to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes listing any information with a credit reporting agency that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate, when in fact there is no provided proof that it is accurate. 

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your company to my home or my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with meMUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS. 

In the event you continue your collection efforts against me without providing proof of contract, I may do one or more of the following : 1. File a complaint with the Attorney General 2. File a complaint with the XXXX XXXX XXXX 3. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission 5. File a Police Report against your company for harassment, invasion or privacy and attempting to extort money. 
6. File a Law Suit against you for harassment, fraud, extortion, and invasion or privacy. 

You have30 daysupon receipt of this letter to provide strict proof of contract. In the event you can not provide strict proof of contract, you must cease and desist any and all collection efforts and immediately remove any derogatory information reported to the consumer reporting agencies.In addition, you will need to provide me your agreement, in writing, that you are closing your file, ceasing collecting activity, and deleting all information related to this reference number from any and all credit reports youve furnished the information to.In the event you transfer this account to an attorney without providing proof of contract, and proving your claim, he/she will be immediately reported to the XXXX XXXX XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX for code of ethics violations. 

It would be advisable that you assure your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action against your company and your client. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation