Consumer complaint received 2016-09-16
Product: Debt collection — Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed — Debt is not mine
Company: Trident Asset Management, L.L.C. (CA)

I 'm writing about a collection agency that is holding debt attributed to me, but it is clearly the result of identity theft. This has severely hurt my credit score just as I 'm trying to get a mortgage loan. The collection agency, Trident Assets, is difficult to reach and is failing to give me information that I need to clear this up in an expeditious way. 

The XXXX accounts appeared on my credit report as : 1. XXXX XXXX XXXX Creditor 's Name : XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Number : XXXX Customer Number : XXXX Collection Agency Name : TRIDENT ASST Date Reported : XXXX XXXX, 2013 Current Balance : {$320.00} Highest Balance : {$320.00} 2. XXXX XXXX XXXX Creditor 's Name : XXXX XXXX XXXX Account Number : XXXX Customer Number : XXXX Collection Agency Name : TRIDENT ASST Date Reported : XXXX XXXX, 2013 Current Balance : {$180.00} Highest Balance : {$180.00} I had never heard of " XXXX XXXX XXXX '' nor " Trident Asst '' before seeing my credit report. I never received a call from the collection agency, so they either did not have my correct number or did not make the effort to reach me before reporting to the credit agencies. 

I looked up Trident Assets online and found this website : http : //www.tridentasset.com. I called the number on the website numerous times over the course of a week and got either no answer, or a message declaring a technical problem with their phone system. 

I filed a dispute with XXXX, which promptly removed these accounts from my credit report. When I filed a complaint with XXXX, however, only XXXX of the XXXX accounts was removed from my credit report. I have filed a dispute with XXXX also but have yet to hear from them. 

I called XXXX after receiving the mixed outcome of the dispute. They said that Trident Assets only agreed that XXXX of the XXXX accounts was fraudulent, but they did not provide an explanation for why XXXX was deemed fraudulent but not the other. 

I then called Trident Assets again ( now about 2 months later ) and finally reached them. They said that the XXXX accounts were checks made to a XXXX store. As far as I can recall, I have never shopped at a XXXX store nor made any purchase with a check at any store. 

This is the information Trident Assets gave me about the XXXX checks : 1. {$320.00} ; Check # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account ending in XXXX XXXX XXXX, 2013 2. {$180.00} ; Check # XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX account ending in XXXX XXXX XXXX, 2013 I called the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX fraud department and they confirmed that they have never had an account in my name with that account number. 

I called back Trident Assets to explain this, but they were not willing to act on this information nor investigate the issue further with XXXX XXXX XXXX. They are not accessible by fax or email and since my initial phone conversations, I have not been able to reach them again. The last time I talked to them, I thought I was making headway, but they hung up while I was on hold. Since then, they have not answered their phone so I suspect they may now be screening out my phone calls. They said they have sent the cancelled checks to me by XXXX mail, but I have not received them. I 'd like to get these cancelled checks soon so that I can at least file an identity theft police report with them, which may persuade the credit agencies. 

It would be very easy for Trident Assets to determine that these checks are fraudulent by verifying with XXXX XXXX XXXX that those accounts do not belong to me, but they seem to be reluctant to do this. 

The help of the CFPB would be very welcome. I need to clear up my credit report quickly, so I can get a decent home loan! 

Thanks and best wishes, XXXX XXXX