Consumer complaint received 2017-05-04
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was result of identity theft
Company: Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (CA)

Back in  XXXX   XXXX  I was looking at my credit report because I have had my personal information stolen in the past when My  XXXX   XXXX  was stolen. Now, every time I want to make a large credit transaction I make sure that my credit is in order and that no one has used my information to open fraudulent accounts since my information is now out there. That day I was contemplating applying for a mortgage and sure enough I saw there were some accounts on my credit report that I did n't recognize. On  XXXX   XXXX  I filed a police report and filled out a fraud affidavit. I had a police report filed years ago with the   XXXX  . but I could n't locate it and did n't really want to spend time looking for it. I located a notary but unfortunately she was n't available until  XXXX   XXXX  so I waited for her. I had the form notarized on that same day.     On  XXXX   XXXX  or  XXXX   XXXX  I submitted that affidavit and report to the creditors who were reporting on my credit report. On  XXXX   XXXX  I decided to also submit that report to all credit bureaus so that everyone involved knew that this was a case of identity theft. I awaited results from the credit bureaus but what I get first is a collection notice from  Victoria 's secret  asking me to pay by  XXXX   XXXX . I figured I would give them the benefit of the doubt as they must surely be working on my case. Eventually notices from the bureaus start trickling in. Some even state that there were some   Victoria 's secret   accounts deleted from my credit report, ( I was n't aware there were multiple reporting on my credit report ), but the one I disputed remained as verified! At this point I was gravely concerned. First of all, I do not shop at  Victoria 's Secret . Second of all, I 'm a married man in my  XXXX  's and have seen it all. I do n't need to spend excessive money on my wife looking  XXXX  or have her buying overpriced lingerie. In other words, I WOULD NEVER OPEN AN ACCOUNT AT  VICTORIA 'S SECRET!  To say that this account is mine is a bold lie. Because this account was supposedly verified with the creditor I decided to give the creditor a call.     On  XXXX   XXXX  I spoke with a  XXXX  at the fraud department. What I heard from her really upset me. She stated that they had received my fraud documentation and had it for quite some time but had not assigned it to an  investigator  yet. I will repeat, on  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX  stated that her company had not yet assigned this fraud case to an investigator. I submitted my Fraud affidavit either the last day of  XXXX  or the  XXXX  day of  XXXX ! They were trying to tell me that 2 months later they still had n't even begun looking into the matter! I explained to her that I was really upset and that this was delaying me from buying a home and that I would give their company 30 days to resolve this case before I decided to escalate the matter for their negligence as this was literally costing me money in investing opportunities. She said they would begin the case immediately.     On  XXXX   XXXX   XXXX , I had yet to hear from Victoria 's secret or receive any other notice other than another collection notice ... I decided time was up and made a call. I spoke with a  XXXX  that day and expressed my frustration at their lack of any meaningful investigation or addressing my fraud case. I was told that the investigator had some questions for me and that 's why they had n't proceeded with the case. Besides the fact that I never received a notice or phone call from their so called  investigator  I played along and decided to answer some of their questions. At first I was asked if I had lived at a  XXXX   XXXX  address. At first I did n't recognize it because it was an address that I had lived in  XXXX  California 6 years ago but my wife reminded me that we lived there 6 years ago. I informed  XXXX  that I lived there 6 years ago. They then asked me about my children.. I refused to answer that question as that was none of their business. They then tried to tell me that this was leading to being mine because it originated in an address tied to me even though they refused to state or answer my question about what address that was for almost  XXXX  minutes. She then started getting " pissy '' and saying that the investigation had 58 days left on a 90 day timeline to complete an investigation. We started arguing back and forth because  XXXX  kept saying that they had 58 days even though I informed her that the documentation had been submitted the  XXXX  of  XXXX  and there was no way there was still 58 days left when by my math they had received the documentation 85 days ago. She stated that the case was n't started until  XXXX   XXXX  ....     After a lot of arguing she then stated that the reason this case had n't proceeded was because the investigator had to ask me questions even though I never once received a phone call from their company or a letter asking me to call them. At this point I knew they were just playing games. I demanded to know what address they were linking this and me to and she told me the  XXXX  address. Her math was a little off though. They claimed this Victoria 's secret account was opened in  XXXX   XXXX  with the  XXXX  address even though I have lived in  XXXX  for 6 years and I informed her of that fact. More arguing back and forth and finally I was just fed up. They started this investigation 2 months late, they admitted to it, they " verified '' information falsely with the credit bureaus. My own signed and notarized affidavit states that I was in  XXXX  and my current address months before this account was even open. They claim to not proceeding with the case because questions they wanted to ask were never asked or attempted to be asked. At this point I need your assistance. I 'm seriously ready to sue but I want to give you a chance to contact them to do the right thing before we spend a long time and money in court.