Please someone help me, my credit score is ruined from fraud?
Can someone please give me advice as to what I should do? Here's my problem: In August 2006 I tried this thing called 'WhiteOvernite' as a sample. I only paid shipping/handling and that was that. Over one year later (Oct 2007), I received a letter from a debt collector stating that I owe $176 for the product I used. I was stunned...what is going on? Recently I tried to get a loan for a used car and I was denied because of a 'delinquency' on my credit report. Sure enough when I checked it, there was $176 charged as delinquent. Please help me, I've had an impeccable credit score until now. This fraud has cost me my credit score, what should I do?? HELP 1) Yes I checked Experian. 2) I've already sent in a dispute to Experian and to the Attorney General's Office via email. 3) I used my credit card for the shipping, so I figured if they were to try and charge me they would have done it through my credit card. But instead they went straight to their debt collector.
Public Comments
- First of all, do you have a credit report? I'm not clear from your description if you actually pulled one from one of the three agencies. Each one has contact numbers. Do you have proof of your trial offer (being S&H only?) You could use that to refute the claim on your credit report. They have people who take claims and thusly corrections on your report.
- Contact the 3 major credit reporting agencies and dispute that delinquency. It's federal law that they have to resolve it within 3 months I believe. It will be a lot of paperwork and stressful telephone conversations but if you truly did not use the product and were not supposed to be charged for the product, this will work. The burden of proof is on "white overnight" to prove that the transaction was legit. Some companies do this as a regular business practice because most people do not notice or will pay the money to get it off their credit report. DISPUTE DISPUTE DISPUTE!
- I think your options are limited. The company didn't do a sample. They did a "trial product" and said if you didn't cancel your subscription, they would bill "the full price of the product" plus shipping *and* claim you agreed to additional shipments. How did you pay the $4.87? Was this on a credit card? The rest of the money should have been charged to the same card so you would have had the opportunity to dispute it. The company pushes a teeth whitening product that isn't FDA approved. Their "marketing" is a form of cramming (tell you $4.87 and then crammed $172 on top of it). The ads are often popups on other websites.
- So let's clean your credit up. You can have negatives and other errors removed. Check out the free evaluation form at www.totaldebtsolutionsllc.com --They partner with a true non profit that provides a high quality service for just $125. My mom used them and her score jumped 60 points. Good luck.
