Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-13-2010, 02:53 PM
 
Location: Happy wherever I am - Florida now
3,360 posts, read 12,224,806 times
Reputation: 3907

Advertisements

At this point you don't even know if the person's name of the credit card is your father or someone else who has the same name. Ask for written proof.

For a couple of years I got phone calls from a collection agency asking if David was there. It would seem that they had called everyone in town with the same last name trying to track this person down. Finally, after I told them that the only people in the house were two older women who had no idea who they were talking about they stopped calling. Sometimes they pull at straws. Make them prove it before you jump to any conclusions and make them prove who they are too. For all you know at this point they could be a scam outfit. Now that I mention it I remember a friend of mine telling me a similar story about herself (might have even said they were collecting for the same bank) that was completely bogus. - Checking your parents credit reports is a good idea too.

PS- I wouldn't prove them with any of your parents personal information either.

Last edited by Sgoldie; 06-13-2010 at 04:02 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-14-2010, 09:26 PM
 
4,135 posts, read 10,768,843 times
Reputation: 2698
I strongly suggest getting a lawyer. Your parents are older; you may be able to get one for free or at highly reduced rate.

Demand the original paperwork for the card. If it is not your father's signature or if your sibling is down as an "authorized user" ( meaning can use it but isn't responsible), you have a case to dismiss it. I had a relative whose ex-husband took out several cards and signed her name and made himself the "authorized user". Her lawyer proved it wasn't her card on 2 and on the third, he had to sue the company and they dismissed it.

The other alternative is to go to the state attorney general's office and state it has to be a fraud since your father hasn't taken out cards and you handle your mother's.

If the sibling is involved, you will either wind up needing to make them pay up or you pay it w/your father's money. I would make the sibling pay up if it is their fraud.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-15-2010, 09:32 AM
 
1,402 posts, read 3,490,277 times
Reputation: 1314
Quote:
Originally Posted by Five00NCSTNW View Post

I also don't suspect a third party, because a third party wouldn't pay the monthly credit card bills and then default.
What evidence do you have that it was paid for a period of time then defaulted on? What do you know about this particular account?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Five00NCSTNW View Post
One thing for sure, my parents haven't received any monthly statements from CitiBank. Nor have my parents made any payments on the account. After my father's stroke, I pretty much got rid of their credit cards,
Wait, in your first post you said that you aren't sure that your father had EVER had a credit card, and now you are saying that YOU got rid of all of their cards after his stroke. Did he ever have a card or didn't he?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Five00NCSTNW View Post
except for one which my mother still uses for food and medical expenses, and she pays the monthly bill timely.
So they have credit cards now, you don't sound so sure...


My point is this: It sounds like you have NO CLUE what EITHER your father's or mother's financial situation is and what they have exactly for credit accounts...and now you are going to go to Citibank and claim identity fraud??? Honestly, where you are standing now you have a greater chance of screwing things up worse than they are now!

Stop. Request documentation on the credit account from Citibank. Pull BOTH your father and mothers credit reports. Figure out what exactly their finances are BEFORE you go charging off claiming identity theft and that your brother is a criminal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-15-2010, 10:08 AM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,356,590 times
Reputation: 9469
Quote:
Originally Posted by broadbill View Post
Wait, in your first post you said that you aren't sure that your father had EVER had a credit card, and now you are saying that YOU got rid of all of their cards after his stroke. Did he ever have a card or didn't he?
Actually, I only see that the OP said that they don't think their father ever had a CITIBANK credit card, not that they never had ANY credit cards.

I will say to the OP though that there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there. It could be that your father's identity has been stolen. Depending on your fathers current capabilities, it could also be that someone talked him into signing up for something over the phone. My grandma has Alzheimer's and we had to change her phone number 3 times because she kept getting calls from random organizations and she would buy HUGE quantities of whatever they had to sell. For example: A gross (12 dozen) cheap kitchen knives, hundreds of light bulbs, years worth of plastic garbage sacks, etc. They usually would be double or triple the price you could buy the same or better in a store. I don't know if you can sign up for a credit card over the phone. It is so easy to get a credit card these days, I wouldn't be surprised.

I agree that you should pull his credit and see what it says, then write the company who sent you the letter requiring proof that this is ACTUALLY your father's account, explaining why you think it is not.

If that doesn't resolve the issue, you will probably need to involve an attorney, and it if turns out he was the victim of identity fraud, then you will need to involve the police.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-16-2010, 07:51 AM
 
2,712 posts, read 5,337,069 times
Reputation: 6182
It's very simple. Go to the credit bureau's web pages and get a copy of your father's credit report. It will list the names and addresses that have been used under his name and cards with balances and delinquent accounts. If you see your brother's address then chances are he took out the card. Someone may have taken out more cards in his name and are either not using them regularly or paying them on time and you will never know unless you view the report.

I don't know why you are fretting when you can have the answers delivered to your computer in no time at all and without running to a lawyer or confronting your brother.

Once you have the information from the credit report, that information will dictate how best to proceed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-17-2010, 12:04 AM
 
57 posts, read 161,743 times
Reputation: 45
I received a copy of my father's credit report today. There are two addresses listed under his name: his own and my brother's. The last payment on the account was made in November 2008, approximately 13 months after it was opened. CitiBank charged off the account. Half the amount owed is comprised of penalties and interest. Since my father is incapable of making any decisions himself and communicating, either orally or in writing, I think my initial suspicion is correct.

Is it possible to get the liability transferred from my father to my brother?

Can I legally respond to the dunning letter on behalf of my father?

Thank God there weren't any other issues on the credit report.

Btw, I don't to see my brother go to jail. So, I'm willing to suck up the cash to help him pay off this debt. Can I go around the collection agency and contact Citibank directly to propose a settlement? How do I find out if CitiBank still owns the account?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-17-2010, 12:13 AM
 
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
10,757 posts, read 35,328,272 times
Reputation: 6958
Quote:
Originally Posted by Five00NCSTNW View Post
My 87-year old father received a letter from a collection agency working on behalf of CitiBank demanding payment of a past due credit card liability. The problem is my father doesn't have a CitiBank credit card and, quite frankly, I don't think he's ever had their credit card. Moreover, my father is not in a position to acquire and use a credit card, because he was incapacitated, both physically and mentally, by stroke in September 1999. My mom's not responsible either, because I have been handlng their finances for the last decade.

I think my brother stole my father's id and used it to obtain a credit card. His business has been suffering since the recession started, and I suspect he got desperate for cash.

I feel sorry for my brother, because he's otherwise a good person, but I have to protect my father's (and mother's) interests. The great tragedy is my mom would've given him the cash, little by little, as my parents aren't asset rich by any means.

I have a little less than 30 days to respond to the letter. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it. Any advice is appreciated.

Your brother is an a s s . Stealing from his own family and a man in your Fathers condition??
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-17-2010, 03:26 AM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 22,957,195 times
Reputation: 10355
Quote:
Originally Posted by cricket_factor View Post
I think you need to run a credit check using one of the three credit reporting companies: Transunion, Experian or Equifax. See what's on your father's credit report. You may have to file a police report.

DEFEND: Recover From Identity Theft - Deter. Detect. Defend. Avoid ID Theft
Yep. Follow these steps and be done with it. If the debt collector wants to figure out who is responsible for the ID theft, that's their problem.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-17-2010, 06:42 AM
 
2,712 posts, read 5,337,069 times
Reputation: 6182
You will find some very good information here. The page is for those that know that a family member used another family member's identity:

Identity Theft Resource Center ITRC Fact Sheet 115

I'm not affiliated with the above link in any way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-17-2010, 09:18 AM
 
Location: SoCal desert
8,091 posts, read 15,360,492 times
Reputation: 15035
Quote:
Originally Posted by Five00NCSTNW View Post
I received a copy of my father's credit report today. There are two addresses listed under his name: his own and my brother's. The last payment on the account was made in November 2008, approximately 13 months after it was opened.
Just inform all the credit bureaus, the collection agency, and CitiBank that your father has never lived at that second address and that he has been physically and mentally incapacitated since 1999. Tell them that it is impossible that the debt is his.

Then let them take it from there. It's not your responsibility to tell them what you think the answer is.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top