Someone else's debt is on my credit report
An account that is not yours on your credit report usually has one of three causes: the bureau mixed your file with someone who has a similar name or Social Security number, a collector attached another person's debt to you, or an identity thief opened it. Each has its own fix, and in each the law requires the bureau to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy and to reinvestigate when you dispute.
There is a credit card on your report from a bank you never used. Or a medical collection from a city you have never lived in. Or a car loan under a name that is almost yours, with one letter off. You did not borrow this money.
The first step is working out how it got there, because the cause decides the fix.
Three causes, three fixes
- A mixed file. The bureau joined your file with another person's. Signs: other accounts you do not know, an unfamiliar address or name variation, often a relative or a stranger with a similar name. The fix runs through the bureau.
- A collector's mistake. A collector or debt buyer attached someone else's account to you, for example by matching the account to the wrong person. Signs: one collection account, calls or letters about a debt you never had, and no other unfamiliar accounts. The fix runs through the collector and the bureau.
- Identity theft. Someone used your information to open the account. Signs: an application, address change or account you never authorized, often several at once. The fix is the identity theft block; see the step-by-step post.
Start by getting your full file from each bureau. On request, a bureau must disclose all the information in your file and the sources of that information (15 U.S.C. § 1681g(a)). The address and name variations listed near the top of the report are often the clearest clue to a mixed file.
When the bureau mixed your file
The FCRA requires every consumer reporting agency to "follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates" (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). A file that carries another person's debts is not accurate about you.
Mixed files can be hard to untangle, because the same matching logic that caused the merge can put the accounts back. The public record in Miller v. Equifax shows how that looks. A woman's file was merged with another person's who had the same name and a similar Social Security number. She disputed for about two years. At trial an Equifax witness described that kind of merger as a "reasonable combination" that occurred with regularity. The jury returned $180,000 in compensatory damages and $18.4 million in punitive damages; the court later reduced the punitive award to $1.62 million.
If a bureau deletes an item and later puts it back, it may do so only if the furnisher certifies the item is complete and accurate, and it must tell you in writing within five business days (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(5)(B)).
When a collector pinned it on you
If the account is a collection, the collector is covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It may not falsely represent the character, amount or legal status of a debt (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2)(A)), and saying you owe a debt you never had is exactly that.
- Dispute in writing within 30 days of the collector's first written notice. A written dispute in that window requires the collector to stop collecting until it mails verification (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)).
- Watch the report. Once you dispute, a collector that reports the debt without saying it is disputed may violate § 1692e(8).
- Dispute with the bureaus too. A furnisher's duty to investigate that you can enforce in court begins when a bureau notifies it of your dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)).
The FDCPA allows actual damages plus statutory damages of up to $1,000, and a claim must be filed within one year of the violation (15 U.S.C. § 1692k). See debt you do not owe.
What the law gives you
The bureau must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation within 30 days of your dispute and notify the furnisher within five business days, passing along all relevant information you sent (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)). For a willful FCRA violation, the Act allows actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages; for a negligent one, actual damages (§§ 1681n, 1681o). The FCRA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Damages turn on harm. Under TransUnion v. Ramirez, an inaccurate report actually sent to a lender, landlord or employer is the kind of concrete harm that supports a claim. Keep every denial letter. The mixed files page covers the claim in full.
What to do this week
- Pull all three reports and list every account, name and address that is not yours.
- Decide the cause. Many unfamiliar items and a stranger's address suggest a mixed file; one collection suggests a collector's error; new accounts you never applied for suggest identity theft.
- Dispute in writing with each bureau, by mail, with a copy of your ID and proof of your address history. Say in the first two sentences which accounts are not yours.
- Write to any collector that is contacting you, disputing the debt, and keep proof of the date you sent it.
Sources: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681e(b), 1681g(a), 1681i, 1681n, 1681o, 1681s-2(b); 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e, 1692g, 1692k; Miller v. Equifax Info. Servs., No. 3:11-cv-01231 (D. Or. May 20, 2014); TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U.S. 413 (2021).
Common questions
What is a mixed file?
A credit file that contains information belonging to another person, usually someone with a similar name, address or Social Security number. The bureau's matching logic joins the two. The FCRA requires a bureau to follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information about the person the report is about.
The bureau deleted the account, and now it is back. Is that allowed?
Only in narrow circumstances. A deleted item may be put back only if the company that furnished it certifies that it is complete and accurate, and the bureau must notify you in writing within five business days of reinserting it.
A collector is calling me about the other person's debt. What can I do?
Dispute it in writing with the collector, ideally within 30 days of its first written notice. A written dispute in that window requires the collector to stop collecting until it mails verification. A collector that misrepresents the debt as yours, or reports it without noting your dispute, may be violating the FDCPA.
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.