This all began in October when I had a cell phone sent to the Philippines, to someone I had met online, to use for emergency purposes. However, when I received the first statement from AT&T on November 9, I discovered that the phone was being used, other than for what I originally authorized. I then realized I had been the victim of a "scam" and contacted AT&T, and spoke to one of their customer service reps, who identified herself with her company ID # and first name. I requested that the phone be immediately disconnected, which she said would be done. However, not only was this never done but the charges were apparently allowed to continue to accumulate, until the balance reached more than $12,000.00. I recontacted AT&T and spoke to another rep who assured me the phone would be disconnected, and also stated there was no record of my ever having called, other than some reference to a "fraud", which she maintained did not preclude AT&T from collecting on the debt.
Afterward, several collection agencies bought this debt and I continued to maintain that I did not owe this money. Most recently, I applied for a loan a few months ago, and determined that Experian credit bureau had this "balance" listed in my credit report, and I filed a complaint, which ended in Experian siding with AT&T and the most recent collection agency (Palisades). I did some checking online and discovered that this agency has been the subject of many complaints, concerning fraudulent charges by AT&T.
It appears that this collection agency specializes in buying loans, allegedly owed to AT&T, and then filing the negative report with the credit bureaus, until payment is made. It appears that I am not the only one this has happened to and am interested in joining other vicitms to file a class action lawsuit against this credit agency, and perhaps even the credit bureau for failing to thoroughly investigate this particular collection agency.
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