philpresby
New Member
Back in March, I received an invoice from Banana Republic for an account that I had not opened. What appears to have happened is that someone stole my identity -- including my social security number -- and Banana Republic opened an account for a thief using that information.
I called the 800 number immediately and explained what happened. The woman on the other end of the line said that she would flag and close the account and that I need not worry anymore about it.
Move forward one month and I receive a notice from a bank pertaining to the account Banana Republic told me it had closed. The letter indicated that the bank was seeking to collect a debt. I called the bank and the woman on the other end told me that not only had the account not been closed, it had not been flagged. She also indicated that I should have been sent paperwork that allowed me to initiate an investigation and that she would send me this paperwork. She also indicated that until a number of issues were cleared -- including ensuring that no member of my family had opened the account, the bank would not close the account.
Thus far, I have asked that the credit bureau initiate an investigation. I'm wondering whether I have any other recourse against these people. It is grossly unfair that they can have such sloppy credit granting procedures in place and then force me to clear my name.
Can I force them to send me the application the thief filled out to open the account? I'd really like to see what passed for identification in the mind of the person processing the application.
Does their assertion of financial impropriety amount to common law libel?
Are there any other legal issues I should be considering?
This really is a matter of principle to me.
I called the 800 number immediately and explained what happened. The woman on the other end of the line said that she would flag and close the account and that I need not worry anymore about it.
Move forward one month and I receive a notice from a bank pertaining to the account Banana Republic told me it had closed. The letter indicated that the bank was seeking to collect a debt. I called the bank and the woman on the other end told me that not only had the account not been closed, it had not been flagged. She also indicated that I should have been sent paperwork that allowed me to initiate an investigation and that she would send me this paperwork. She also indicated that until a number of issues were cleared -- including ensuring that no member of my family had opened the account, the bank would not close the account.
Thus far, I have asked that the credit bureau initiate an investigation. I'm wondering whether I have any other recourse against these people. It is grossly unfair that they can have such sloppy credit granting procedures in place and then force me to clear my name.
Can I force them to send me the application the thief filled out to open the account? I'd really like to see what passed for identification in the mind of the person processing the application.
Does their assertion of financial impropriety amount to common law libel?
Are there any other legal issues I should be considering?
This really is a matter of principle to me.
