In 2009, I was contacted by a collection bureau which was located in Boston, Mass and informed that I owed $138.00 to Verizon for a home telephone line. I was told that the phone was opened in the name of a woman who shares my maiden name and who currently lives on a street I lived on 20 years ago. I made many calls and told the staff at both the Collection agency and Verizon that I was not this person.
At one point, a Verizon employee asked me for the last 4 digits of my SSN. When she was convinced that I was not this person, she told me this woman's place of employment and her work phone number. I phoned her at work and asked her to pay the bill. (I am not sure I would ever do this again, as it put me in jeopardy as far as I am concerned.) She said she would pay the bill. I then called Verizon and told them that I spoke with her and she would be paying the bill.
A male Verizon employee then told me that I needed to call the police and report her for “identify theft.” I explained to him that she did not steal my identity. She did not know who I was, and she did not have any of my information. (Verizon and the collection agency linked us because my maiden name is the same as hers, and I lived on her street 20 years ago - at a different house number. I have not used my maiden name since I was married nearly 20 years ago. In addition, I have lived at my current address for more than 10 years). She opened the account using her own name at her own address!
The person at Verizon told me that I needed to call the police or they could not clear my name. I again explained that I could not report her to the police for something she didn’t do. She did not know anything about me – she used her own name and her own address. Reporting her for identity theft would be fraud on my part.
Today, I was informed by a credit reporting agency that they gave me a negative report because of the $138.00 that I owe Verizon.
I made several calls to your company today to clear up this matter. After being told multiple times that Verizon was sorry for the inconvenience, and they were aware of the problem, and the next person would straighten everything out, I was eventually transferred to a Mr. Kohler. He informed me that they didn’t clear up the problem in 2009, because I refused to file a police report. I explained that as far as I am concerned, Verizon should be reported for identity theft. They linked me to this woman and are giving me a negative credit report!!!!!
I repeatedly asked to speak to a supervisor – and was told that the only supervisor, a Ms. Hernandez, was not available to speak to me. I repeatedly said that I would stay on the line and wait for Ms. Hernandez. Eventually, Mr. Kohler told me that I was “tying up a company line.” He ended the call over my multiple protests. This call lasted for 58 minutes. I find it hard to believe that there was not someone there in a supervisory capacity, who could speak to me.
Does this make any sense to you? How can I report a woman for identity theft when she doesn’t know anything about me? Finally, I wonder about Verizon’s business practices. Is your company in such bad shape that you are willing to hurt the credit of an innocent person in order to collect $138 from someone else? This is much more than an inconvenience!!!! You have hurt my credit in a terrible economy.
