Hello so i just turned 22, about 2 months ago i checked the mailbox and got a letter from debt collectors stating that i owe 700 dollars from reliant energy, i was shocked and confused on how i can owe that much money considering i have never used ssn for reliant energy let alone a credit card. im confused on how i go about this, ive asked my mom and she denies ever using my ssn and how she wouldn’t dare but i also remember few years ago she used my SSN in order for me to be able to recieve one of my identity forms but then she removed my ssn and went to a different company without owing anything to previous company, how do i go about filing a report of disputing this?
i think my mom has been using my ssn with out me knowing
byu/NSwetto inpersonalfinance
Posted by NSwetto
13 Comments
Isn’t reliant energy like electric for the house? Is it more likely that you guys owed on the house/rental and you guys didn’t pay the electric bill?
go on the websites of the big 3 credit bureaus and freeze your credit and pull your free credit report. Depending on what that reveals you can make a plan for your next steps.
If Reliant is sending the letter to your house, that probably means the bill is for your house. Your mom couldn’t use your SSN for a different house, but have it get billed to you.
You could contact their support and they could tell you what’s going on.
Might want to pull your credit reports to get the facts and then freeze all three.
Request a free credit report and see what accounts are opened against your name.
experian.com
https://www.experian.com
Get Your Free Credit Report
Don’t know what to tell you re filing a dispute (except that you should!) it’s also VERY possible you’ve been the victim of identify theft. Get into one of the big three (experian, et al) and lock down your account. Also look deep into ANYthing in your credit file that you don’t understand!
Identify theft for minors is a real, and icky thing… (look it up! It’s real!) and most people/kids never find out until they go what you did and try to use their credit.
So sorry this happened. Get on top of it, lock your credit access down.
Call Reliant energy and explain the situation.
Call the debt collectors and explain the situation..
Call the police and file a fraud report.
Inform your mother before step #3, so she knows shit is about to go down.
Also, probably the most important so it doesn’t happen again… tell the credit reporting companies to freeze all three, so no one can do that again.
Edit: Typos
[https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action) Check your credit report. Then, regardless of what you find, go to [FTC.gov](http://FTC.gov) look at their guidelines for ID theft. Then follow the instructions to lock your credit reports. This will protect you for the future.
I don’t understand how you’re jumping to the conclusion that your SSN has anything to do with this or why it’s your mother? SSN is not required to report a debt or lien and not everyone has one.
Your mom either used your social and mmname to turn the electric on (probably so she wouldnt have to pay a past bill or a large deposit). Or someone else is using your social. If the bill is for the house you are in it could be your mom or even the landlord using your number but 99/100 its going to be your mom or dad using this fresh clean ssn. Your options are to dispute it putting them at risk for fraud. Or to pay it (you will still have a negative mark on your credit that will hurt you when you get your own place)
You could call reliant energy, ask for the billing department, and ask them who the contact person was. If they ask why just tell him that you think that you might be the victim of identity theft. You don’t have to get into the whole family dynamic thing. If you still live at home then your mother might be pretty to your personal information. One thing you might want to do if you get out on your own or if you are out on your own is to change your social security number. It’s not that easy, it’s not that hard, but it certainly a way to keep people from abusing your information.
Yeah unfortunately some parents are bad with money and get desperate committing identity fraud. I had to turn my brother in for it.
Could be a mistake or identity theft. Have the company give you the details especially the service address