I was a victim of identity theft and every time I try to apply to get a house I get turned down. They have me evicted from homes in New Jers...

Question

I was a victim of identity theft and every time I try to apply to get a house I get turned down. They have me evicted from homes in New Jersey and Delaware. How do I get this off of my credit?

Answer

Based on your question, it sounds like you need to get copies of your credit report, and send notices to the credit reporting agencies and possibly various companies with whom you have or had credit, telling them about the inaccuracies on your credit report. As a Pennsylvania resident, you have the right to receive your credit report once each year for free at www.annualcreditreport.com. That is the site set up by the government and the credit reporting agencies. Here's a link to an article that does a pretty good job explaining some ways to manage your credit reputation, and describes how to improve your credit reputation. http://lifehacker.com/#!5783806. I hope this helps.

Answer

First, did you file a police report if you were the victim of an id theft? You will need that report. Then, use the information above to contact each of the 3 credit bureaus and get a free copy of your credit report. Go down each negative account and contact each creditor that is listed and provide them with a copy of the police report and explain that you were the victim of an identity theft. Ask them to send you a fraud affidavit. You will need to fill it out, get it notarized and send it back to each of the creditors or collectors for accounts that do not belong to you. They should then remove the account from your report.

The credit bureaus will put on a security freeze on your account. This is temporary for 5-7 years. Its a pain, but you should freeze your credit as it will totally shut down any identity thieves. When this mess is cleaned up (its going to take awhile, so postpone those house hunting plans) then you can "thaw" your credit when you are ready to apply for a mortgage.

Here is some very good information about id theft: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm

Here is information from the PA Attorney General regarding freezing your credit:

http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/consumers.aspx?id=2085