ATT sent me a bill for $1500 dollars last January from 1997. Apparently my calling card was stolen and used to make calls to Finland from a pay phone. I never recieved any bills and it wasn't on my credit report. They reported me to a credit agency. Every time I called ATT they gave me less & less info saying it was "too old for their records to keep in the computer." I was a pain in their neck, calling all the time, getting chewed out by this big black lady, rerouted, hung up on. My fraud case was denied TWICE. They never called me back the last time, so I disputed it with the actual credit agencies. Guess what? Within a month these charges were
deleted from my credit file! That was last month. If I had just eaten the charge and paid it off (which grew to over 2 grand with interest BTW) I would have had that bad mark on my credit for seven years! This situation reminds me of the movie The Rainmaker (life insurance fraud) and the stuff that happened to my mom after my dad died. They denied her claim, and wouldn't give her a reason why. When I called they gave me all the info then said they couldn't give it to her because then all the family would call. What BS, she's the benificiary! He's dead, so she's collecting. Duh. She had to pay a lawyer before getting her due. PS Marsly, I would LOVE to hear that story if you're willing to hash it out.
Whew, you really got me going there!