Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before

[cyrano]

So apparently I have a credit card with Wells Fargo. Who I think are great big evil avaricious pederasts. Apparently I've had it for about twelve years. Apparently I maxed it out and then doubled the limit with fees and interest. And apparently I live at 4902 Calle de Escuela in Lewisville ID, a street address I once lived at in Santa Clara and the town my parents live in.

The only thing I can guess happened is in 1991 I got a $400 credit card from First National Bank of North Dakota while in college and stopped using it. Then Wells Fargo bought FNBND sometime in 1996 poossibly and instituted a yearly membership fee. When they couldn't contact me, they charged me a 'failure to pay' fee and then combined that with 'over limit' fees. And so now, over a decade later, my parents get mail (because the postmaster knows them and says "Isn't that the name of their boy?" Ah, small towns.) that now they're really pissed and by golly I'd better cough up the $850.
So I called the Customer Service rep who said 'I'm going to be honest with you. You can dispute the charges but since you paid on the account for five years they won't take it very seriously.' I appreciate her honesty at least. And since they have my social security number, that pretty much absolves them of needing any further proof of my guilt.

So hurrah for being completely screwed. I hate my life.

Comments

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

That's total BS and I think you can totally fight it, though you might need to be ready to be really really bitchy for a long time to people on the phone/in letters or get some professional help from consumer credit counselors. =/ You haven't used the credit card in 6 years, which I'd say is pretty good proof of an inactive account.

But yeah - one more reason to check your credit reports _every year_.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

I agree, you should not give them $850 just to get them off your back. But there are some fishy aspects to this, like the messed up address. I would first demand from them a complete statement for this card (if they haven't "sent" you one already), that includes all the transactions ever put on it by you or them. If I were you I would want detailed documentation before conceding anything to these folks.

My condolences. :-( This is a big f***ing mess that will take a long while to clean up.