Expert: A. Hall - 9/23/2008

Question
Thanks for reading this, and I’m very sorry to write you such a novel but I wanted to make sure you have all the details
In Dec 06 after returning from military deployment (a total of 2 years with a few weeks stateside every 6-8 months), I discovered that my Sprint phone payments went from 80 to over 200/month. I went to the local office and pulled statement records and discovered that from August 2005-on another line had been added to my account and that there were outstanding charges from that line (while my account was inactive due to military deployment). AT which time, I contacted sprint fraud department and I was told that my phone would be reconnected at no charge and that the disconnection fee would be taken away. After that, I continued using my phone until it was disconnected again the following month. I checked my bill and found that not only had they not removed the previous disconnection fee, they had added a reconnect fee AND another disconnection for the same outstanding charges (and still allowed the fraudulent line to add charges). At that time (Feb. 07) I went back into my local store and canceled my account and gave my phone back to the representative. At this point, I thought that everything was finished. Well, come the end of 07 I was denied credit based on a collections account (and I have excellent credit except for this. Never even had payments late). When I dug deeper, I discovered over $1000 worth of Sprint charges that had been sent to collections. When I contacted them I discovered that they had never canceled my account (and it was no longer under contract at the time I had canceled) but continued to allow charges be added to the account (both lines) that was still under my name/SSN. I have been trying since then to have them remove the charges from my name. They have told me every month for the last 6 months (when I call them) that I would hear from someone in 7-10 days. I have not heard from them, but every month I get a call from the collections agency. It is now reflecting on my credit report as a Key Derogatory item since 08/08 (it is currently being investigated again by Experian) even though earlier this year (over the summer) all 3 credit bureaus investigated my dispute and found the charges to be fraudulent and removed them from my credit completely. Even the Better Business Bureau completed their own investigation with the same results. Sprint has credited my old account for all of the charges associated with the unauthorized line that was opened under my account, but they are still saying I owe them over $500 for the charges that were added after I canceled the account in Feb. 2007. Also, as a side note, when I attempted to login to the Sprint MyAccount page, I was able to use my contact information and my old phone number and access the current owner’s account. If I were so inclined, I could add new lines, service, change the billing preferences, see the personal address and also see the person’s bank and credit card information that is stored in the account. I contacted some friends that also have Sprint and was able to do the same thing using MY information (name, address, etc) and access their account with just their phone number. This of course explains why someone was able to open a new line on my account even though I was sitting in the desert defending our country for 2 straight years. My question is, is what they have done considered illegal? Do I have grounds for a civil suit? What actions can I take? I don’t want any money from them (even though it is tempting) but I do want for them to stop harassing me and stop trying to ruin my perfect credit with charges that I didn’t make.
Thanks so much!


Answer
Based on what you have told me, what they have done is wrong under the law. Yes, you have grounds for a civil suit. As an attorney in another state, I am not authorized to advise you regarding what civil actions you should pursue. However, I would recommend that you hire an attorney who understands the federal credit and debt laws. Also, your attorney should consider some "actions in equity," which are requests that the court issue orders based on the injustice of the situation, but not necessarily based on a specific statute.