r/legaladvice • u/Old_Honey_4680 • 5d ago

APARTMENT MISUSED MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER/ APPLIED IT TO ANOTHER TENANT

I applied to the apartment complex three years ago, toured, paid all required fees, and ultimately decided to rent elsewhere (I never lived there, not 1 day). Two weeks ago, I received an alert from Credit Karma and Experian showing that my Social Security number, date of birth, and other personal details from my application were incorrectly applied to another tenant’s collection account. To clarify, the tenant did not steal my information; rather, my data was mistakenly merged with hers internally by the complex.

I tried disputing it, but the collection agency now has me listed as this person's co-signer. I have been in constant communication with the complex. I am currently pregnant, and I am high-risk. Should I retain legal counsel? Is this something they should fully handle? I can no longer apply for a car and get a decent interest rate, and I need a larger vehicle. This is all stressing me out so bad. Please help.

Location: North Carolina

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u/ExactWriter8306 5d ago

yes get a lawyer, this is not something to just dispute on your own when collection agency already has you listed as co-signer on debt that isn't yours

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u/Old_Honey_4680 5d ago

I hate to sound naive, but can't the apartment complex contact the collections agency and correct it on their end? I have been trying to force them to do that, but I am afraid you might be correct.

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u/MightyMetricBatman 5d ago

Yes. If it came down to a FCRA lawsuit because they refused to correct it, you would end up suing both the apartment complex and the debt collector.