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Anyway of suing?

Got a bit of a problem, we are getting it fixed as we are speaking but wanted to see if there's more that we can do. Not the site to go to but you guys have been spot on and bright on big situations soo far, plus im really familiar with this place. Gonna change some things, not naming names or people.

Huge problem to be exact, it's a long story, not gonna go detail by detail. Got a collection agency trying to collect money for a cell phone account that never belong to us. Long story short, relative had two accounts before 2003. We took over the 2nd account 5 years later, changed the name from relative. Couldn't do it at first since we weren't over 18 at the time and had not SSN (personal stuff) at all to make an account . Called and asked the cell phone representative if it was gonna affect us in any sort of way since relative was going bankrupt and loosing the account, representative said no since we had nothing to do with it. Relative was the account holder for the 1st account. Fast forward now, we are getting the agency after us. Called cell phone place today, all of a sudden I was the account holder, relative was the sub account, had the bills going towards him only. Relative would ALWAYS get phone call's and messages to pay bill after account was frozen (cut off) and they would send relative to collection agency. Final nail in the coffin, they said we were the account holders from the beginning and NOT the relative when he originally opened them, according to service provider even after they had said we had NOTHING to do with it months before. The funny part about this, #1 we weren't 18 to begin with at the time so we couldn't have opened an account yet they have "proof" that it was opened with our signature when it was actually originally opened by the relative....... #2 we had no SSN until recently when the changes were made to have the 2nd account YET somehow, it was on file from the beginning with our name, address and SSN. They are also claiming that the relative was NEVER the account holder to begin with, has no history of him ever registering, that we were. Don't understand how they came up with that, he clearly got the phone and lines from the beginning, started off with one line which was his.

We have proof of when got our SSN for the first time, paper work, etc, which was in 07-08. We are getting the original paperwork from when the accounts were first opened, faxed and e-mailed to us. Gonna fight the collection agency with the proof that there was not way the SSN could've existed with our names at the time or that we could've opened it since we weren't 18 OR 15 to be exact. Going to check with a friend if we can do anything about this but wanted to share this with you guys also and ask for some advice. Really appreciate it!
 
I was in a similar situation when I was younger and I had Verizon as my mobile provider. I had an agency contact me in regards to collecting funds that I never had accumulated. Needless to say, I just contacted the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and filed a complaint. That was that. Never heard from them ever again and it was never listed on my credit report.

EDIT: For the record, the agency was contacting me on Verizon's behalf stating that I owed money when I was not even the primary account holder plus I was underage at the time.
 
+1 to the BBB idea...ATT was coming after us for money we didn't owe. This went on for about 4 months and we finally contacted the BBB. A couple of days later ATT called and apologized and that was that...
 
I'm a paralegal of several years. I can't give legal advice - please speak with an attorney - but I can recommend a combo of several things that I might do in your situation:
1. I would definitely file with the BBB.
2. I might contact my state's bar office and talk to someone in the attorney referral department. The Georgia Bar advises people on appropriate attorneys for their field of concern.
3. I might call legal aid for the state. Sometimes you can catch an enterprising soul with lots of info.
4. Depending on your state's court structure, consumers often sue corporations for things like breach of contract, unfair debt collection practices, etc. In Georgia, a person can file suit against an entity at the Magistrate Court for something less than a hundred dollars in fees and represent themselves. In cases where the defendant doesn't meaningfully respond, there can often be a finding for the plaintiff.
5. Contact the Secretary of State. Their website contains all the info you would need for step four regarding the details of the company's location, structure, registered agent, etc.
Good luck.
 
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