My MCS arrived at Classic Mini last week! I can't wait for its arrival in CA next month. You guys wouldn't believe what happed to me though!

Get this. I went to my bank to get a car loan only to find out from my credit report that I have a charge-off (delinquent payment) and a collection agency is now after me. I must preface this by saying that I have NEVER had a problem with my credit EVER. My credit score has always been through the roof. Upon inquiry, I discovered that someone had used a four year old address of mine to open up an Old Navy account. I now owe $232 and am ineligible for a cool 4.25% auto loan. Now I am stuck with 8.59%! Unbelievable! If it had not been for the Mini purchase, I would never have known that I was a victim of identity theft.

Just as bizarre as my identity being stolen is the fact that, by total coincidence, a week prior to this mess I signed up with a fabulous company called Pre-Paid Legal. They are taking care of the charge off and restoring my credit all for $35/month!!! My lawyer informed me that everything should be restored in approximately 4 months. I can then refinance for 4.25% What a royal pain in the A**!

I just want my Mini!

 

That really bites!

Good luck to you.

 

At least you found out before it was too out of hand.


:(

But the good thing is that everything will be ok in 4 months!

 

sad to hear it... better to find out now rather than later tho... good luck getting it all straightened out!

cant wait to see you at the Gold Country events!

-tori and samantha

 

Macaid,

Sorry to hear about your I.D. theft. As they say, "It could have been worse". I know that is minor solace to you.
This is why it is imperative that we all check our credit routinely. You can now check it annually for free due to a law change this year. I can't remember the web site, and we did the check on my wife's computer so I don't have it here, but a Google search will get you there.
There is so much "white-collar" crime now! We all have to be diligent.

Enjoy your new MINI!

Dave
Sunny San Diego
2003 DS/B MCS 15%, New RO_JA's and AVS's in the garage and going on next week!

 

macaid - Hey Truckmate! that is horrible. Luckily you are aware of the issue, as it could have gone on longer. I am glad it is being taken care of.

 

I feel your pain, macaid! About 4 years ago I was dealing with the same thing. My best advice is keep calling your investigator to make sure they're really working your case.

It took 8+ months to solve my case and set everything right. My ID info was actually stolen by a hospital employee when I went to the emergency room one day - now that's LOW.

 

Sorry to hear about the headache.

Was there a free service where we can obtain our own credit report
once a year or something? I should look into that too, just in case.

If anyone knows the url, please post. thanks. :smile:

 

Thanks for all the support guys. I now need to obtain a police report and affidavit of identity theft.

Get your credit report free once per year:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

 

I can relate to your story. My wife and I had to deal with identity theft recently, also. She is now a pre-paid legal representative that also deals with identity theft. We regularly do a credit check.

She got her Cooper a few weeks ago.

 

Dealt with identity theft last summer myself. Someone stole a new box of checks right out of my mailbox. Wrote about $3000 in checks to different stores.

Being as that I NEVER check my account balance and always have enough in my account for an emergency (or down payment on a new MINI!!!), I didn't notice it for about two months. Luckily, the bank helped me out and we took care of everything. Found out over the next few months that my credit report was run for credit card apps at Nordstroms, JC Penny, Macys, and every other department store you can think of.

Moral of the story: Check your accounts regularly, NEVER have checks mailed to you house, have the bank deliver them to your bank, and run your credit report quarterly to be aware of anything and everything before it becomes a problem.

Good luck getting your credit report resolved. Be sure to check all 3 (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

 

Guess what it happened to me to. In my credit report it said i opened a credit card account in 1993. The poblem is i was only 10 years old and it had a 1000 limit the guy went over to 6000. Si that screwed up my score big time.

 

What a pain. Be sure to report it to the Federal Trade Commision as well.

 

Hope you catch the bastard!

thanks for the link below. I ran my report and everything checked out.

 

I always luv it when someone's getting a MINI, Congrats, you will soon become obsessed!

This thread is timely, and important too (look at how many "hits" on ID theft, so far)...

Kenchan already found out earlier in the thread, about the new law that entitles us "consumers" to access credit reports at no cost... it's a damn SHAME that it takes increasing identity theft to spur lawmakers to action on this (better late than never, i guess).

I was thinking when I read the first post, that the services he was (fortunately) able to use, ought to be available somehow at No Cost! (Those guys making $35 a month might be construed as crooks too). Be sure that when you get your decent finance rate again, that you haven't already spent it on the $35/month guys!

I guess I'm cool with it, provided I don't see them advertising debt consolidation on channel 26.

Sorry to report that my tax refund will be used to zero out credit cards (after that, Zainostore.com here I COME! since I need more Z6 among other things),

TAtt

 

This happened to me, too. Except I was only 4 years old when the fictitious account was opened! It took about year to clear everything up, but that was back in the day when TRW ruled the world from deep inside Evil Mountain.

 

The pain of the finance issue will rapidly fade as you motor down the road in your new MINI. You might consider contacting TrueCredit. For $11 every 3 months they provide you with a weekly update if anyone inquires about your credit or opens a new account. And once every 3 months you get a free credit report. The sooner you know, the faster you can correct any problems.

Happy Motoring - Fred

 

Good for your wife! I am so impressed with Pre-Paid Legal that I recently became a rep for them myself. I originally just wanted the service for my home computer consulting business. I thought it would be a great service to have to help me with contracts, legal representation, debt collection, etc. I NEVER thought I would ever need it for identity theft. It is the #1 crime apparently.

 

I love prepaid legal. I have been a rep for 1 year too!

 

which MINI is yours at classic? i can drive over there and get pics of it at the lot for ya if you would like. gimme a vin and i'll go mini hunting when i got for my free courtesy wash tomarrow. ( i have freinds that work in classic...i got lotsa free crap hehe)

 

Ooh, yes! Pictures would be fantastic. My Mini is easy to identify. Just look for the most expensive one ($36,000) that will be on the truck. It is an MCS CR/W with CR interior that is most likely on a lift getting the JCW kit installed. Just ask Julie which one it is!

 

Well if you have time to kill and like taking pictures, feel free to look for HB/B MCSa

 

well, i think i saw that CR MCS at classic today, it looks liek it just came in and has all the plastic still on seats and stuff.

i'll get some pics of the car here soon. gimme the production number and i can identify any car at classic and send ya pics.

 

Oh man that sucks... I hope everthing gets sorted out.

 

guess what was sitting in the back of classic BMW today....


a red 05 MCS with the cooper works package, a car cover and a lets motor plate frame in the back seat.

is this the car? i got pictures of it if its the one, i'll post them tomarrow!