how can i get an unauthorized charge that was sent to collections removed from m

In the Fall of 2006, when I was still in college, a roommate of mine contacted Charter Communications to schedule cable/internet installation. My social security number was given to Charter (instead of my roommate's).

I eventually spoke to my roommate about this issue, and indicated that I did not want my information to be used. I then called Charter myself to notify them of our decision to not have the cable installed.

Apparently, a representative still came to our apartment in an attempt to install the aforementioned services. No one was home. Nothing was installed. However, approximately one month later, I received a bill in the mail from Charter for this attempted "installation."

I called Charter immediately, spoke with a representative and then a supervisor to dispute this charge. After about 30 minutes of explaining the situation and arguing my case, I was told that the charge would be taken care of, and that I owed them nothing.

A few weeks later, due to an unfortunate suicide across the hall from our apartment, my roommates and I relocated to another apartment. I returned a couple of times shortly after to check for mail, but hadn't received anything from Charter, and was not expecting to, given that I had seemingly resolved the issue over the phone.

After I graduated from college and moved to the New York City area, I received a batch of mail from my mother, one of the pieces of mail being from a collections agency, Afni Collections. This was the first time I found out that Charter had continued to bill me, despite our conversation, and that they had sent their claim to Afni.

We were in the apartment for a total of 1-2 months, nothing was ever installed, and my information was given to Charter Communications without my permission. When I called Afni to pay the total amount (I had no other choice), they claimed that neither they nor Charter could make necessary changes to my credit, and that I would need to contact credit reporting agencies directly. When I called Charter after speaking with the collections agency and spoke to a representative, he told me that they kept no record of the matter after they sent the charge to the collections agency.

I spoke with a representative from Experian today, and she told me that Afni would had to make the request to have it removed. I called someone from Afni BACK and she said that they had no power to remove anything from a credit report. I'm getting a different story from everyone.

A friend has suggested that I get a copy of the payment and a letter from Afni stating that everything has been paid in full, and then send all of this with a letter explaining the situation to each credit reporting agency. If I send it through certified mail, I have proof that they received it and can use it in my uphill battle. On my credit report from Experian, it states that the matter has been resolved, but it is still on there, and will be for another 6 years, negatively impacting my credit, all because my SSN was taken from a copy of my lease and used without my knowledge.

What do I do? I am actively pursuing this matter - it has no place on my credit report.

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