i'm me, really

Fixing the whole credit thing has been harder than I thought. I'm seriously considering just getting married already only to change my name. Let me explain . . .

A few years ago, I started working at Chase bank. I didn't have an account there when I started but since I was always there anyway, I thought I'd just get one. I did. When my co-worker was opening the account for me, of course he needed my ss#. I gave to him and he asked me to repeat it. I did. He asked if I was sure and he then told me that there were other accounts with my same number but a different name. I was shocked, mad . . .everything. Like I've said before, I had messed up my credit pretty badly in college but had since done a lot to repair it only to have someone else be using it. We were somehow able to open my account (really only because I worked there. If I'd been just a customer, they wouldn't have done it). I was lucky that I was working there, otherwise I would've just been told that they were not able to open my account but not told why. Working there, we were able to look up our own accounts as much as we wanted. We were only not allowed to make our own transactions. So, I looked up my ss# and found that the person had a mortgage, and a few more accounts with my credit. I was livid! I disputed it and that part has since been fixed. The catch was that I couldn't use company information. So, I couldn't say that I'd found it by monitoring my own account at work. I had to go through the credit check steps and all that.

Now . . . . . I recently checked my credit to make sure everything was ok. I check it around my birthday so that I won't forget (sidenote: if you don't know, you are entitled to a free credit report per year. You can go to annualcreditreport(dot)com for info) Anyway, everything seemed good except for two accounts that I didn't recognize. From the dates they were opened, I would've been 11 years old when I got those. It turns out that they're my mom's. Well, my dad's actually. He has some accounts on which my mom is an authorized user. He added her by name ( not ss#) and since I've had their same address before and my first name is the same, I'm screwed. I disputed those and was assured that it would be taken care of. Now I've been informed that isn't the case. In essence, I have to prove that I am me. I have to prove that I have a different name than my mom (middle initial) that I live in Arizona instead of Texas and that I am 31 instead of 51. Also, to find this out took HOURS of phone calls. I hate having to do all this. HATE it. Oh, also my credit score is going to lower after this because once my mom's accounts are removed, I'll have no credit card debt. That's right. Apparently you have to be paying on something to show you're not a bum. That sucks because I was trying to get my score as close to 830 as I possibly could so that we could refinance the house in a year. Now I'll probably have to open up a credit card. Suck. Now I'm going to have to search around for a super low interest card. Suggestions?
So, a word of advice . . . .first of all, be extremely careful with your social security number. I never did figure out how someone got a hold of it. Also, I've said this about a million times to lots of people, but it's best to not name your children your same name. I know some people love their spouse soooooo much that they want their child named after them but it is such a hassle. It sucked growing up and having our mail mixed up when we lived in the same home. It sucked when my brother filled in a change of address form and my dad's mail was all going to my brother's apartment. It sucked getting business type of phone calls that my mom thought were for her. (Especially when I was getting late payment calls in college) All of this was such an inconvenience that I still keep asking them why they named me this way. Also since I'm such a spinster, I still have the name last name. Ok, well time for more phone calls now . . . . -sigh-

feeling: aggravated
listening to: The Shins (New Slang)