For her entire life, “Annette,” 87, had maintained excellent credit and managed her expenses so that she was comfortable in her retirement. But when an unscrupulous relative stole her identity and used a credit card to rack up more than $1,500 in charges, never making a payment, Alexander found herself in small claims court. After attending a JALA-hosted small claims clinic at the Duval County Courthouse and scheduling a follow-up appointment, Alexander and her JALA staff attorney were able to show the debt collector she had been a victim of identity theft. The debt collector dropped the case against her, and all the negative credit reporting related to the debt from her stolen identity was removed. JALA also helped Alexander dispute some of the misinformation in her credit reports and continues to ensure she is protected from any impact from the identity theft.
