Can a U.S. debt collection agency touch me from overseas?

[lynn12345]

Hi,

I made a similar post in r/personalfinance, but this question is more EU-centered.

I've been getting emails from Halsted Financial Services, a debt collection agency, wherein stating that I owed some $6,000 from Citi Bank, and the creditor to which this debt is owed is Cavalry SPV I, LLC. I never banked with Citi. I'm currently investigating to see if this is a scam or a case of stolen identity.

I live overseas, and I haven't set foot in the US for almost 6 years. I also plan on never returning to the US (I have dual citizenship). Can this agency legally pursue me across borders? Can they touch me?

 

[resjudicata]

@lynn12345 First google result is "Cavalry SPV I LLC is a purchaser of charged off debt". They will have bulk bought outstanding debt for pennies on the dollar from Citi. It's possible that they've misidentified you as the owner of this particular debt, they don't seem to have a terribly great reputation.

Can this agency legally pursue me across borders? Can they touch me?

Technically yes, but they would need to obtain a judgement in your country of residence. Probably not worth it for them to spend that much money to chase such a small debt, but who knows.

 

[sherrybaker]

@lynn12345 You should check your credit report and see if there is actually a collection... it could be that your details were surfaced somewhere and there's just enough to send you a legit looking bill.

 

[lynn12345]

@sherrybaker Thanks for the reply. I’ve requested a credit report, but since I live overseas, they have to send it through the mail. It could take up to a month for it to arrive. Don’t I have 30 days to dispute this claim or request validation? What if my report doesn’t arrive on time?

 

[sherrybaker]

@lynn12345 I see on this US gov website there's weekly online reports available - is that not possible? Also, for them to go into collections, that usually takes months for the debt to be delinquent and be sold on so you can definitely request validation. And I doubt they would chase you across borders since there's no cross-border credit impact (that I know of).

It is possible that your details got mixed up or your details got used without permission. In any case based on your comment on not returning, I would recommend locking your credit reports (though there is a max time limit for some providers).

 

[lynn12345]

@sherrybaker I left the States as a young adult with not much credit experience. It's only through this situation that I learned about credit freezing! I'll certainly go ahead and request a credit freeze once my report arrives. In hindsight it's something I should have done years before...

 

[lynn12345]

@sherrybaker Is there any way for me to directly view a digital report? I have to wait nearly a month for this report to come in. I really don’t want to wait that long, especially if this is legitimate and I have 30 days to dispute this.