Blame the Victim

In the day and age we live in, everyone seems to blame everyone else for their problems. I'm lazy because my parent's made me that way, I'm a criminal because I wasn't loved enough as a child, I did something royally stupid with your product, so I'm going to sue you for my stupidity.

And yet, when you actually are a victim of a crime, everyone else blames you.

For instance, identity theft. I'm dealing with this now, and have been for the last four years. I have had to go above and beyond to prove my innocence, and companies still don't believe me. My identity was stolen, I filed a police report, I canceled all of my cards, and reported them stolen to each individual company. I have miles of paperwork regarding disputes, I hired an attorney. I have a letter from my congressman on my behalf. My credit reports have fraud alerts on all of them, and reports are frozen. Everything has been disputed, and the stolen cards show on my report as being reported stolen. Like, years ago.

And yet, I'm still being told "We don't actually know if your identity was stolen."

WHAT?! How much more proof on my behalf do I freaking need to provide? At what point does the burden of proof change from a reasonable request to a weapon being used against a victim of a crime?

I've had it, and I am livid.

I've worked, and worked to resolve and correct all of these problems - these problems have halted and destroyed any semblance of a normal life for my family and myself, financially crippling us for the last four years and will continue to do so for many years into the future. And yet, I'm still hearing 'Well, your card may have just been lost...not stolen", implying that I had reported is stolen, but then used it anyway.

Why the hell would companies allow you to report cards as stolen and then turn around and accuse you of fraudulently acquiring goods with it instead?! I understand that there is fraud out there, I understand that people game the system - but a person who has lost far more money than was "earned" back by way of ill gotten merchandise, and who has paid an attorney a tidy sum, and for one with paper trails and evidence that the cards being used are the ones that were reported stolen, and not the cards that I've had - I think they'd believe me. Not to mention I was always a good customer with excellent credit and low balances, anyway. I had no need to steal anything, I could have just bought it.

Is it me?

I'm dealing with idiots right now who say things like "Well, there's nothing on your credit report to indicate fraud..."

Me: "So yo don't see the fraud alert or credit freeze on the report?"
Idiot: "Well, yes, but that doesn't mean..."
Me: "Do you see all of the cards reported stolen?"
Idiot: 'Well yes, but that may not be the truth...."
Me: "Do you see all of the disputes?"
Idiot: "I see no indication of disputes being made on any of these accounts."
Me: "I'm looking right at the report, here I'll read it to you...."
Idiot: "Well yes, but I have the credit report, and we pull our own..."
Me: "I have ALL THREE REPORTS from the DISPUTES I MADE!"
Idiot: "Well, yes, but that doesn't mean..."
Me:" YES IT DOES!!!"
Me:" Do you have the letters, reports, and files of disputes with businesses?"
Idiot: "Well yes, but there's no indication of fraud..."


AARARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I'm told that these companies don't have to deal with me. I'm told that I may have to pay anyway.

I'm thinking this is a rather nice racket for the credit card companies and banks whose employees are too lazy to do the job they're hired to do - like cancel stolen cards, and check to make sure the identity of the person applying for credit matches the identity of the person on the actual application. Like, maybe checking to see if the person applying has just reported a lot of stolen cards, and needs to be called an verified. You know, just maybe actually preventing theft, instead of encouraging it by honoring every damn purchase made with a STOLEN CARD.

Then they blame the victim of the crime, and demand payment - how nice. Either way, they get their money, right?

Wrong. Not from me they aren't.

Bastards.

But the worst part isn't even being blamed - it's the absolute willful ignorance played by these assholes. "I don't see any indication of fraud here!!"

What freaking report are you looking at, asshat? Becasue my reports have FRAUD written all over them. Literally. In bright red, bold letters. You start to feel like you're living in an alternate universe.

*Sigh*

Yup, let's blame the victims.