[EpicEng]

I don't believe that to be true but, in this case, it's a parent opting their ten year old out of it. The point is that this can be resolved to their benefit. Instead, they would rather scream about it being unfair. No one cares; the only people who get hurt will be them.

[wool_gather]

How did an 11 year old kid get "opted in" to the system in the first place?

And resolving an unfair situation by working within the absurd system without screaming about it just means that people will continue to be hurt by it.

[EpicEng]

Mistakes happen, but I obviously have no idea. You have to chose your battles. If you want to fight the credit bureaus then go for it, more power to you. Most of us, myself included, don't have the time, energy, or desire. I'd rather just take care of it and spend my time on more important matters.

[jimktrains2]

Is it really to their benefit of they loose money unrelated to the supposed debt doing it?

[EpicEng]

Yes, because it's better than the alternative (ruining the credit rating of your ten year old, something they'll have to fix 8+ years from now). A perfect solution doesn't always exist.

In this case it's very unlikely they would need to hire a lawyer anyway.

[jimktrains2]

I thought debt falls off your report after so long?

A perfect or at least more ideal solution would be a response asking for age verification and not ignoring the parents because it's not their name.

[EpicEng]

You're correct; it drops off your credit report after 7 years, but the debt itself doesn't go away.

The solution here is to do what one of the posters above me said to do. Dispute the claim, inform the collector that they are going after a minor, demand all further communications be made via mail.