A collection agency took Kamran Towfigh to Santa Monica Small Claims Court last week, but it got the wrong guy.
The collection agency has been trying for the past five years to track down a Los Angeles attorney who uses the name Kamran Towfigh as one of his aliases, said Dan Cobb, the collections agent.
But the social security number the service was given by the attorney was wrong, so when the service tracked down a man by the same name, it thought it had finally got the debtor.
“This is all our fault, he’s not the right guy,” Cobb said. “This is his name, but it’s the wrong social security number.”
The real Kamran Towfigh felt so harassed by the collection agency he filed a counter-suit against them.
However, since he is not the Kamran Towfigh the collection agency is looking for, Judge Pro Tem Alan Freedman ruled that as long as the collection agency stopped sending threatening letters to him, he has no legal standing in the matter.
“If they continue to harass you, you might have a claim,” Freedman said. “Should this not stop, then you can pursue some type of action.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 3, 2003. Read the original PDF.