When a Reddit user discovered that he shared a Social Security number with someone else who had the exact same name, birthday and place of birth, he thought the nightmare would end once the Social Security Administration issued him a new SSN. But instead of solving the problem, it opened a new chapter of chaos that would stretch over years.

Credit History Wiped, Legal Trouble Mounts

In a recent post on Reddit’s r/personalfinance forum, the person explained that after being given a new SSN in 2018, his financial life collapsed.

“Ever since I was issued the new number, I have not been able to get any loans,” the original poster wrote. Any attempt at a credit check either failed or came back with no credit score. “Nothing has been reported to my credit report.”

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He assumed time would heal it, but years later, two of the three credit bureaus still showed little to no data. TransUnion had zero information on file. Equifax had just one account. Only Experian was showing some of his credit lines, but even that report was missing multiple accounts, like old car payments, utilities, and rent.

It wasn't just credit access that suffered. Because the other person continued using the old SSN, the person said he was repeatedly mistaken for someone else. He described being sent legal documents for unpaid child support on a child that wasn't his. He was almost forced to appear in court in North Carolina to prove it.

Things got worse when law enforcement became involved.

“I was also arrested by the [Department of Motor Vehicles] police for DMV fraud and they suspended my license because [they] thought that I was committing fraud,” he said. “But they just did not have my new Social Security number.”

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Credit Bureaus Didn't Merge His Files

According to commenters on the thread, the issue stemmed from how credit bureaus handle new SSNs. When someone is issued a new number, credit bureaus don't automatically merge their old credit file with the new one.

“They wait for you and your creditors to update them,” one top commenter wrote. That means his accounts never connected to his new identity, and new creditors couldn't verify him.

The fix? Experts suggest mailing all three bureaus a detailed packet that includes the old SSN, new SSN, a letter from the SSA explaining the change, government ID, and proof of address. That's supposed to trigger a manual file merge.

He said he had already asked creditors to update his new SSN and was told they were reporting correctly. But since the bureaus didn't merge the files, it didn’t matter.

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A Broken System

To make matters worse, he said he found the man who shared his old SSN and that the “dude is a real piece of sh*t.” During a car accident, police told the OP’s girlfriend's parents he had a criminal record, even though those charges belonged to the other man. “Basically, when a cop pulls behind me, runs my plates and my name pops up, it shows all the bad sh*t the other guy did.”

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For OP, the emotional toll has been heavy. He is currently the sole income earner while caring for a partner with stage 4 cancer.

“Not only is this affecting my life financially,” he wrote, “it is also affecting the time and effort I have to prove that I'm not this other person.”

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