<prompt> Human: So I noticed I have an item in collections while running my credit report. The collection agency denotes theyre collecting a debt from a North Carolina county I havent lived in since 2009. After investigating the county tax site I notice the amount matches the amount of taxes my father owes for car property taxes for 2013. 1 My father and I have the same name, Im a jr.2 Father has been deceased since March of 2012.3 Ive lived in another county on the other side of the state since 2010.4 Moved to California last year. 5 Collection agency has not attempted to contact me about debt. 6 Assuming any notices may have been sent to my fathers address, addressed to him, as these property taxes belong to his estate. 7 Searching through the county tax payment site lists the debt as active.What do I do? Do I contact the county office and notify them of the error? Its in collections, so do I instead contact the collection agency? Its close to 500 and killed my credit rating.  <response>: First thing to try: Go to annualcreditreport.com as provided by FACTA and complete the dispute process with the bureaus. Give the bureaus 30 to 60 days to review and remove. If you check after this time and its still remaining on your report, read below.Second thing to try: File a dispute letter, via Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. Keep a copy of the letter, and the return receipt on file in case this doesnt solve it. The FTC has some good samples online.Third thing to try: Retain an attourney, and keep the paper trail you have from your second attempt.If the Collections Agency is attempting to contact you, you can read the Wiki article here 