<prompt> Human: Ive been having some difficulty finding much in the way of answers that dont end in felonies for my mother, so Im stopping by Reddit to see if theres something Im missing.At some point, while I was away at college 6 years ago, my parents used my SSNidentity on an electric bill. I dont recall giving them permission. I was around 19 or 20 at the time, so I dont have the defense of having been a minor at the time. Around two years ago, my mother moved after my father passed and apparently didnt pay this electric bill. Now I am saddled with the 800 debt that just went into collections coincidentally, this is how I discovered it and is currently marring my credit report.I asked my mother about this yesterday. Havent heard back. She is always difficult to get a hold of.I think shell agree to pay it or at least take the debt. Is there a way to transfer a debt after its in collections? If not, do I have much of a defense being that I was of legal age at the time and that the address was my mailing address? Update 127:First, I appreciate the wealth of advice and support! Didnt expect more than a few comments and I was pleasantly surprised.Second, my mother has acknowledged that she, at some point, put the utility in my name while I was away at school. She denied it at first until I showed her the actual bill the electric company sent me which was disconcerting, but I suppose she was ashamed?It gets strange from here: the bill is for a period of usage that occurred after my mother moved from the residence. About a year after, in fact. So, either the electric company goofd or my mother never took transferred or canceled service or the new owners failed to put the electric in their name? Each scenario is equally unusual. So the journey continues.  <response>: I think shell agree to pay it or at least take the debt.Lets be honest here... if she was happy to pay it then why is your name on it?Your name is very likely on it because she was worried she couldnt pay it, or didnt intend to pay it.You basically have 2 solutions to get the debt fixed without you paying it.1. Get her to pay it 100 and remove your name and to agree never to do it again. And to ensure our name is on nothing else.2. ANYTHING LESS... and you will need to file a police report for identity theft in order to get it cleanly removed and handed back to her.Option 3 is you pay it all, or pay part of it, and that would be a dumb idea. 