What's my liability here?

[Anonymous]

OP, we just had the exact same experience with a local counter company last week where we received a letter saying we had not paid for counters we had put in a couple of years ago. I wonder if this is some kind of systematic error or something? We called and left a message saying that this was the first we had heard of this and that we had paid what we owed at the time. Haven't heard anything else.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Just discussed it with my husband, and we aren't going to order the old statements.

The whole thing is extremely fishy. They pretty much admitted their accounting is a mess. The "invoice" they sent me is dated two months after the install. It doesnt' break down materials or labor. When I pointed out that by their own policy they shouldn't have installed without clearing full payment (and they installed our granite twice!), the lady just told me I would not believe how many times that happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two years is not too long for collections. Could it be that you did not pay?

Have you sent them all the other documentation?

I have the email chain where the prepayment policy was explained. My last email basically said - sounds good, I'll give you a call right now with the cc number.

So, is there a possibility I didn't call? Or they miskeyed or forgot to run the number? And I never noticed a missing $1000 charge from our remodel budget. And, they went ahead and installed the granite two times anyhow. And, they just noticed this two years later and only now decided to send the bill.

Sure. I guess, I can't say it's impossible. But it's pretty darn unlikely!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One reason I still get paper statements.

But for 2 years - very surprised you can't access online.

I think the ball is in your court.

Wells Fargo only lets me see 18 months back online.

[Anonymous]

In MD two years is the statute of limitations for collections, actually. Not sure what state you are in. Although if you acknowledged the debt (agreed it was yours) you reset the clock. That's why loan servicers try to scare you/bullying you into acknowledging the deb. Not sure what the deal is in VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MD two years is the statute of limitations for collections, actually. Not sure what state you are in. Although if you acknowledged the debt (agreed it was yours) you reset the clock. That's why loan servicers try to scare you/bullying you into acknowledging the deb. Not sure what the deal is in VA.

The statute of limitations on collection of monies owed on a written contract is three years. If OP signed anything with the company at the start of the project, that's the contract. Even if they didn't sign it, pretty sure the limit for collection on oral contracts is three years as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MD two years is the statute of limitations for collections, actually. Not sure what state you are in. Although if you acknowledged the debt (agreed it was yours) you reset the clock. That's why loan servicers try to scare you/bullying you into acknowledging the deb. Not sure what the deal is in VA.

The statute of limitations on collection of monies owed on a written contract is three years. If OP signed anything with the company at the start of the project, that's the contract. Even if they didn't sign it, pretty sure the limit for collection on oral contracts is three years as well.

See Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code § 5-101. Three years.

[Anonymous]

Although you may not be able to access your statements for free, have you tried calling the cc company to see if they can search by the amount?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two years is not too long for collections. Could it be that you did not pay?

Have you sent them all the other documentation?

I have the email chain where the prepayment policy was explained. My last email basically said - sounds good, I'll give you a call right now with the cc number.

So, is there a possibility I didn't call? Or they miskeyed or forgot to run the number? And I never noticed a missing $1000 charge from our remodel budget. And, they went ahead and installed the granite two times anyhow. And, they just noticed this two years later and only now decided to send the bill.

Sure. I guess, I can't say it's impossible. But it's pretty darn unlikely!

The date on the email would narrow down which credit card statement to get. I'd be pretty frustrated in your shoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the OP,

I would not volunteer any information to the vendor. Tell them it doesn't work like that, it's not up to you to prove that you paid a bill, but it's up to them to prove that you owe them something by providing a valid invoice first.

Do you have a signed purchase order with them?

If the invoice is for materials, it needs to show when it was delivered and accepted by you. It's okay if the invoice date is sometime after the actual delivery was made, but the invoice still needs to describe the specific thing that they are charging for.

Statute of limitations in Virginia for written contracts is 5 years. It's likely you signed something to initiate the purchase.

This
they are trying to get you to do their work
burden of proof is on them
but, like another pp, I find it odd that you cannot look up your cc statements online

[Anonymous]

Do not be so easily shaken, and do not be quick to acknowledge that you could "possibly" owe it.

THIS:
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am writing in regards to the above-referenced debt to inform you that I am
disputing this debt. Please verify the debt as required by the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act.
I am disputing this debt because I do not owe it.
Because I am disputing this debt, you should not report it to the credit
reporting agencies. If you have already reported it, please contact the credit
reporting agencies, inform them that the debt is disputed, and ask them to
delete it from my credit report. Reporting information that you know to be
inaccurate, or failing to report information correctly, violates the Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
Finally, please note that I do not wish to receive further telephone calls or
letters concerning this debt that I do not owe to your client. The Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act requires you to respect this request. See 15 U.S.C.
§1692(c).
Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[Anonymous]

Op here. I definitely do not think I owe it. I wanted to point out, even in the absence of my credit card statement, how extremely unlikely the chain of events would be if I did happen to owe it.

I really don't want to name my bank, but I did call them and it's definite that the most recent available statement for online search is dec of 2012.

My husband is an attorney, so he drafted a polite but firm letter stating our reasoning and that, while we happy to engage to a certain extent, we were unwilling to incur fees or spend further time on the matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I definitely do not think I owe it. I wanted to point out, even in the absence of my credit card statement, how extremely unlikely the chain of events would be if I did happen to owe it.

I really don't want to name my bank, but I did call them and it's definite that the most recent available statement for online search is dec of 2012.

My husband is an attorney, so he drafted a polite but firm letter stating our reasoning and that, while we happy to engage to a certain extent, we were unwilling to incur fees or spend further time on the matter.

UH -- Your DH is an attorney and you are asking us?
Jesus take the wheel!

[Anonymous]

Was this by any chance Counter Intelligence? We had the same thing happen this week, but luckily had the reciepts to dispute it. (we had the final invoice amount and the credit card statement showing they had been paid that amount).

[Anonymous]

This is 13:09 and ours was from Counter Intelligence.