Collection Agency is after us...

[Anonymous]

Help...so we have this cell phone company going after us for an early cancellation fee. I wrote to BBB about the miss up and for awhile they didn't do anything, they wanted the payment of course but we felt we were wrongly charged. That was 2 years ago.

It is about $200 and now they are calling all the time and sending us to a law firm. What course should we take, I really don't want to pay b/c I think the company was being dishonest. We have very good credits in the past but will this one get us?

Has anyone gone through this and what did you end up doing???


TIA
Stressed out momhhhhh

[Anonymous]

Try attorney general's office and dept of commerce. File complaints and send everything certified mail. Send phone company a copy of your letters (also certified).

[Anonymous]

If you had a contract that had an early cancellation fee and you cancelled early, they are entitled to the money. If you were charged for amounts that are not in accordance with your contract, then you can dispute the bill. If you believe the initial contract was dishonest, if you do not pay, you are in violation of the contract - but you might have a claim against them for consumer fraud.

If you want to dispute, the letters from the collection agency and attorney should tell you how to do that. Basically, you write to them and ask them for documentation of the charges. The biggest problem you will encounter though is that they do not have to specify the basis for the charge with enough specificity. After receipt, you can then decline to pay, following which they can take you to court. If you go to court, you will most likely have to pay court costs, interest and the company's attorney's fees if you lose - it usually states this in your contract. Also, while you are in the process of the dispute, you can be reported to the credit bureaus, which may result in a black mark on your credit.

So, as a practical matter, you want to be really sure that contractually you were overcharged. In most cases that I've handled, people don't like the charges but they are legitimate based on the contracts they signed. Once you conclude that you were overcharged, be sure to notify the credit bureaus of the disputed charges because no doubt the failure to pay will be reported before resolution of the underlying issue.

On a personal note, twice I agreed to pay money to avoid having something put on my credit report. Once it was $13.00 and the second time it was about $200. I don't know if I owed the money or if I was wrongly charged. To me, it was far more worth it to have a clean credit report than to avoid paying the money.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

If it's been two years, they may or may not be entitled to the money.

[Anonymous]

The phone company probably sold the debt. Now another company is trying to collect.

[Anonymous]

Just pay the bill. We all get unfair bills sometimes. You do not want this on your credit. It will cost you way more than $200 in the long run. Whenever this happens, pay the bill first....THEN argue. The argument works the same either way. If they find fault, they will re-imburse you. Now they will not back down and in the end....they will get their money. Either that or you'll spend way more time and money (not to mention the stress you'll go through) trying to fight it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses. It really did put me in a bad mood when I talked to them and it was infront of my kids and for that it is worth paying to get the off my back...when DH cancelled the service they told him there was no issue etc. and then they sent the bill. I called so many people and they never sent us a copy of the contract.

[Anonymous]

I went thru something like this with T Mobil. My contract was up so I switched to Verizon. I explained to the guy on the phone what I wanted to do, he tolded me to leave one line on and transfer, and turn other off. That is what I thought I did. 2 yrs of harassment later, I just paid the bill to get them to leave me alone. I think it sucks, I think it is a racket, I was in the complete right, even the people I spoke with about 100 times agreed, but said once customer service says no, that is the answer. I email and wrote the ceo of t mobil. I would not use that company again if it was my only option. I called BBB, lawyers, ect. really I guess I could take it to small claims court but by the time I bap a baby sitter, get a lawyer to help me and everything else, it would cost more than the 200 I paid. They know that too. I was not worried about my credit b/c even the 3 big credit guys agreed with me when I called them and discussed this with them. I was told it would not affect my credit as long as I denied and gave reason for the so called debt. I guess my long answer, sorry, is go to small claims court if you do not want to pay. I really feel bad that I did not do that myself. I should have, but did not want the hassel it takes to do so. Maybe you have a lawyer friend that can help you out.

[Anonymous]

Same company here...
that's awful and I would NOT use them ever again!