| DeadBird |
Sorry, need to vent.
So, AT&T just turned me over to a collections agency for an account that I never had.
In August I went to get set up with their DSL service. While in the AT&T store, there was a computer error and the person setting up our account had to restart the process.
First month I get TWO bills with TWO different account numbers. I pay one, call AT&T and say there has been an error and I got double charged, could we please cancel this extra account? They go sure and do so.
I keep getting TWO bills. I keep calling and they tell me it should not be happening and just ignore it.
I get a final notice we're gonna turn you over now bill. I call again. They say it has been taken care of, I reiterate I am not paying them $200 for an account I never had, and all is well.
Collection notice comes from an agency today. Time to call them AGAIN. Any advise? Calling them has proved useless so far and I sure as hell am not letting them steal $200 of my cash.
AT&T SUCKS! |
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| CNY_Dave |
Damn, next step is the phone cops.
I think your current strategy is good, but escalate and get names and phone numbers.
You will get nowhere with the collection agency (best to regard them as mindless bots), getting AT&T to call off the dogs is probably going to be tough.
When its all done, you'll have to challenge the collection blot that's by now already on your credit history.
Dave |
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| ETC |
uuhhhh, that sucks.
save everything, if you have the capability record all the conversations [tell the other person you are recording it], document everything, names, dates, everything.
don't deal with the collection agency, i wouldn't say anything more than " this charge is being contested", actually i wouldn't even call them back.
honestly the fastest easiest way to deal with it is get a lawyer that deals with this on a regular basis. be wary of credit counciling services, that can show up on your credit report . removing stuff off your credit report can be a nightmare, don't trust them [att or collections] to actually get it removed even if they say they will, check it.
other than that, if you want to try to do it yourself you need to escalate it up the foodchain at at&t, get names and if anyone finally admits it's a mistake, request that they send it to you in print or at least email it to you with their name, position etc on the form.
if it is on your credit report once you get the charge resolved, you can dispute it. you need to send the bureaus that are reporting it a letter asking them to dispute the claim with the claimant, if you can, send a copy of your credit report with the charge circled. by law they have to contact the company to verify the charge, if the company tells them it's not valid it gets erased, if they don't respond, it gets erased but, you have to follow up and make sure. also make sure it gets deleted, there are a few ways it can appear and i forget exactly the terms "charged off" and "charge cleared" i think or, just no mention.
stay on it, it sucks but the sooner you get it taken care of, the easier it is.
good luck, been there, done that. |
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| outbackredux |
| Talk to a lawyer. Find out how much it'll cost you to get the lawyer to send them a letter. They only screw with people they think can't defend themselves or give them trouble. If they think your willing to sic a lawyer on em for $200.00 they'll probably think your crazy and leave you alone. |
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| neutron |
Sucks!! Stuff like this happens all the time...
Tell the collections agency to not call you any more. Tell them you are recording the call and they are harassing you. This will stand up in court if you choose to sue at some later date (assuming you actually have the recording). I actually sued an out-of-state collector this way and won $5k. But I had to travel to their state to appear in court.
I recorded all our phone calls (notifying them of such) with a Radio Shack phone pickup and MP3 recorder. The phone pickup works on all my phones, including cell phones, as long as you can put it close to the earpiece speaker.
I still use this recording rig from time to time. Every instance has been for incorrect billing! |
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| Hooray |
I must say...I too hate ATT
2 Stories
1. My father died last year and my account, along with my two brothers, were under his phone. I proceeded to go to the ATT store to see what I could do about moving the lines to a different plan or changing certain things. The lady looks at me like I am lying and goes "I am going to need to see some proof of that!" in a very aggitated and indignant tone. I calmly pulled out my death certificate, letter showing I was executor of the estate, and ID. She looks startled and says "Lemme get my manager". He comes over, does not recognize my presence, does not look up, and continually refers to me as some third person entity...umm...he gonna need to call customer service...we cant help him...THE KICKER, he would have the other woman ask me questions instead of looking up and asking me directly. For instance, "Ask him if he knows the SS# on the account". The woman would ask me, I would say yes, and then she would say "he has the number". This went on for about 10 minutes before I left the store and just paid the bill in my dads name for about a year.
2. Now that I finally have my own plan, they snuck roadside assistance, insurance, and media mesaging on my bill AND then prorated me all these charges for a lapse in the billing cycle on my new account that they chose...no way jose.
ATT sucks but since I hate verizon, I am stuck |
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| SigEpKazz37 |
| Verizon did the same thing to me when I had their DSL back in Philly. I won & didn't have to pay, so hopefully you have the same luck. :29: |
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| yellow1 |
write an email to the folks @ consumerist.com. they sometimes have contact information for larger corporations... unfortunately i wasn't able to find it using the search field.
good luck. stick it to the collections agencies! |
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| Marbleyard |
I know these stories are always long and drawn-out so I'll give the short version of mine.
Verizon was my nemesis, after a couple of bad cust service experiences I canceled my high speed and phone service weeks before before the hook up was supposed to happen. It was still hooked up and I was billed but I never used it. I called (many times over a 2 month period) and WON! I credit my win to DOCUMENTATION of EVERYTHING. Who, what, when, and why every time. For some reason, after never paying a penny, they sent me negative bill where they owe me a dollar and some change!!!!
:21: |
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| Entropy |
quote: Originally posted by Hooray
I must say...I too hate ATT
2 Stories
1. My father died last year and my account, along with my two brothers, were under his phone. I proceeded to go to the ATT store to see what I could do about moving the lines to a different plan or changing certain things. The lady looks at me like I am lying and goes "I am going to need to see some proof of that!" in a very aggitated and indignant tone. I calmly pulled out my death certificate, letter showing I was executor of the estate, and ID. She looks startled and says "Lemme get my manager". He comes over, does not recognize my presence, does not look up, and continually refers to me as some third person entity...umm...he gonna need to call customer service...we cant help him...THE KICKER, he would have the other woman ask me questions instead of looking up and asking me directly. For instance, "Ask him if he knows the SS# on the account". The woman would ask me, I would say yes, and then she would say "he has the number". This went on for about 10 minutes before I left the store and just paid the bill in my dads name for about a year.
2. Now that I finally have my own plan, they snuck roadside assistance, insurance, and media mesaging on my bill AND then prorated me all these charges for a lapse in the billing cycle on my new account that they chose...no way jose.
ATT sucks but since I hate verizon, I am stuck | |
So far I have had no problems like that with AT&T. Of course, I've had my corporate employee discount (I'm not an employee of AT&T but my company has a deal with them that gets us lots of discount) applied and I'm probably marked as "keep the guy with the corporate discount happy even though it's a personal line".
Verizon, on the other hand, was hell. They added an unlimited data plan to my account THREE times without my authorization in five months. Every time I noticed I'd call and yell and get a credit, but it was still a pain and at the time I was a grad student so having the money in Verizon's coffers collecting interest for them was not pleasant. |
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| cougar |
| One word> PREPAID;) |
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| SevenBridges |
| Don't feel ba we used to have verizon cell phones untill out $100 something bill jumped to $436 for no reason we got that one fixed two months later another $436 bill came we got it fixed and dumped the cell phones. Then we get the verizon Fios in the house hoping all would be well then our bill jumped to $470 FOR NOTHING!!! got that fixed and yet again $470 got it fixed again so far no problems in a while but we are planning on dropping them and getting something else. |
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| cougar |
| I no longer have a cell phone. I left it in two pieces on there counter after they tripled the cost of my prepaid plan. I would have used it with another provider except they said I had to buy there phone. I never used the damn thing, I only had it for emergency use. |
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