Consumerist
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in your wallet
Capital One Calls To Dun For Payment Before It's Even Due
Cory says Capital One's Collection Department called his mother-in-law the other day in an attempt to reach him, which was weird because his account is in good standing. Their reason? They just wanted to remind him that his credit card payment was due soon. Oh, and to try to upsell him. More » -
debt
Am I Responsible For My Fiancée's Prior Debt?
A reader wants to know whether or not he's going to be held responsible for his fiancée's old, bad debt now that they're getting married. Because we went to Google Lawyer University just now, we're happy to try to help. More » -
wasteful
Collection Agency Sends Four Letters To Collect A $.04 Debt
Pete received a bill in the mail that has him slightly offended and amused. A health care provider has sent his balance to collections after a payment arrived late a few years ago. They will clearly be hurting if he doesn't pay his overdue balance of ....four cents. More » -
rent-to-own
Rent A Center Accused Of Illegal Collection Tactics In Washington
There are many, many good reasons why you shouldn't purchase your home furnishings from rent-to-own outfits, but the state of Washington has discovered an exciting new one: collection tactics from Rent A Center that are so aggressive, they're illegal. More » -
dish network
Call Center Disciplines Reps If You're Not Happy With Your Collections Call
You've most likely seen those surveys you receive on your receipt, or after a chat session or phone call. Most people ignore them unless they get something in return, or service was exceptionally bad or exceptionally good. According to our source R., though, not answering that survey could help the rep you've just talked to lose his or her job. More » -
friendly reminders
Change The Name On Your Utility Bills When You Move Out
Add "change the name on your utility bills" to your post-breakup checklist or you'll end up like reader Noah, who had to pay a $140 cable bill for three months of service his ex-girlfriend used after he moved out. Why? Because the bill was in his name, and if he didn't pay up, it was his credit report that was going to suffer. More » -
renting
Budget Slaps Customer With $500 Repair Fee Months Later
When Sean returned a rented truck to Budget Truck Rental nearly a year ago, he went through the standard inspection with an employee, who then signed off on the return. Now the company has sent a $500 bill to collection for damage they refuse to provide evidence of. More » -
Moreno and Woods
Fake Debt Collectors 'Moreno And Woods' Strike Again
Another reader has contacted us to say that Moreno and Woods, the fake collection agency that likes to threaten and intimidate people into paying huge bills for collections they don't owe, "called my house last night and left a threatening message on my phone for my son." Luckily for Linda, she's got a recording of their threat now. More » -
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general electric
GE Promises Free Inspection And Repair, Then Charges You, Then Threatens To Send You To Collections
Reader Zack is frustrated with General Electric because they offered to inspect and repair his washing machine as a courtesy, then after they came by they stuck him with the bill. Now they're threatening to send him to a collection agency. More » -
rebates
Rebate Company Sends Your Check To The Wrong Person, Tells You To Collect The Money
Reader Mike says that he contacted a rebate company after not receiving his check, only to find out that the company had issued a check to someone else — and then suggested he contact that person and "discuss the matter of your rebate being deposited in his account." Um... what? More » -
att
Getting Internet From AT&T Is Almost Impossible If Your Address Is 914½ Whatever Street
We've seen a few addresses that have fractions in our time on this planet, but we never stopped to think about what it was like to try to order internet at one of these locations. Turns out, its about as annoying as you think it would be. Meet Michael. His address is 914½. This problematic little fraction causes AT&T to completely freak out for two months. More » -
debt
Woman Loses Home Over $68 Dental Bill
Maybe there are no more debtors' prisons, but that doesn't mean your life can't be screwed up by unscrupulous collection agencies.
More »Sonya Capri Ramos says her Salt Lake City home was sold out from under her in 1996 to pay a collections agency seeking payment for dental work performed on one of Ramos's daughters. And despite the fact that she had made three years of payments on a $51,000 mortgage, the title changed hands for just $1,550 at a sheriff's auction.
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charity
Asking the Boston Symphony Orchestra For Donation Information Apparently Commits You To A $25 Pledge
Reader Ian told a Boston Symphony Orchestra representative to mail him information about donating. The orchestra somehow mistook his request for a $25 pledge, and is now accusing Ian of making a "fraudulent pledge" and demanding that he immediately pay up. More » -
outsourcing
U.S. Debt Collecting Being Outsourced To India
The New York Times looks at the blossoming foreign market for debt collection services, and describes a call center in India where the employees are reminded to bring up the 2008 stimulus checks when they call U.S. households, and where everyone claps three times when the first "deal" of the day is made (""Rajesh, for $35 a month for three months," the supervisor yells across the center.) More » -
banking
Wachovia Opens Bank Account Without Permission, Starts Charging Fees
John can't understand how Wachovia charged his startup $12 in fees for failing to maintain a minimum balance when his company never opened an account with Wachovia in the first place. Apparently, his former bank manager decamped to Wachovia and, without his permission, opened a new account "to ensure certain money rates," whatever that means. John isn't mad, and the bank manager agreed to close the account, but John is a little worried because a collections agency has started calling and the account now lists $24.05 in fees. More » -
leaks
Exclusive: AOL's Collections Guide Encourages Agents To Lie And Deceive
An anonymous tipster sent us AOL's 153 page internal collections guidebook for prying money out of delinquent account holders. The guide shows that AOL is following some of the debt industry's most egregious collection tactics by encouraging agents to deceive and lie to customers. After the jump we present AOL's scare tactics, tricks to negotiating a substantial discount, and the full collections guide.
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bills
AT&T Sends Bills To Collections Ten Days After They're Mailed Out
Reader Tom wrote in to let us know that during a conversation with AT&T customer service, a representative told him that it is typical to send out collection notices ten days after the original bill is mailed. Factoring in two or three days for the bill to arrive, two or three days for the check to get back to AT&T, and a Sunday or two, that leaves three to five days for customers to pay their bills before the angry letters and phone calls begin. More » -
harassment
Dell Has Called Every Day For The Past Eight Months... And I'm Not A Customer!
Every day for the past eight months, Dell has called Kat to demand payment for a bill she doesn't owe. Kat unfortunately inherited the phone number of a Dell debtor when she started a new job, something Dell would rather overlook—along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Kat has tried calling, escalating, and having the debtor tell Dell to leave her alone. Dell continually assures her that the problem has been fixed. And then they call again.
More »
collections
New York, 1:19 AM
Thu Nov 12
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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