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?
collections
Getting Internet From AT&T Is Almost Impossible If Your Address Is 914½ Whatever Street
By 7.24.08
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.
Woman Loses Home Over $68 Dental Bill
By 5.22.08
Maybe there are no more debtors’ prisons, but that doesn’t mean your life can’t be screwed up by unscrupulous collection agencies.
Asking the Boston Symphony Orchestra For Donation Information Apparently Commits You To A $25 Pledge
By 5.18.08
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.
U.S. Debt Collecting Being Outsourced To India
By 4.24.08
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.)
Wachovia Opens Bank Account Without Permission, Starts Charging Fees
By 4.20.08
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.
Exclusive: AOL's Collections Guide Encourages Agents To Lie And Deceive
By 4.5.08
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.
AT&T Sends Bills To Collections Ten Days After They’re Mailed Out
By 4.1.08 — Updated: 10.25.12
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.
Dell Has Called Every Day For The Past Eight Months… And I'm Not A Customer!
By 3.23.08
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.
Update: Zombie Utility Bill Uprising Defeated!
By 2.27.08
Mike, the subject of the post “When Zombie Utility Bills Attack!,” has an update for us:
Collection Agencies Sending Out 1099-C Forms For Zombie Debts?
By 2.8.08
It seems that some bottom-feeding debt collection companies—the ones who buy old debts that are frequently beyond the point where you can be sued for collection (what the FTC calls “time-barred debts”)—purchase old debts, mark them up with incredibly high penalties and fees, then “forgive” them and write them off as tax losses and send the debtors 1099-C forms—which means you have to pay taxes on the forgiven amount. If this happens to you, here are a few things you should consider first.
Capital One Won't Really Close Your Credit Card, Will Secretly Continue To Bill You
By 2.5.08
When Capital One “closes” your credit card account, they’ll continue to allow automatic withdrawals even though the account is closed. But they won’t send you a statement—you know, because it’s closed!—so that you’ll end up with late fees. Quenten experienced this first hand when he closed his account recently, and now Capital One has sent his account to collections over a $38.00 late fee for two 38-cent charges that he never knew about.
Creditors Can Steal Your Social Security Check Right Out Of Your Bank Account
By 1.6.08
Nathalie Martin’s elderly cousin had her social security check garnished straight from her bank account by a collections agency. Apparently, most banks skip over the section of federal law that protects social security and other public benefits from creditors. Good thing Nathalie is a bankruptcy scholar and knows how to fight the sleazy debt collectors.
An Overdue Library Book Could Scuttle Your Dreams Of Home Ownership
By 12.28.07
That unreturned library book could threaten your credit score if it becomes a permanent fixture on your shelf. According to the New York Times, libraries are treating borrowed materials as debts and siccing debt collectors on borrowers who fail to pay longstanding late fines. The Queens Public Library has used Unique Management Services to collect over $11.4 million from delinquent borrowers, who may not realize that their unreturned books could eventually stand between them and a mortgage.
Charter Bills For Returned Equipment, Sends Account To Collections
By 12.8.07
Charter accused Kevin of failing to pay for unreturned equipment, even though Kevin paid his final bill in full and has a receipt for a returned cable box. Charter customer service representatives were happy to play whack-a-mole whenever the bogus charges for the equipment appeared on Kevin’s bill, but Charter eventually tired of the infuriatingly unwinnable game and sent Kevin’s account to collections.
T-Mobile Loses Cancellation Letter Twice, Sends Account To Collection Agency
By 11.11.07
T-Mobile sent reader Ivan’s account to collections after he twice cancelled his service. He first cancelled in August, but T-Mobile mysteriously lost the cancellation letter. Ivan faxed over a second cancellation letter while a CSR waited on the phone to confirm receipt. Having switched to Verizon, Ivan didn’t care when in September, someone stepped on the T-Mobile phone lying in his car, breaking the screen. T-Mobile is now demanding that Ivan pay a bill that lists only a reinstatement fee. Ivan writes:
Verizon Mars Credit Report, Refuses To Accept Payment
By 3.17.07
Our anonymous reader could not convince Verizon to take his money after noticing a mark from the telecom on his credit report. Our reader paid his bills in full throughout 2006, yet his credit report showed a collection request in October for $0.00. Verizon usually charges more for everything. Our reader called Verizon.
Apparently when I switched billing plans they canceled my old account and opened a new one, which left a balance on the old account. I never received a bill on the old account, but according to Verizon and Elliott they were mailed out and better yet I paid a mere $50.00 to the $95.08 balance of which I have no record and did not come from me. So low and behold I do have a balance of $45.08 not the $0 balance reported on the credit report. I asked Elliott at the time how this is possible and I would be happy to make good on any money I owed. I did not want my credit wrecked over this incident. Elliot did not want my payment and stated there was nothing he could do to help.
Nobody at Verizon wanted our reader’s money.
American Express: What's An Apartment Number?
By 3.9.07
American Express truncated Ted’s address and sent his account to collections when he never received or paid his bill. The card in question was a backup card Ted used once in May 2006. He called Amex when he didn’t receive a bill in June. They told him a bill would only be issued if there were charges. He asked for one anyway, but they refused. Company policy.
Jump forward to December 27th. 8:30 AM. I get woken up by a collections agency telling me a) that I owe American Express for a charge from August, that b) I was obviously defrauding them, and that c) I was, to put it mildly, not being cooperative.
Ted never received a statement. Ted never received a late-notice. Ted never got a call from Amex. So why was a collections agency on the phone?
