columbia house

(Ed and Eddie)

Columbia House Improbably Still Exists, Files For Bankruptcy Protection

You might have the same reaction that we did to news that the company that owns Columbia House filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today: astonishment that it’s still in business at all. Our younger readers are probably just wondering what a “Columbia House” is. Yet the company still exists, and business isn’t quite where it was at the company’s peak in 1996. [More]

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A consumer who received a collections notice that began, “DEAR SHITFACE,” will sue the collections agency next week. [Caveat Emptor]

Debt Collector Addresses Notice To "SHIT FACE"

Debt Collector Addresses Notice To "SHIT FACE"

Collection agency addresses collection notice to “SHIT FACE.” The letter begins, “Dear SHIT…” Below a line where the debtor is supposed to sign, the pejorative again appears. Best of all, the debt is only $16.39, for Columbia House (purveyors of fine 1cent for 624,215 CD offers). The debtor signed an affidavit saying he didn’t sign up under that name, nor did he use profanity in his correspondence. Consumer lawyer and sometimes Consumerist contributing blogger Sam Glover thinks the sobriquet is a deliberate touch by the debt collector. Debt collectors frequently resort to intimidation, though they “don’t usually document their harassment.”