Collections question.

[TNDemo]

We recently got a call from a collection company stating we owed several hundred dollars to Verizon. We have had an account with them for years and currently still do. I asked them to send me a copy of what they say I owe since I don't know that anything is in arrears. They said that when we changed to a different plan in April that our contract had not run out and we were charged several hundred dollars for canceling it. We went to the Verizon store to get a new phone and they talked to us about different plans which would work better for us and so we switched. There was no mention of our contract timing. I never knew we owed anything because I would just log on to my account and pay whatever the amount said and apparently this was billed under the old contract and I was not logging into that. If something came in the mail, I missed it, but there is that possibility. Anyway, now that it is in collections, what do I do? I very much resent being charged this with no notice and really resent it being sent to collections. The collections people said Verizon will not talk to me now since they have turned over the bill. What do I do?

[madaboutharry]

1. This seems like a mistake.

Adding to a plan or getting a new phone usually adds TIME to the contract, extending its duration by as much as two years. Some dummy screwed this up. You need to get to a supervisor.

[Xipe Totec]

5. I second that

If they stick by their guns, mention this is deceptive trade practices and do tell Verizon you will cc the State Attorney in any correspondence on this matter.

[NightWatcher]

2. go back to Verizon and talk to them. They can get the account back from collections

the collections people just dont want to give it back. They only get paid if they extort money from you. I think all collections companies should be publically flogged.

[gateley]

3. I think this might be a scam - I've heard of something similar.

YOU need to speak to Verizon to get the straight scoop.

[dflprincess]

6. And get it in writing

n/t

[kdmorris]

4. Get a lot of proof from them

Collections companies are notorious slime. We had one (Capital Recovery Services) call my husband and insist he owed them $1500. But they wouldn't tell us what the bill was for or when it was incurred unless my husband gave them his social security number.

They kept calling for over a year, and finally stopped when we told them that my husband was NOT paying this debt because it wasn't his and we also weren't going to give them his social security number so that they could tack it on to a debt that he didn't remember incurring.

Seemed to me like they went to the phone book, looked up everyone with my husband's name in Florida and decided he was the one that owed it.

So, don't give them any personal information. Make them send it to you. Don't believe them that Verizon won't talk to you. Call Verizon immediately and tell them what is happening and discuss this with them. It might be a mistake. It might not even be you. It might be any number of things, but don't just take their word for it.

[Raven]

7. I have had some experience with this for an 85 year old man

who has been hounded by collection agencies over a bogus Cell phone bill. I am a lawyer but was acting as his friend in this matter. What I did was have him write a letter to the collection agency detailing why he didn't own anything and then I copied the NH Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs. The AG's office got involved very quickly and the matter seemed to be settled until a few months later, my friend got a letter from another collection agency. I sent the info to them and they went away and a few months later, yet another collection agency contacted him. Come to find out, the company who hire the collection agencies give them a certain amount of time to collect and if they don't, the company sends the account to another collection agency. Apparently, my letters and the AG's letter never got send on to the original company.

My advice to you is to get in contact with your state's consumer protection agency and work with them on this.

[KarenS]

8. Call Verizon,,,,,

We had something similar happen with QWest,,, We moved, needed new phone # (with them), had long distance charges come in 2 weeks later on the old phone # ~ so instead of alerting us and giving us a chance to pay, they sent it to collections,,,, I was angry with them & let them know.

on edit,,,,,

The reason the collections people don't want you to call Verizon is that if you & Verizon settle it then the collections people don't get their cut.

[htuttle]

9. Screw the collections people -- talk to Verizon about it, especially since you're a current customer

Changing your plan shouldn't actually change your 'account' at Verizon, unless they are using the stupidest billing system ever devised. If you owed more money for some reason, they would have included it in the bills for your new plan that you saw.

Nowadays, a collections person that calls you on the phone is just as likely to be a scammer out to defraud you for a debt you never owed. There are tons of fraudulent 'collections agencies' out there who are actually in the business of stealing credit card numbers. Especially if they want you to pay the bill over their phone and refuse to provide paper documentary evidence of the debt!

Think about it -- they call you on the phone, get your credit card numbers, and you never even really know who they were or where they were calling from. I think a lot of internet-type scams are now being perpetrated over the phone lines and postal mail. I know someone that got conned into a classic 419 scam entirely through postal mail and phone calls -- no email or phishing involved.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. First off, get together all of your paperwork.

Get a copy of your credit report to see if and when this "debt" was registered there as in arrears too.
Then make a timeline and write your version of events on paper so that you have it as a reference.

It's true that Verizon will no longer want to talk to you about a sold debt but as a current customer you have some leverage. Call and tell them the bare facts -- that when you switched plans you were not made aware of the penalty for canceling the old contract, that you never received a notice of a balance due until the call from the collection agency. If they don't offer to fix it right away, thank them for letting you know that your business is not welcome and that you will start looking for a different carrier (if you're not prepared to do this, don't bother trying to get redress. Voting with your feet is sometimes the only way a company will take you seriously.)

If you need to threaten to move to another carrier, be sure to send a letter to Verizon with the bare facts, a brief summary of the customer service call, and your disappointment with the company. CC it to your state's attorney general office (find an appropriate contact on their web site.)

None of the above may work, but at least it's an avenue to vent your frustration over the seemingly shady business practice. Always vent in a professional manner however.

[helderheid]

11. Go here first:

www.budhibbs.com

Great free advice. Helped me out and answered my questions promptly and never charged me a dime.

[VP505]

12. Here are some links that may help, you don't have to be harassed by collectors!

“Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act.” @
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf and http://www.ftc.gov/

[uppityperson]

13. Verizonwireless rant here..

AIEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! I have spent over 6 hours on the phone with them in the last 2 months, trying to get credited for a phone that I don't have. We returned a phone over 2 months ago, they signed for it but didn't send anything through saying they had it. Finally got that cleared up. I've talked with over 10 people, all sooooooooooo empathetic and caring and understanding. I've spent probably 5 hours on hold listening to that chipper woman talking about how MUCH verizon cares for me and "your problem is our problem" and "we'll fix it the first time you call!" chipper chipper chipper over and over and over and over.

I have finally learned to immediately ask for a supervisor who then says "wow, you have pages of calls". Today they shut off my phones. Even though I have talked with 3 people in the financial part in the last month, being assure by all 3 that yes, there was a credit approved, just not applied yet since they have a "huge backlog".

Today's supervisor was apologetic "that shouldn't have happened", sympathetic "I'm sorry that happened" and managed to get the phones turned on again. And said yes, the credit is approved, just isn't applied.

What. the. fuck? It takes over 2 months to apply a credit that was approved? And in the meantime you send out nasty text messages AND shut off our phones?

I told him no way in HELL was I going to pay to get the phones turned on and he said we'd be charged but he applied a waiver also. Does this mean our credit rating has dropped since we had our phones shut off for non-payment? Yes! And they're really sorry about that.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate them.

thank you for listening and good luck with your dealings with them. Call Verizon. Write down the names of everyone you talk with, and dates. Be firm. Ask for the supervisor right away as the people who answer your calls usually can't do much. Good luck.

[Disturbed]

14. When you talk with a Verizon person be sure to get their name.

you might ask if you can record the convo, as well. I dealt with a similar situation & got a full
payback via a check from them. Then I quit them after the contract expired.

[uppityperson]

15. ALWAYs get a name. I found that running through the list of people I've talked with

gets me listened to faster. I quit t-mobile over them lying to me, lying repetatively, have threatened verizon with this also. First phone we got was broken, and they wouldn't believe it (kiosk) and wouldn't take trade it until I threatened to cancel all 3 lines. I know, I am such an unreasonable customer, to make a scene right there in the mall, loudly, that they wouldn't honor their policies.

Always get the name, write it down, along with date and time (if possible).

[Canuckistanian]

16. Document EVERTHING

Every scap of paper you can find that came in the mail from Verizon.

Verizon was clearly in the wrong when they never mentioned anything about the previous contract.

It was THEIR mistake for starting a new contract that was in violation of the existing one.

THEY'RE the ones with a legal department.

I forget the term, but a corporation with a distinct legal advantage over you cannot profit from such an arrangement.

[kcass1954]

17. Don't admit that you any money to anyone.

Get the name of every person you talk to - ask for their name and a return phone number when the conversation begins. I've also asked for the name of a supervisor up front, even before I need to speak to one. That's an intimidation factor. Ask for absolute proof that you owe the debt, and get them to (snail)mail it to you. Tell them that you're not in the habit of sending money to every asshole who asks for it.

I would think that if you truly owed money to Verizon, they'd just shut off your phones.

We're dealing with a collection issue for my son right now. (He's 21 and a college student who lives at home.) We think that it's an unpaid medical bill from his car accident 3 years ago, but aren't entirely certain of that. Whatever it's for, it's less than $100, and it's been thru probably 5 or 6 different collection agencies. None of them are either willing or able to produce any documentation to prove that it's his debt. The sad part for them is that if he owes the money, we'll pay it - we're not dead-beats - I just won't do it based solely on their say-so.

I told the last caller to go away and leave me alone; the smarty-pants told me that it wasn't my debt so he didn't have to stop calling. I reminded him that the phone line belongs to me, and maybe he'd like to talk to my attorney. It's been quiet lately. (Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud.)