Iowa
I was just visiting my parents for a few days. Mom kept a pile of mail for me that had arrived during the past few months from solicitors that never got my change of address notification. Nothing but bull****, mostly—credit card applications and coupon books. Oh, and a bill for $180 from an Illinois video store.
They said I had rented 10 movies four months ago and that they hadn’t heard from me since. Now, forgetting to return movies, even a whole bunch of movies and even for real long time—it something my retarded ass is fully capable of. But this notice is from a store in Sterling, Illinois. I haven’t even been to that town in over a year, let alone rented a movie there. And they say I’ve stolen movies that I wouldn’t be ashamed to watch, let alone keep. Being accused of theft is insulting enough, but accusing me of watching “The Day After Tomorrow” is crossing the line.
So I figure it’ll be no big deal. This was a chain video store and I remember forgetting my card a couple of times and just giving the kid behind the counter my name without providing any other form of ID and being able to rent. One of the many dozens of people in Sterling who hate me must have just given my name and been allowed to rent 10 movies. I called them up and told them my story—I was 200 miles away on the day the movies were checked out, that I haven’t even been to Sterling in over a year, and that I would never rent such horrible movies as those listed on the invoice. His response was along the lines of “Tough ****, you’re responsible for your own account no matter what, you pay us $180 or we go to a collection agency.”
What the hell should I do? I really don’t want to pay $180 for ten movies I didn’t take unless I absolutely have to and I’m tempted to ignore this situation and hope it goes away. But what would happen if I just tell the store to **** off? Could they go to the cops, and would the cops even care? And if they do report this to a collection agency, then what? They don’t know my current phone number or address, but could this wind up screwing up my credit rating?
I might try calling someone higher up in the company, but like I said if I can get away with ignoring this that’s what I would prefer to do.
I was just visiting my parents for a few days. Mom kept a pile of mail for me that had arrived during the past few months from solicitors that never got my change of address notification. Nothing but bull****, mostly—credit card applications and coupon books. Oh, and a bill for $180 from an Illinois video store.
They said I had rented 10 movies four months ago and that they hadn’t heard from me since. Now, forgetting to return movies, even a whole bunch of movies and even for real long time—it something my retarded ass is fully capable of. But this notice is from a store in Sterling, Illinois. I haven’t even been to that town in over a year, let alone rented a movie there. And they say I’ve stolen movies that I wouldn’t be ashamed to watch, let alone keep. Being accused of theft is insulting enough, but accusing me of watching “The Day After Tomorrow” is crossing the line.
So I figure it’ll be no big deal. This was a chain video store and I remember forgetting my card a couple of times and just giving the kid behind the counter my name without providing any other form of ID and being able to rent. One of the many dozens of people in Sterling who hate me must have just given my name and been allowed to rent 10 movies. I called them up and told them my story—I was 200 miles away on the day the movies were checked out, that I haven’t even been to Sterling in over a year, and that I would never rent such horrible movies as those listed on the invoice. His response was along the lines of “Tough ****, you’re responsible for your own account no matter what, you pay us $180 or we go to a collection agency.”
What the hell should I do? I really don’t want to pay $180 for ten movies I didn’t take unless I absolutely have to and I’m tempted to ignore this situation and hope it goes away. But what would happen if I just tell the store to **** off? Could they go to the cops, and would the cops even care? And if they do report this to a collection agency, then what? They don’t know my current phone number or address, but could this wind up screwing up my credit rating?
I might try calling someone higher up in the company, but like I said if I can get away with ignoring this that’s what I would prefer to do.