collections agency

What is the name of your state? Maine

A collections agency has been calling me on a bill that I refuse to pay. I canceled a contract with a company because thier service was terrible, and they hit me with a cancelation charge. The collections company hounded me for weeks, and I explained the situation to them. They said that I could make a payment, and "settle" the bill. I agreed to pay them, and explained that I would pay only to get them off my back. No more phone calls, and settle in full. Well, now they want more money from me. I have nothing in writing (big mistake), and my last words to the lady were to leave me alone, and stop harrassing me!!! She said have a nice day and hung up.

So, is this common practice to lie in order to get some money, then continue to harrass them until you get the rest of the money??? How do I get them to understand that "a leaking propane tank in the back yard is unacceptable, and since they did not rectify the situation I had to cancel the contract." End of story, I am not paying a cancelation charge to a company that has such terrible service.

How do I get them to go away???

Randy

[family3]

Always keep all the paperwork !
Did you send them notification and have proof of the faulty item ?
Look at your contract and see if the fine print has anything " If the ?? item does not work, you have XX days to contact?
Anything that would back up your claim.
I agree if it don't work, you shouldn't have to pay for it. But did you contact them right away about it not working?
Some contracts like these allow XX days after found to be faulty.
Any correspondence you have had with them, now or in the futher needs to be dated, written down etc.
Contact the BBB to see if they have any other claims on file.
Also, do you know the item that is faulty? If it has a name, try to contac the manufacturer or distributor of that item.
Do you still have the item on your property or did they pick it up?
If they picked it up what was the reason they did and did they know it was faulty if they did?
Sometimes calling the right person in charge will get you more than talking to the sales clerk.
Goodluck and keep at them, if it is there fault and you didn't violate the item or the agreed terms, you can beat this with good records and effort.
Send a registered letter that has to be signed by them with the dates, details ( problems, faulty equipment )etc so they know you are serious.

[Ladynred]

So, is this common practice to lie in order to get some money, then continue to harrass them until you get the rest of the money???

Yep, lying is absolutely one of their top traits and tactics.

How do I get them to understand that "a leaking propane tank in the back yard is unacceptable, and since they did not rectify the situation I had to cancel the contract."

News Flash ! The collection agency doesn't give a rat's patoot what the story is, their only job is to get the money from you.

Did you cancel the contract IN WRITING ?? Were they aware of your complaint ?? Did you try to rectify the situation before you supposedly cancelled ?? They may have every right to bill you for the cancellation fee - if it was in your contract and if you didn't follow procedures for resolving the problem.

Did you settle in FULL ? What more are they asking for ??

How do you make them go away ? - You don't.. not unless you give them what they want or find away to prove they have no right to collect it from you.

I spoke to the propane company several times regarding the issue. Never in writing, and thier response was always that they would fix it, but never did. When I called them to cancel my service I knew I had a 1 year contract, but there was some fine print to a cancelation charge of $75.00 even though it was 5 years after I signed the contract. Pretty sneaky, and now I know why. Because thier service is so bad they have to lock people in.
I did not keep any of the paper work, because I agreed to the $25.00 charge and they would settle. That was paid within 3 weeks since I received the ca's letter. After I paid that, I threw away all (little paperwork) there was.

You say that I have to give them what they want to make them go away. I did, it was $25.00. Now they want another $70.00, the balance of the cancelation charge plus interest. I know this is not much money, but it fries my butt that someone can sell you junk, and collect on it. So this lie about a $25.00 settlement charge is a fair and legal tactic???

Randy

[Ladynred]

No, its far from "fair" and I wish I could say it is NOT legal - but it is There is nothing fair when it comes to collection agencies. They're out for one thing - to get the money and many of them don't care what they have to say or do to get it. Too many DO break the law in doing so too - but lying about a settlement is not a violation of that law.

Did you get anything in writing saying that the $25 was the settlement and the debt is paid ?? If not, then they just lied to get money out of you. If you got nothing in writing stating it was a done deal for $25, then you've got nothing, basically. Is it the SAME collection agency that you paid the $25 to ?

Yes, it is the same ca. I did get the name of the person who made the phoney settlement deal with me. I repeated it several times with him, and his super. I clearly stated that this is a settlement in full, and there would be no more payments. They agreed**************.all a big lie. Like you said, everything they say is a big lie. Lesson learned, don't believe ANYTHING they say. Good thing we are talking only a few dollars (less than $100).

Thank you for all your advice. You have been very informative, along with this forum. Next time I will start here before I do anything that requires some legal advice.

Randy

[Ladynred]

I'd be willing to bet that that 'supervisor' you think you talked to was only collectors buddy sitting a the next desk !!