Calm, cool, and collected.
April 24, 2013 12:04 PM Subscribe
I would assume that a company has a legal obligation to notify a consumer of outstanding charges on his or her account in a timely manner – namely, before sending that account to collections. Is this so? Can you direct me to the specific Federal or local (Massachusetts) statutes that establish this obligation?
After I closed my Dish Network account in 2011, the return kit for their equipment (such as it was) never arrived. I foolishly assumed that if they actually wanted the equipment, I would hear from them. Two months later, having moved across the country, I paid a final bill for my early termination fees (received, like all my previous bills, via email) and never heard from them again.
Fast forward to January 2013, when I finally did hear something – from the collections agency Afni, Inc. Notably, this notice was given to me after the account was given “placed for collection” status with the credit reporting agencies.
After several certified letters, some recorded phone calls, and some squeaky-wheeling on twitter, the equipment has now been returned, along with $17 for the privilege of returning it. So we're square right? Wrong. The black mark on my credit record, regardless of having been paid, would remain there for 7 years. That is unacceptable.
Had I been notified of the charge when it was placed on my account, I would have taken care of the whole situation at that time. Dish could claim that I ignored the bills, but my gmail account – and everything else about my bill-paying habits during the relevant period – tell a different story.
I do not dispute the cause or legitimacy of the charges, and they have now been fully paid. Under the law, can I really be held responsible (and for seven long years) for a debt that I was never given a fair chance to pay when it was due?
After I closed my Dish Network account in 2011, the return kit for their equipment (such as it was) never arrived. I foolishly assumed that if they actually wanted the equipment, I would hear from them. Two months later, having moved across the country, I paid a final bill for my early termination fees (received, like all my previous bills, via email) and never heard from them again.
Fast forward to January 2013, when I finally did hear something – from the collections agency Afni, Inc. Notably, this notice was given to me after the account was given “placed for collection” status with the credit reporting agencies.
After several certified letters, some recorded phone calls, and some squeaky-wheeling on twitter, the equipment has now been returned, along with $17 for the privilege of returning it. So we're square right? Wrong. The black mark on my credit record, regardless of having been paid, would remain there for 7 years. That is unacceptable.
Had I been notified of the charge when it was placed on my account, I would have taken care of the whole situation at that time. Dish could claim that I ignored the bills, but my gmail account – and everything else about my bill-paying habits during the relevant period – tell a different story.
I do not dispute the cause or legitimacy of the charges, and they have now been fully paid. Under the law, can I really be held responsible (and for seven long years) for a debt that I was never given a fair chance to pay when it was due?
Unfortunately, you probably were notified. Your contract with Dish almost certainly stated that you were obligated to return the equipment, and it probably also put you on notice that they could refer your account to collections and report late payments (including the equipment charge) to the credit bureaus.
And you have lost any negotiating power by paying the charges. Perversely, you are better off not paying a debt unless they agree to remove the derogatory mark in exchange for your payment ("pay for delete").
At this point, I would continue to raise a stink on Twitter. You may not have a legal argument, but you can appeal to reason.
If it's any consolation, the mark may not hurt your credit that much, particularly if your credit is otherwise good, and it'll have less and less effect the older it is (even before it drops off completely).
posted by payoto at 12:21 PM on April 24, 2013
And you have lost any negotiating power by paying the charges. Perversely, you are better off not paying a debt unless they agree to remove the derogatory mark in exchange for your payment ("pay for delete").
At this point, I would continue to raise a stink on Twitter. You may not have a legal argument, but you can appeal to reason.
If it's any consolation, the mark may not hurt your credit that much, particularly if your credit is otherwise good, and it'll have less and less effect the older it is (even before it drops off completely).
posted by payoto at 12:21 PM on April 24, 2013
If you think you were not contractually/legally obligated to return the equipment right away because they did not send you the return kit, then you could try disputing the debt with the credit reporting agencies. FTC info on disputing credit report items here.
posted by yarly at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2013
posted by yarly at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2013
IS there a black mark on your credit report? Check it out. If so, then dispute it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:58 PM on April 24, 2013
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:58 PM on April 24, 2013
If you settled the issue with Dish, you might be able to get Dish to rescind their contract with AFNI, since the account was never handled by a debt collector.
The problem is that they only need to prove they sent you notice. Not necessarily that you received it. A court might throw it out. But that would require actually going to court. Now that you've paid the charge, they have very little incentive to even think about the matter again.
posted by politikitty at 1:00 PM on April 24, 2013
The problem is that they only need to prove they sent you notice. Not necessarily that you received it. A court might throw it out. But that would require actually going to court. Now that you've paid the charge, they have very little incentive to even think about the matter again.
posted by politikitty at 1:00 PM on April 24, 2013
I would assume that a company has a legal obligation to notify a consumer of outstanding charges on his or her account in a timely manner – namely, before sending that account to collections. Is this so?
I was curious about this myself, not long ago, and here's what I found out (IANAL or any type of authority, so check this out for yourself/your state): According to the FDIC, unless that kind of notification was written into your contract, a company is not at all obligated to notify you before sending your bill to collections, because the disclosure was part of your original contract. In fact, they don't even have to send you a statement "if the creditor deems it uncollectible." That info comes from the FDIC website under "consumer protection."
The black mark on my credit record, regardless of having been paid, would remain there for 7 years. That is unacceptable.
They have no obligation to delete the entry on your credit report, especially since you already paid (and it's much harder to get "pay for delete" nowadays, anyway). By paying it, you legitimized both the debt and how it was collected. You may be able to appeal to whomever owns the debt/put the entry on your CR to have it deleted but it seems unlikely.
posted by sm1tten at 4:48 PM on April 24, 2013
I was curious about this myself, not long ago, and here's what I found out (IANAL or any type of authority, so check this out for yourself/your state): According to the FDIC, unless that kind of notification was written into your contract, a company is not at all obligated to notify you before sending your bill to collections, because the disclosure was part of your original contract. In fact, they don't even have to send you a statement "if the creditor deems it uncollectible." That info comes from the FDIC website under "consumer protection."
The black mark on my credit record, regardless of having been paid, would remain there for 7 years. That is unacceptable.
They have no obligation to delete the entry on your credit report, especially since you already paid (and it's much harder to get "pay for delete" nowadays, anyway). By paying it, you legitimized both the debt and how it was collected. You may be able to appeal to whomever owns the debt/put the entry on your CR to have it deleted but it seems unlikely.
posted by sm1tten at 4:48 PM on April 24, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Here's a site for debt collection law in Mass.
Don't respond to these people, don't admit to them that their info is correct.
This is probably a last gasp effort collection agency that bought the debt and the right to collect it for 12 cents.
Typically the statute of limitations is 7 years.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:11 PM on April 24, 2013