I have two accounts that turn up on my credit report. The reason I haven’t paid them is I don’t feel they’re just debts (one’s not even a legal debt, the other one’s unreasonable but I understand may be). I’ve tried writing letters, making calls, and disputing them to the Big 3 credit reporting companies, and I have the money to pay them off but I just can’t bring myself to do it when I don’t feel I owe them.
One is from a cell phone company that I won’t identify though you can find many dissatisfied customers and all-tell similar stories. I cancelled my service “live and in person” years ago- around 2000. I paid all that I owed through that day. A few months later I got a bill, called the service number several times before finally getting a human and when I did I cancelled it again, was told all would be well, took her name and ID, etc… Over the years I moved several times, changed computers, misplaced or lost the information and thought it was no longer needed, then around 2003 I got another bill, this from a collection agency they’d turned it over to. I wrote the collection agency when I couldn’t get a human on the phone and heard no response but the bills stopped coming. Then I started getting them from another collection agency a few months later.
The annoying thing is that the account will show I never once made a phone call on that cell phone after the time that I say I cancelled my service, but with all the fees and collector’s percentages and the like the damned thing is up to almost $200.
The other one’s trickier. I assumed at first there was no way I owed it but I understand it’s possible that I do, though how legally they can do this I’ve no idea. I had a credit card to a clothing store (one with a gaping problem in their billing). I paid off and destroyed the credit card. Either I was $3 short or the card reamortized or what-not, but somehow I paid off $3 less than was owing and I got a bill for $13- that’s the $3 plus a $10 late fee. I took it into the nearest store (this was when they accepted payments at stores- they no longer do), the manager laughed, told me to pay $3 and he’d erase the late fee.
I moved from the state where I paid off the card. I honestly thought the matter was resolved for all time. Almost two years went by before I got a bill from a collection agency for this card and for $190+! This is the original $10 late fee PLUS more than 18 additional $10 late fees!
I called the collection agent and even gave him the name/date of the store manager. I was basically told “It’s legal to do this”. An attorney acquaintance (who does not specialize in this type of law) told me that it’s quite possible the collection agent is right- crazy things like this happen and are sometimes legal due to loopholes.
Again, I have the money to pay off these damned things but the first one I’m positive I don’t owe and the second one- even if it’s legal it’s crooked as all hell and extortion. PAYDAY LOAN places and loan sharks don’t charge $190 in interest on a $3 debt.
So a few related questions:
1- is there anywhere I can dispute this other than with the collection agency/original creditor?
2- if I dispute this on my credit report, does anybody read that stuff or care?
3- would it be worthwhile to hire an attorney to write some letters? (I’d rather pay them than pay these “debts” on general principle.)
Any other advice much appreciated.