Shenanigans on Bureaucracy

ford prefect · 10-18-2006, 08:50 AM

This is going to be a doozy of a post.

I origianally had a phone account with a company up here (Canada) called Sprint. They got bought out by Rogers. So my exisiting phone bill ( of 15.67) was supposed to be transferred to my new rogers account.
Who wants to make a bet that it didn't?

Well, this happened about a year ago and I didnt realize anything was wrong until i started recieving phone calls from a collections agency. ( I suggest that if the terrorists want to do something evil, get rid of them).
This $15 bill had now turned into $30 because of interest.
I called rogers to straighten this out.

15 phone calls and I am still waiting to have this $30 freaking bill transferred to my rogers account. Also trying to have them aknowledge that it was their mistake and it should only be $15.

I have been transferred, put on hold, disconnected and basically treated as an absolute moron regarding this.

"why dont you pay the collections agency directly?" they ask me!
BECAUSE IT WASN'T MY MISTAKE I very nicely come back with while picturing the operator being flailed with a zuccini.

I am annoyed beyond belief with these people and want nothing more than to take all of them, line them up and throw bananas at them until they cry.
This is a very condensed version of the hell i have gone through, but i needed to vent it out.

And why on earth would a collections agency be calling me 7 times a day for $30???

*sigh whimper*
*ford moves to antarctica where there are no phones*

TheDreamer · 10-18-2006, 10:29 AM

Im sorry to hear that > < Ive had something very similar happen to me. I ended up going with the idea that the aggrivation wasnt worth it, and paid the extra amount.

Those phone companies suck... and FYI mine is sprint here. : / I would normally say its just 15 bucks so why not save yourself stress and just pay it, but I dont know your financial situation ^^

Either way mate, good luck with it!

Mathsorcerer · 10-18-2006, 11:18 AM

Most collection agencies use overly aggressive tactics to get money, especially if you are on the phone. The more reasonable you sound the more aggressive they will get.

Unfortunately, I doubt you will ever get the phone company to admit that they are in error for not transferring the original $15 balance; however, you can tell the collection agency that they will receive only the balance of the original amount ($15.67), especially if they didn't contact you regarding any amount owed for a whole year. They cannot claim to be charging you interest when the hadn't told you that you owed any money.

ford prefect · 10-18-2006, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDreamer

Im sorry to hear that > < Ive had something very similar happen to me. I ended up going with the idea that the aggrivation wasnt worth it, and paid the extra amount.

Those phone companies suck... and FYI mine is sprint here. : / I would normally say its just 15 bucks so why not save yourself stress and just pay it, but I dont know your financial situation ^^

Either way mate, good luck with it!

It's The principal of the thing. I have to take a stand!

tobnameless · 10-18-2006, 05:13 PM

supposedly there is a website that can go to that will give you the phone # or website where you can complain directly to the ceo. I haven't located it yet.

xXalter-egoXx · 10-18-2006, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford prefect

It's The principal of the thing. I have to take a stand!

I have a suggestion... write a letter. Phone calls are great and all... but to put it in writing is much more lucrative. Besides that you have written record of everything that is going on. First thing you want to do is keep a record of everything that is going on as of now. You can even record your phone conversations... as long as you state in the begining that you are recording. Collectors tend to act differently when you do so. When you write a letter... make sure you send copies to people that matter... managers... ceo.. etc. etc.

Another note... if you're with a 3rd party collection agency... that means your Sprint account has been written off as a loss (usually)... which is another reason why... the new phone company that you are with is giving you the run around and suggesting that you just pay the balance with the 3rd party collection agency. The only reason they*sprint* hasn't gone to court with your account is because its such a small balance. It's not feesible to assess legal fees on a balance of only $15. There's no justification... so you're pretty much lucky there. Another reason why your account probably wasn't transferred over to the new company is because of the fact that Sprint wrote it off as a loss... and transferred it to the 3rd party collection agency.

See if you can find out when it was written off as a loss... what measures did they take prior to charging it off... for example... phone calls... letters... etc. etc. I believe they're supposed to make an effort to contact you before charging off the account. Not to sure though...

And any account that has been written off as a loss... does affect your credit scores...

*just to let you know*

3rd party collectors work on commission... for them... every little penny counts. And the extra $15 that has been added to your original principal balance is probably the fee that they have added on so they can profit off of your account.

xXalter-egoXx · 10-18-2006, 08:57 PM

Is there a Better Business Bureau in Canada? If so... send a copy of your letter of complaint to them as well.. that'll wake them up and get the ball rolling even faster...

ford prefect · 10-19-2006, 07:35 AM

OR
I could tell them to go screw themselves and find a new company

Problem is, Rogers has been buying everything out and has basically become a monopoly

*sigh* and i used to like that game so much

kal-el · 10-19-2006, 01:53 PM

sorry to hear about that phone problem, here locally there's TV channel who would air your complaints against businesses.

Maybe there's a similar way you could air your problem, make it known to general public. Usually big companies don't like that and they will quickly contact you and take care of the situation.

Good luck

ford prefect · 10-19-2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kal-el

sorry to hear about that phone problem, here locally there's TV channel who would air your complaints against businesses.

Maybe there's a similar way you could air your problem, make it known to general public. Usually big companies don't like that and they will quickly contact you and take care of the situation.

Good luck

*drools*
What?
Were you saying something?
*drools more*