Columbia House sent me a letter saying my account was past due. They said they sent me a dvd that I ordered. And that I have not paid. But I did not order a dvd. And I have received nothing. They said if I didnt pay the bill that they may report me to the national consumer reporting service.
2007-01-09 06:38:17 · 4 answers · asked by nicole_caraballo 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Columbia House sent me a bill saying it was past due. They said that I ordered a DVD and I did not. They said they sent it to me but I never RECEIVED it. I have already tried to contact them. The only phone # available was automated. And it would not put me thru to a person. I also called 411 for phone #'s at all the different locations. When I called the #'s they transfered me to the automated #. Also I wrote a claim letter and emailed it to them. I am going to send them a copy of the same letter in the mail.
2007-01-09 07:26:08 · update #1
Columbia House has been doing this for decades.
The burden of proof is theirs. The only way they can "prove" that you ordered something is show the order record that you filled out.
If this is one of those "we'll-send-it-to-you-in-ten-days-if-you-don't-respond" deals, they have no case. You're under no legal obligation to send those stupid cards back in.
What I used to do with them is throw away every response card they sent, and about 2 weeks later I would receive their album or cd of the month. I would then write with a black sharpie "refused" on the outside of the box and put it in the nearest mailbox without opening the package.
Columbia house bears the entire legal risk of the operations they choose until you agree to buy something. That means that they were required to pay the postage on the packages that I returned.
The only LEGAL obligation you have, according to your contract, is to buy whatever number of dvd's you agreed to buy. You have the right to choose which ones. The moment you open one of the packages, though, you get to pay the postage to send it back, and you have every right to expect a refund for it (or a credit on your account).
(From an accounting standpoint, they may be trying to record your non-purchased purchases as sales to boost their own revenues and make their books look good. They are required to list these as "doubtful accounts" because there is no reason to expect payment. They may also be making collection efforts to show that they expect payment as a means of propping up their claim that this represents revenue. This strategy is common, and any 50c attourney can defeat it in a courtroom or audit.)
2007-01-09 06:51:11 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there's a customer service #, call it and talk to whoever you have to to straighten it out. If they give you guff, ask for the manager. If the manager gives you guff, ask for HIS manager on up the line as far as you need to go. Demand to be removed from their database. Tell them that if they press the issue, you will report them to the Better Business Bureau, and that you will be writing a letter expressing your displeasure with the way you've been treated to corporate headquarters. Also let them know that you have informed your credit card not to authorize any charges from Columbia House (and then call the credit card company to do that).
They usually just try to intimidate the weakhearted to paying them money that they didn't earn. As soon as a consumer sounds educated about his/her rights and options, they tend to back off.
2007-01-09 06:52:08 · answer #2 · answered by Woz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
WRite and ask them for proof.
A) You will need a copy of the agreement which you signed giving them the power to send things to you.
B) you will need proof of delivery of this so called packge.
Unless they can do that, you have no obligation to do anything for them.
2007-01-09 06:47:14 · answer #3 · answered by Marvinator 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
call their toll free # and explain it
2007-01-09 06:48:26 · answer #4 · answered by Jim G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋