Does cell phone company have to provide contract to collect?

Question

I signed a one-year contract for cell phone service. I had the service and discontinued it after fulfilling my commitment. Now they are trying to charge me $175 fee for early cancellation and say it was a two-year contract. I asked them to provide the contract I signed, they refused and it is in collections now. I told the collections agency the same thing and they said the cell company doesn't have to provide anything and that they would report the debt to credit agency if I didn't pay. I told them I would not pay the debt because I did not agree to a two-year contract as they claim. They call me at least four times each day and I am not willing to pay this bogus debt. I have told them I will pay the debt in full the moment I have the contract in my hands so I can see that I am wrong.

If I request to see the contract that binded me to pay this early cancellation fee, do they have to provide it? How can I get the agency to stop calling?

Answer 1

tell the collection agency this:
Do NOT call me again. Under the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" you are in violation of the law and I will sue you under that law if you contact me again.

if you have a recording device (answering machine), record the conversation and let the person know that they are being recorded.

you will also need to mail a dispute letter (return receipt) to the cell company and the collection agency. you may have to send them a follow up letter 30 days later if they fail to respond. They have to provide you with proof of the debt, for them to legally pursue you after that.

check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com in a few months to see if the collection agency has reported anything to the credit agencies. If so you will need to dispute that also. You may legally be able to sue them if they broke the law also.

Answer 2

If you request validation from the collection agency (preferably in writing) the collection agency "must" provide validation that comes from the original creditor

note the Wollman FTC Staff Opinion Letter
[quote]
......The statute requires that the debt collector obtain verification of the debt and mail it to the consumer (emphasis mine). Because one of the principal purposes of this Section is to help consumers who have been misidentified by the debt collector or who dispute the amount of the debt, it is important that the verification of the identity of the consumer and the amount of the debt be obtained directly from the creditor. Mere itemization of what the debt collector already has does not accomplish this purpose. As stated above, the statute requires the debt collector, not the creditor, to mail the verification to the consumer........
[/quote]
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/letters/wollman.htm

Send the collection agency a debt validation letter (quit speaking to them on the phone) Send the letter certified mail return receipt (create a paper trail) Never put you signature on any letters that go to a collection agency, print your initials or type your name. (signatures seem to have a nasty habit of jumping from one paper to another)

Do not include a "full" cease and desist in your letter. Instead include a limited C&D

Sample letter -- (since it sounds like they had not sent you anything in writing, the letter will reflect the phone call. If they had sent something in writing, change the letter to reflect that)

Date

Your name
your address

collection agency
their address

Re: Account #123456 (if the collection agency is reporting on your credit reports, use that account number. If they aren't reporting and you don't know their account number - use the account number from the original creditor)

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent in response to a phone call to me from , date of call April 25, 2007.

This is the first correspondence I have received from concerning this account.
Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment as it is inconvenient to me. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

Best Regards,



Order your credit reports to see if they are reporting. If they are reporting, after you receive the green card back from mailing the validation request - send a dispute to the CRA's.

The collection agency has 30+5 days to respond to your request from the date they sign the cert. mail green card. (the +5 days is for mailing time)
If you have to send a second validation letter, you can state a shorter time limit (15 days) for them to respond.

If the collection agency fails to provide the signed contract between you and the original creditor (and verify's your dispute with the CRA's) resend a stronger validation letter and redispute with the CRA's. (you can find stronger sample letter templates in the last link I have provided in my profile)

Then, file complaints with the BBB, FTC, your Attorney General and the collection agency's AG.

You might do some reading on some of the links I have listed in my profile - the FDCPA, etc. and also in the credit forum in the last link listed.

P.S. "never" tell a collector that you will pay anything unless they have already "properly" validated the debt "proving" that you are legally liable for it.

Answer 3

If you still have your copy of the contract, I would provide copies (keep the original for yourself) to both the cell phone co. and the collections agency.

Answer 4

sure. the business enterprise you dealt with replaced right into a "authorized agent" for Cingular. The settlement is in step with provider and your provider replaced into with Cingular not the business enterprise you get carry of the telephone and on the spot settlement from.