Hello everyone, I need some advice on my situation. Sometime last year I had my Dish Network service disconnected. Two days after the service ended, I still got charged for the next month. I called and complained and told them I wasn't paying for the service since I already had it disconnected. The lady gladly refunded me the 53 dollars and I figured that was that. Later on I got a letter from Dish saying I had a payment of 53 dollars past due. I brushed it off thinking it must have just been a mistake. Nope, a few months later I got a letter from a collection agency (AFNI Inc). At that point I was furious and decided to just ignore it. Now here I am, deciding I need to deal with this problem after checking my recent credit score. I want this ding off my score(s). What can I do? On the payment sheet for AFNI, it says to send the payment to a Dish address, rather than AFNI, which doesn't make much since to me. I've read about the pay-for-delete thing, would that be an option? Please help. Thanks
So I'm clear, AFNI is reporting on your report? A quick google search turns up this: The Afni Collections Scam ...as to this sites credibility, I have no idea, but there were several sites talking about the same thing, more or less. The debt would be assigned to the CA if they are requesting you direct your payment to the OC. This is unusual though, even if assigned, for a CA to do this. Have you tried contacting the OC about the debt? It seems like this should be easily remedied, and being able to have your bank pull a copy of that deposited $53 check from Dish at/around the same time Dish claims the account went past due, would should this is some sort of billing error.
Have u sent a letter requesting validation? Do a google search on whychat guidebook get a copy of validation letter and see if they even have a current relationship with OC
LETTER TO COLLECTION AGENCY LETTER TO COLLECTION AGENCY COLLECTION AGENCY VALIDATION/DISPUTE/CEASE AND DESIST Use this IN ITS ENTIRETY. DO NOT call them . Use this letter and the included form to make the agency verify that the debt is actually yours and owed by you. Keep a copy for your files and send the letter certified mail WITHOUT a return receipt. Your Name 123 Your Street Address Your City, ST 01234 ABC Collections 123 NotOnYourLife Ave Chicago, IL Date: _________ CM#____________ Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX To Whom It May Concern: This letter is being sent to you in response to your attached letter. (If you have nothing in writing use the phrase "recent communication) This is not a refusal to pay, but a notice that your claim is disputed. Under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), I have the right to request validation of the debt you say I owe you. I am requesting proof that I am indeed the party you are asking to pay this debt, and there is some contractual obligation which is binding on me to pay this debt. Your legal staff will agree that compliance with this request is required under the laws of (State name) and Federal Statutes. In addition to the questionnaire below, please attach copies of: Agreement with your client that grants you the authority to collect on this alleged debt,or proof of acquisition by purchase or assignment. Agreement that bears the signature of the alleged debtor wherein he or she agreed to pay the creditor. Please also be advised that this letter is not only a formal dispute, but a request that you cease and desist any and all collection activities. Your receipt of this letter will be considered as having granted consent to the taping of any and all telephone calls to me at my home or business by you or your agents or assigns I require compliance with the terms and conditions of this letter within 30 days. or a complete withdrawal, in writing, of any claim. In the event of noncompliance, I reserve the right to file charges and/or complaints with appropriate County, State & Federal authorities ,the BBB and State Bar associations for violations of the FDCPA, FCRA, and Federal and State statutes on fraudulent extortion . I also hereby reserve my right to take private civil action against you to recover damages. Sincerely, Your Name(PRINT OR TYPE DO NOT SIGN) ------------------------------------------- Debt Validation Form Questionnaire to be returned : Account #: ____________________ Original Creditor's Name: _________________________________ Name of Debtor: ______________________________________ Address of Debtor: ___________________________________ Balance of Account: __________________________________ Date you acquired this debt: _________________________ This Debt was: assigned ___purchased___ Please indicated any credit bureaus to which you have reported on this account: Experian ______ Equifax ______ TransUnion _____
Should contact Dish first directly, and see if they can resolve it, and if not send that letter to Afni? Thanks.
If your ultimate goal is to get this off your reports and just be done with it, with the details you've provided, I would suggest first trying to resolve directly with the OC as it seems like a billing error on their part.
Mindcrime, I believe Dish network has auto pay to be able to take advantage of their discounts. Seems to me Dish would refund with a credit to the bank acct. At least that happened to me with DirectV. I don't think there would be a check deposit but the credit will show on the bank statement. I agree I'd work with Dish first... not too hard of a problem to solve.
I just got off the phone with Dish. She said if I wasn't able to pay the amount that it would be ok and she would make a note on my account. I don't know whether that is going to remove it from my credit report or not. I hope it does.
That doesn't make sense. The facts are that there is supposed to be no balance, not that 'you can't pay it'. Putting a note on an account that they believe is delinquent that they subsequently sent out to collections will do you no good. I suggest calling back, speaking with a supervisor, and explaining the situation very clearly to them. Get their name/employee ID, and ask for the 'proof' the account is closed in good standing, in writing.
Ok I tried again. This time the person told me that the charge was dropped in January, she looked in to it more and found that the charge was an early termination fee, which I may have paid separately when I cancelled, but it was a while ago so I can't remember for sure. None of this really makes any sense, but she said she couldn't help me any further, so at this point what should I do? Thanks!
It's not too unusual for an immediately assigned collection agency to 'rent a letterhead' to the OC as a 'pre-collections' step. If it was me, I would send a validation letter to both the CA and the OC. The OC you would memorialize that the account was canceled, they subsequently billed for the already canceled account, and corrected the incorrect billing when you brought the oversight to their attention. I would give them the opportunity to once again correct the oversight, but if they do not correct the oversight immediately, I would not hesitate to sue both the CA & OC for reporting false credit information. As soon as both DV letters are received, I would send a dispute to all three CRAs to challenge the tradeline, and I would list the SPECIFIC DISPUTE verbatum. "account was canceled at consumer's request, OC subsequently billed for the already canceled account, and corrected the incorrect billing when you brought the oversight to their attention."
They are now saying it was an early termination fee, and not billing for another month. At this point I don't mind paying, would the validation letter be an option still or do I need to do something else, since the debt is real (at least that's what they claim).
Validation is always an option, and I would still demand proof that it was an ETF and that the ETF was authorized by the contract. Once they receive the validation letter, I would still dispute with the CRA, and see if it gets deleted while they obtain and mail the validation. If they verify it before sending the validation it's an FDCPA violation, and if they verify that it's valid, and it turns out to not be an ETF or the ETF is not authorized by the contract, it's reporting false credit information.
Hey guys, I've been super busy so still haven't had a chance to send a letter to Afni, although I've tried contacting Dish again. This time they're able to send me a bill that shows the debt is valid, but they said if I pay the amount to them(directly to dish), they will no longer report the debt to the collection agency. Is there any truth to that? I'm still not understanding why the letter from Afni is telling me to send the payment to a Dish address. Is the debt still owned by Dish, and they're just using Afni's name to try and get me to pay? I'm really confused....
If the OC is willing to take payment, then yes, it's an assigned debt and not a sold one. If you can get it in writing from Dish that they will recall the debt with full payment, then go for it. This is different news than the stand they were previously taking..... IDK what they sent that shows the debt is supposedly valid, but if you're good for spending the $53 to get it removed, then take that route. And if this is your last negative, get ready for a new score bump.
Ok so they said they'd send something to my email saying the debt will be recalled, but only after I pay the fee. So I'm not sure what to do. Pay it and hope they do? What if I pay it and then send the validation letter to afni? would they see it's been paid and then remove the marks from my scores? Thanks!
PAID COLLECTIONS have as much impact as an UNPAID COLLECTION. What I would do is write a letter memorializing that in the discussion with xxxxx xxxxx on xx/xx/xxxx, they stated that upon receipt of the check/money order for $53.00 they would recall the account from collections. The enclosed payment instrument is only valid on those terms. If the instrument is cashed, and the account is not recalled, I will sue your company for breach of contract.
Does he need to write something to the effect of "condition deposit" on the front or back or the check as well? Something just seems off with "pay us first, and then we'll e-mail you something saying we recalled the debt". This is $53 we're talking about.
