Verizon with Vengence!

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by greeneyez, Jun 13, 2016.

  1. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    So another chapter in "my bad credit life" includes a wonderful phrase from Verizon. They showed on all three Bureaus, and in one, under the Comment section, noted "Derogatory." What the heck is that about!???

    Also, I've read numerous stories that Verizon is impossible to deal with; I've read they refuse to do PFD, and so even if I pay them their 200 dollars in full, their stuff will remain on my credit for seven more years!!!

    This begs the question--why pay it at all? Would my score be just the same (or even WORSE) if I paid them off?
     
  2. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Verizon and all the major wireless companies are very difficult to deal with. As you might imagine, they deal with A LOT of accounts that go into collections and I've found them to be quite unhelpful when resolving billing disputes, etc.

    I had a recent disagreement with AT&T when I switched to Verizon because I was told by an AT&T CS rep that I could end my service mid month and my bill would be prorated. My contract had ended and I had decided to switch over to Verizon because the service is better where I live. Anyway, when I got my final bill from AT&T they charged me for the entire month even though I had ported my number over to Verizon around the 15th of the month and wasn't even using their data plan anymore. I refused to pay, provided the written documentation from their CS rep, and they proceeded to just charge my credit card which they still had on file. I called my credit card company and charged them back. Then they threatened sending to collections and refused to work with me whatsoever to close out the account. Bastards. And that was after I had been a good customer for many many years, never missing a payment.

    Anyway, sorry for the rant.

    In answer to your question, a "paid" collection and "unpaid" collection have the same effect on your FICO scores. The only difference is that a "paid" collection will of course look better to human eyes and future lenders who review your credit reports if you apply for an auto loan, home loan, etc.

    So is Verizon reporting a collection on all 3 of your credit reports? Have they already turned it over to a collection agency too, and if so have you ever been contacted by them?
     
  3. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Hey no worries about the rant!

    So, to answer your question, it showed on Experian and Equifax as IC Services Inc.,(collections), and on Trans as 11 ATT., but with the account status as
    "open," and placed for collections.

     
  4. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    I think what I'm going to do is just fire off a pfd and see what happens. If not, the I will try and pay it in full to att directly, then ask nicely to have it deleted from my file with the bureaus.
     
  5. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    So it's probably just been transferred to the CA for collection and not sold. Can't hurt to request the PFD and see what happens.

    I've never dealt with IC Services Inc. before, so I'm not sure what your experience will be like. Please let us know how it goes and good luck!
     
  6. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Can not confirm or deny whether I've dealt with IC Services... But, I would recommend memorizing every word of the FDCPA and FCRA frontwards and backwards (for every CA), you never know when you'll need it... (whistles innocently)
     
  7. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    A hole in the head sounds better than memorizing the FDCPA and FCRA frontwards and backwards :)

    So, you've taken on IC Services before too? Are there any CAs left that haven't felt the wrath of jam?
     
  8. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Hey, I learned it frontwards and backwards in under two months... :)

    I can not confirm or deny if they have or not... :) And with the exception of two companies which cases have went (or are approaching default judgement)... That's all I can say (but a Pacer search says volumes more than I can say... :)
     
  9. mijd

    mijd Well-Known Member

    Maybe this is something we can do on this site is to share stories of what happens when we're hit with these final bills from Verizon and other service providers that include early termination fees as well as monthly fees that were promised to be prorated. By the time a consumer is hit with several late notices the next step for these companies is always reporting to credit bureaus that can do much damage. The trick is to communicate before this happens even though you know you're in the right. Plead your case to supervisors and do it in a calm non-threatening voice. I learned my lesson with these companies to ALWAYS download and read their terms and conditions even if you're provided non-contractual service. As far as Verizon is concerned you can read them their terms and services... in fact you can have a Verizon CSR review these terms when you have them on the phone and they will still refuse to cooperate. I too was billed a whole month for 3 days of service with a MBG. Didn't matter to them. It's just not worth the black mark on your CH. Just MHO
     
    Last edited: Jun 21, 2016
  10. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    That was essentially what I decided when dealing with AT&T too. I certainly didn't want to deal with anything getting reported to my credit reports, so I paid in full and moved on. It's very frustrating though...I wonder how much money they make in any given year by charging people for services they didn't even provide? I bet it's big $$$$$? Grrrr...I really despise wireless companies.

    I recently lived in China for awhile and all I had to do there was buy was a SIM card, load it with $15, pop it in my phone, and I would have unlimited voice and data for the month. No contracts, no early termination fees...none of that crap. It was very nice!!!
     
  11. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    I, on the other hand, typically rakes in more than they were asking for in the first place.

    One example, since I am not naming names, except for the client, who wasn't a party.

    Cancelled with an internet provider (the company which is notorious for refusing to cancel without a fight) a CA start trying to collect on a $19.95 bill for the cancelled account, the CA ends up having to settle a month or so in for a SIZEABLE chunk of the statutory damages, on the $19.95 bill... You would have thought that the CA would have caught on earlier, when the letters started listing down to the second the times that their company received the multiple facsimiles that they had received on the account... They got me when I was trying to be nice, and I waited until the dozenth warning before threatening to sue... :) Unfortunately for them, it's less of a threat, and more of a promise... :)
     
  12. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Update!

    Today I decided to call Verizon, and get the matter taken care of. I paid the amt. in full, and spoke with the rep, who was helpful. He said verizon will be updating the status on my account, and it will be showed as paid in full. He also said they would remove the derogatory comment. They provided me with an official email, and said they sent out their CRA updates at the end of every month.

    He also said to definitely call them back f I noticed anything still on the report that I feel wasn't corrected.

    *sigh of relief*

    This feels really, really, good. There is hope for my score yet!
     
  13. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    Cool... :)

    Save that e-mail. :) Guard it with your life... :)
     
  14. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    That is great! Congrats...enjoy the victory!

    And let us know when you see the change on your credit reports and what kind of increase you see in your FICO scores. Congrats again...nice work!
     
  15. greeneyez

    greeneyez Well-Known Member

    Will do! And yes...email is already saved, and a copy is printed out.
     
  16. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Now put the hard copy in a safe and guard it with your life :)
     

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