Here's another one I'm helping my sister with... sis shared a cable bill with her apartment roommate. when they moved, the roommate was supposed to return the cable boxes and equipment. she didnt. The bill was in sis's name, so they came after her. She explained that she didnt have the boxes, but she would get them. it took awhile for the roommate to find the equipment, but finally sis returned everything. Now she sees theres a TL on her reports from CMI and the 'original creditor' is the cable company. She has called the cable co and CMI, and of course gotten absolutely nowhere. She did, however, get a letter from CMI stating that "our client has informed us that your account has been paid in full. We have notified the CRAs of your payment and have asked them to update your account." Thing is, there never was a payment! This isnt a paid collection or chargeoff, because she never paid anything. she simply returned the equip. She has the receipt. I'm not sure how to tackle this in a letter. The validation and nutcase letters all refer to debts, but there never was any debt. Do I still send some type of validation for this? thanks.
The validation and nutcase letters all refer to debts, but there never was any debt, there was only the return of equipment. see why I'm a little befuddled? lol.. Somebody please give me place to start as far as the wording of a letter is concerned. Once i get started I can pretty much do the rest, but this one has me stumped. thanks.
I went through a cable box issue with CMI as well. CMI hung up on me every time I called them. (OK, once it was my fault, I asked the guy if it sucked being worse than a tele-marketer). I HAD returned the box. I had to end up going to the cable company and insisting that they call CMI WHILE I WAS THERE and getting it taken care of. It took three months to get it off. They had an $800.00 collection listed for Cable Box/Modem. CMI was IMPOSSIBLE to deal with. They would put me on hold for extremely long periods of time. I would fax over documents again and again to no avail- they would say they did not get them. I would sent letters via certified mail and nothing would be done. I think the only thing that saved me (this was pre-creditnet) was a nice lady at the cable office who despised them and called while I was there and printed me an invoice reflecting the call and who she spoke with. FYI- they call an entirely different dept than we do. Wish I still had that invoice as it had the number she called on it.... Shawn
Do you have the # to them . We have been with Comcast for 4 years now and we found out that they claim we wee supposed to have turned in a cable box 2 years ago..Claim our cable was turned off.. WELL GUESS WHAT we called Comcast and they claim that they have no idea what we are talking about. So we need a # to CMI to dispute wit with them..Comcast refuses to get involved because they have nothing on there system indicating cable was ever disconnected. ??????/
Yes, I have a number, but you wont get anywhere over the phone with them. You'd be better off writing to them. The address would be on your credit report. so would the phone number i think. here's what i have: The CMI Group 4200 International Parkway Carrollton, TX 75007 phone: 972-862-4334 or 800-377-7715
I am sorry because I know just what you are going to have to go through. My situation was similar...I found out WAY after the box(s) had been turned in and account turned off. FYI- I was paid in full and turned my account off when I moved, there were no deliq's. Just seems the equipment turn-in did not go through the proper channels inside Charter Cable and Voila!, instant entry on the Credit report from CMI. CMI sucks. They are extremely rude and have no desire to help. I went to Charter and got a copy of my account balance showing $0 from the year prior when this supposedly occured. I faxed it to CMI with the number CMI provided me. Nothing. I called and faxed again. Nothing. I called and faxed AGAIN. Nothing. The reps would get very hostile very quickly and put you on hold only to never come back (or make you wait 15-20mins). The only way I got resolution was to go to Charter Cable and get them to call CMI while I was there. Again, I feel the I got VERY lucky with the lady that helped me as she seemed to hate CMI as much as I did. She called and reported the situation to them, noted my 'account' with the information (person she spoke with, ref number, etc), and printed me a copy. I got a letter from CMI about two weeks later stating that it would come off my CR within 30 days. It fell off in about 30 days. I would say do a validation. That way, if they DO successfully validate you should get an account number to reference it to. I would also go to the Cable Co office and EXTREMELY POLITELY explain the situation to them and let them know that THEY are the ones that reported it and see what they can do for you. Remember that these people see and here it all and probably hate their jobs and that extreme kindness will probably bowl them over and have them helping you instead of the 16 other people in line to complain about their cable getting shut off for the tenth time for non-payment. Good luck- I know what you are going through with that one. Shawn
FYI- She is right..a phone call to them is a waste of time. You will only get pissed off (and pissed ON, for that matter). I think a CRR Validation letter is in order (and go by the cable company while you are mailing it to start with them....) Shawn
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks 1*If they say there was a debt then there was a debt. Remember to those in the credit industry the customer is guilty till proven innocent.This is your justification for sending a validation letter. 2*No you're not - you're just standing on the wrong side of the mirror. 3*Validation
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks OK, here's what i have... ----------------------------- The CMI Group 4200 International Parkway Carrollton, TX 75007 RE: reference number:xxxxxxxxxxx Dear Sir/Madame: I recently ordered copies of my credit reports from several agencies to make sure that my credit record was complete and accurately recorded. Your company is still reporting an account in my name under the above reference number. This is a mistake, and must be deleted from my credit profile. I have never had a debt, nor an account with your agency. Not only are you reporting debt that never existed, you have been reporting the accountâ??s status incorrectly for almost 2 years. I am sure your are aware that incorrect reporting is in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your responsibilities to consumers are very clearly outlined in these codes. You have had almost two years to correct or delete this erroneous information and have not done so, showing gross negligence and affecting my credit rating adversely. Since I was never informed of my rights to dispute all or any portion of this supposed debt, I shall do so now. I dispute your claims in their entirety, and I must now demand complete validation of this alleged debt, as outlined by federal law. Please refer to the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act if you are confused about proper validation. Exercise caution in how you respond to this request for validation, because in addition to this request for validation from you, the credit reporting agencies will soon be requesting their independent form of verification and your possible inaccurate response may constitute another violation of my rights as a consumer. It would be in your best interest to rectify this situation immediately by requesting the full deletion of all information regarding the account in question to all consumer reporting agencies that you file with or report to. Further correspondence should be sent in writing to the address or fax number above. ----------------------------------------- what do you think? (i love the part in bold...lol
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks I think your letter looks great! (my humble opinion, of course). I just hope you get a decent person on the receiving end and they do what is right. To me , anyway, there is nothing worse than having to fight so hard for something that never should have been there in the first place. Good luck! Crossing my fingers for you... Shawn
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks just a little depressing update... that letter up there did absolutely no good. Sis disputed w the CRAs too, and all came back 'verified'. She's disputing w CRAs again, and sent the following letter to CMI the other day....still waiting to see what happens this time around. ---------------------------- Dear Sir/Madame: Enclosed please find prior correspondence that was apparently ignored. It is unfathomable to me that you continue to report a completely bogus collection on my credit reports. I have never had a debt with your agency. I never paid any debt with your agency. Yet you insist on reporting a paid collection of $XX.00 on my reports. You have been aware of your error since November of 2003. You are now knowingly and willingly breaking federal law by listing erroneous information on my reports. I am in the process of disputing this account with the major credit bureaus, and if it is again verified by your agency, you will be in violation of even more federal laws. I am researching whether or not you are breaking any Texas or Missouri state laws as well. If this entry is not removed from my reports within 15 days, I will start incurring legal fees, as I will have no choice but to avail myself of the rights guaranteed me by the FCRA and FDCPA, by filing suit against your agency. The FCRA provides that I shall be reimbursed for any legal fees, so this could get rather expensive for you in the long run. It would be in your best interest to rectify this situation immediately by requesting the full deletion of all information regarding the account in question to all consumer reporting agencies that you file with or report to. Sincerely, Crowmom's sister --------------------------------- It seems like its to the point that we have to sue to get anything done these days. Will update this thread if/when anything happens. ETA: I got some of that verbiage from one of Butch's fine letters. gotta give credit where its due.
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks I don't think I would have even bothered with the second letter. I would have made it an ITS. Your next correspondence with them should be a summons to appear in court to defend themselves. Your sister should apply for credit and be denied because of this.
Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks What kind of people work for these scumbag CA's? Is their self esteem so low, the only way they can feel good about themselves is to ruin people's lives even if it means reporting false information about them? John
Re: Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks I wonder that all the time. basically, it comes down to this: the CAs are told by OCs, "here. here's a debt we couldnt collect on. do what you want with it". The CAs bank on the fact that most people do not know their rights or the laws, and most people can be scared into paying a debt. the CAs do whatever they want (whether legal, moral, ethical or what) to collect. They have NO incentive to remove anything....whether the TL is paid, not paid, or even a complete mistake. THEN to top it off, you have the CRAs who think, "the more info we get (& keep) on these suckers, the better. makes us look like we must be doin a good job if our files have more TLs than the other CRA's reports have. Therefore, the CRAs also have NO incentive to remove anything. They don't care about making US happy. WE arent their money maker. Lenders, creditors, etc. are. The only money they make off consumers is when we pay for reports or monitoring services, and the only reason we do that is because of MISTAKES! AACK! I could go on and on....but i wont, lol. Just think how much money collectors could get by being kind, and OFFERING deletion in exchange for payment.....
Re: Re: Re: cable box and CA - CMI jerks update: you might wanna sit down for this.... that letter didn't work either. in fact, TU still lists it as open, unpaid, delinquent, and THEY EVEN LIST AN ORIGINAL BAL OF $700, AND A CURRENT BALANCE OF $620!!! *pulling hair out* I'm just SO MAD because i told sis, "dont worry, I'll get this removed for ya...should be fairly easy." I feel stupid now.
CMI jerks sis got a certified letter from CMI: "Our client submitted this account for collections on XX/01. The address we have for that account is __. Our client updated this as paid in full on XX/01." "If this account was opened fraudulently, please provide this office with a copy of an identity theft affidavit, a police report, and documentation in the form of a lease, and/or a utility bill from that date. You will also need to contact the Fraud Assistance Dept at the CRAs." Un-frikken-believable. a$$es. sis is startin to think I'm a loon, lol.
CMI jerks bumping so the night crowd might help me out... I've done lots of searches, but the only thing i can find is examples of people who really did have an identity theft problem. there never was a debt with this stupid CA because it was a cable box, which was returned late, but the cable company assured my sister that it had not gone to collections yet. is it time to go after the cable co? if this was me, I'd sue this idiotic CA right now, but my sister probably wont want to do that. I am gonna talk her into sending an ITS, but I really doubt she'll actually file. and, if she does, it'll be in small claims, and these bozos seem like the type to bump it up to fed court, which i seriously doubt she'll wanna mess with. one more question: if this did go in front of a judge...what do you think he'd say about an overdue, yet returned, cable box being a 'debt'? btw, I've already asked sis to check her records and try to find out exactly when the box was returned and compare that to when the CA got the debt. thanks.
