Hi all, I have an issue I've been working on for some time now and have had some decent progress with it, but I'm at a crossroads and need to figure out how to pursue this further. I lived in an apartment from 3/2008 to 3/2009 and used Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) for electric service. When I moved out in 3/2009 I made sure I paid last month's rent as well as the water, electric, and phone bills. I also made sure that I called my utility companies and shut electric, water, and telephone service off. Since then I pulled my credit report (for the first time in about 5 years) and among other things, there was a collections account for $351 from Online Collections in Winterville, NC, with OUC listed as the OC. I disputed the account with all three CRAs and all three disputes came back verified. So, I sent Online Collections a DV letter and they responded in less than a week by sending back copies of OUC electric bills from April, May, and June of 2009. Obviously, the charges weren't mine being that I didn't even live at that residence during that time period and had shut my service off. They were more than likely charges intended for the tenant who moved into that unit after I moved out. On the bill, there's a usage graph and you can clearly see that electric usage is normal in March, drops to almost nothing in April, then shoots up a little in May, and skyrockets in June. It is consistent with a pattern in which someone moved out, the apartment was unoccupied, and then someone else moved in. So I thought, "Ok, OUC made a mistake and this situation with the CA should be pretty easy to clear up because these charges aren't mine." Wishful thinking. I found a copy of the move out form dated 3/31/2009 that I had to complete and sign when I moved out of my apartment as well as a signed statement from the apartment complex showing an itemized list detailing the remaining charges that I had paid on the day I moved out. There were no outstanding balances with the complex. I also had a copy of a statement from the water company showing that I paid my last bill in March of 2009 (water service was provided by a different company, but it further proved that I moved out in March 2009 and had an otherwise good payment history with all bills associated with the apartment). I sent copies of the move out forms and paid water bill statement to the CA, along with a letter stating that I did not even live in this apartment during the time period specified by them and an explanation of the documents I had included and why I had included them. I asked them to remove the listing being that I had proven to them that the charges weren't mine and they were reporting erroneously. I received no response after waiting for more than a month, so I sent another letter with the same documentation and information. Again, no response. So, I disputed the account with all three CRAs and sent them virtually the same exact letter and documentation as proof. All three verified the account. So, here I am with this account on my report that clearly isn't mine and I have concrete proof that it's not mine, yet these idiots at the CA won't respond (I'm thinking they just hope I'll give up and pay them to try to improve the account status). The CRAs are obviously just parroting what the CA has on file, so they're useless too. I decided to file a complaint with the BBB (incidentally they rate this CA with an F+), the Attorney General's Office of North Carolina, and the FTC. I haven't heard back yet (it usually takes about 10 days for the BBB to get in touch with you again; it's been about a week), but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas should the prodding by the BBB or Atty General fail to get Online Collections to remove the listing? I was thinking about a Litigious Nutcase Letter and a 48-hour intent to sue fax, but I'm not sure if that would work in this situation being that it's based on the premise that your account with the CA is paid. Anyone got any ideas?
I hope I didn't miss it in your post, but it doesn't look like you contacted the original utility company to discuss the matter. I have found in situations like this that if you are very nice and very desperate sounding (and get the right person on the other end of the line) you can move mountains. I would even go so far as to say that if you contact the utility company and find that the person on the other end is not friendly or sypathetic to your cause. Hang up and try again the next day and hope you get another customer service rep or manager to speak with and present your case. The CA will continue to give you the runaround and will continue to verify the account with the CRA's in most cases no matter what you do. Try getting back to the source and see if you can make some progress there.
Ditto. The CA couldn't care less about anything you send them, unless it's a check (or debit card). Your only hope on this one is the power company. Prepare your story in writing (what you have above is a long-winded start, but if you pared that down to the specific dates and actions and accompanied that with the supporting documents, you should have a pretty compelling presentation. Call them up, explain your situation (nicely), get their direct fax number and send them your documents. They should be able to clear it up and pull it back from the CA. If not, well let us know and we'll think of something
Hahaha, you know, I feel really stupid now because contacting the OC hadn't even occurred to me until you guys said it. Thanks, I'll give it a shot and let you know what happens.
FYI, I just got a letter on Friday stating that the NC Atty General's office got my complaint and has contacted the CA about it. They said I should get some kind of response in the next two weeks. I'm still going to contact the OC on Monday, though.
