Back in the fall of 2007 I began experiencing trouble with my DSL (Internet) service . In short, the service was interrupted daily to the point it was rendered unusable. I ended up calling customer support several times and they eventually sent out a technician to attempt and rectify the problem. The technician indicated that problem was most likely due to network upgrades and may clear itself.
Unfortunately the trouble continued and I was forced to purchase an alternate internet connection. I attempted to wait out the “network upgrades”, however I eventually cancelled service. During the phone call I made to cancel I explained to the customer service representative what had happened and told her that I shouldn’t have to pay for balance on the account as the service didn’t work. She responded by stating she would make note on the account and that all should be fine.
I thought the matter had been resolved, however much to my surprise I received a call from a collection agency (West Asset Management) several months later. During my correspondence with West Asset management I agreed to pay $100 with the agreement that the account would not reflect negatively on my credit report. Once again, I thought the matter was resolved until I pulled my credit report in January of 2009 and found the collection account listed with an $8 balance. I immediately called AT&T and paid the $8 outstanding balance.
The account is currently listed on all 3 reports as a paid collection. I called West Asset management this week and told them that they did not live up to their end of the bargain as the account is listed on my credit report. The representative told me that the problem occurred when I paid the $100, as the bill was actually for $108.60. This caused them to put the account in their system as “settled in full” rather than “paid in full” and thus the account was reported. I obviously would have paid the extra $8 had I known it was due at the time. The representative ended up giving me a fax number and instructed me to fax a request to remove the account from my report.
Now, the problem I currently have is West Asset management can’t confirm that the fax got there. When I call they say it goes to another office and won’t give me the number. Every time I call they say, “call back in a couple” days. Needless to say I’m not getting that warm and fuzzy feeling. I’ve called AT&T and they keep referring me back to West Asset. My question is, what’s my next step? Should I attempt to DV with the CRA’s?
Message Edited by mgobluester on 04-23-2009 09:13 AM
