Sorry this is so long, but I'm freaking out right now....
Over seven years ago, I had PrimeCo as a cell phone provider. No problems.
Then GTE bought PrimeCo. Still no problems.
Then Verizon bought GTE.
After that, every single month my bill came in it was wrong. I would have to call Verizon and have them correct it.. which they did.
When I asked them WHY my bill was always wrong, I was told that the old calling plans that PrimeCo and GTE had were simply not adopted by Verizon and that Verizon only had their own calling plans. Verizon had to essentially charge me a base rate and then a per minute charge, but even if I was "under my alloted minutes" from my prior contract with PrimeCo the bill would still be over because cost per minute is very high and unless I only used half of my alloted minutes I would pay more than what my previous billing plan offered me.
Fortunately, it's very easy for Verizon to just issue a credit, so I never paid more than I was supposed to for my cell phone. But it's a hassle to have to call Verizon every month to have a phone bill adjusted. So I called them and asked them once and for all how can we get this straight.
Apparently, Verizon had a "similar" plan. It wouldn't cost me any more and I would not "lose" any minutes. For the sake of not having to call them every month, I told them to please put me on the Verizon plan. I did not accept any "free phones", I was very happy with my old Nokia phones, and I did not sign any contracts. This was all done over the phone.
After about a year, I got a job with a company that provided me with a cell phone. Because it was on a different network and the Nokia's were now getting a bit long in the tooth, I decided to change my wife's phone too. This completely severed any need I had for Verizon.
Verizon said I was under contractual obligation for them for two yearsand if I were to terminate this contract I would have to pay them a penalty.
Why? Because I changed the plan. New plan. New contract. I didn't sign a contract, but Verizon says that the first check I write to make payment on the "new plan" is essentially an agreement to the contract.
So... cliffs....
Because Verizon bought my cell phone provider I HAD TO change plans.
When I changed plans, that put me in a two year obligation with Verizon.
After only a year, I needed to cancel with Verizon and they said I would have to pay a penalty.
I believe the penalty was $300 or something. Not a lot of money, but more than I would ever think of paying a cell phone company for cancelling a contract, so I told them to pound sand. They reported me to the credit bureau and I had a bad mark on otherwise perfect credit. In fact, because the credit was otherwise perfect, the bad mark really had little effect on my life and I moved on.
Over the years, I could see my debt being sold to different collection agencies. Sometimes the debt would go down to as little as $150. But why should I pay? Out of principle, I did not CHOOSE to partner with Verizon. They've already whacked my credit score. This is ancient history to me.
For the last month, I've been getting a call from "CALLER UNKNOWN". I answered the phone a couple weeks ago and it was a nice lady asking me why I wouldn't pay Verizon what I owed them. I explained everything to her, she acknowledged and hung up. Just now, I received another call from "CALLER UNKNOWN." I answered it and this time it was a man. He told me he was aware of the my prior conversation and wanted to let me know that I did have an opportunity to pay the debt and that although he can sympathize I did have an option to go with another cell phone provider and not enter into the contract I had entered into. I told him that Verizon used deception and that out of principle I simply would not pay them. The bad credit score is now reversed and I'm under the impression that I can move on.
He then says that the company he represents is actually an arbitration firm that wishes to take the debt to court and that if I lose I am responsible for all lawyer costs, etc.
Thinking this is just a scare tactic, I say "OK."
He then wishes me luck with the arbitration, have a nice weekend and hangs up.....
Umm.... That was rather subtle for a scare tactic. Am I screwed???
Over seven years ago, I had PrimeCo as a cell phone provider. No problems.
Then GTE bought PrimeCo. Still no problems.
Then Verizon bought GTE.
After that, every single month my bill came in it was wrong. I would have to call Verizon and have them correct it.. which they did.
When I asked them WHY my bill was always wrong, I was told that the old calling plans that PrimeCo and GTE had were simply not adopted by Verizon and that Verizon only had their own calling plans. Verizon had to essentially charge me a base rate and then a per minute charge, but even if I was "under my alloted minutes" from my prior contract with PrimeCo the bill would still be over because cost per minute is very high and unless I only used half of my alloted minutes I would pay more than what my previous billing plan offered me.
Fortunately, it's very easy for Verizon to just issue a credit, so I never paid more than I was supposed to for my cell phone. But it's a hassle to have to call Verizon every month to have a phone bill adjusted. So I called them and asked them once and for all how can we get this straight.
Apparently, Verizon had a "similar" plan. It wouldn't cost me any more and I would not "lose" any minutes. For the sake of not having to call them every month, I told them to please put me on the Verizon plan. I did not accept any "free phones", I was very happy with my old Nokia phones, and I did not sign any contracts. This was all done over the phone.
After about a year, I got a job with a company that provided me with a cell phone. Because it was on a different network and the Nokia's were now getting a bit long in the tooth, I decided to change my wife's phone too. This completely severed any need I had for Verizon.
Verizon said I was under contractual obligation for them for two yearsand if I were to terminate this contract I would have to pay them a penalty.
Why? Because I changed the plan. New plan. New contract. I didn't sign a contract, but Verizon says that the first check I write to make payment on the "new plan" is essentially an agreement to the contract.
So... cliffs....
Because Verizon bought my cell phone provider I HAD TO change plans.
When I changed plans, that put me in a two year obligation with Verizon.
After only a year, I needed to cancel with Verizon and they said I would have to pay a penalty.
I believe the penalty was $300 or something. Not a lot of money, but more than I would ever think of paying a cell phone company for cancelling a contract, so I told them to pound sand. They reported me to the credit bureau and I had a bad mark on otherwise perfect credit. In fact, because the credit was otherwise perfect, the bad mark really had little effect on my life and I moved on.
Over the years, I could see my debt being sold to different collection agencies. Sometimes the debt would go down to as little as $150. But why should I pay? Out of principle, I did not CHOOSE to partner with Verizon. They've already whacked my credit score. This is ancient history to me.
For the last month, I've been getting a call from "CALLER UNKNOWN". I answered the phone a couple weeks ago and it was a nice lady asking me why I wouldn't pay Verizon what I owed them. I explained everything to her, she acknowledged and hung up. Just now, I received another call from "CALLER UNKNOWN." I answered it and this time it was a man. He told me he was aware of the my prior conversation and wanted to let me know that I did have an opportunity to pay the debt and that although he can sympathize I did have an option to go with another cell phone provider and not enter into the contract I had entered into. I told him that Verizon used deception and that out of principle I simply would not pay them. The bad credit score is now reversed and I'm under the impression that I can move on.
He then says that the company he represents is actually an arbitration firm that wishes to take the debt to court and that if I lose I am responsible for all lawyer costs, etc.
Thinking this is just a scare tactic, I say "OK."
He then wishes me luck with the arbitration, have a nice weekend and hangs up.....
Umm.... That was rather subtle for a scare tactic. Am I screwed???