Columbia house account
Complaint
Justin
Country: United States
My fiancée opened an account with Columbia house 6 years ago and left owing them 58 dollars. Last year she was contacted by mail by a Allied Interstate company stating she owed the balance on the Columbia house account but stating they could settle for thirty dollars. I an effort to clear her debt she paid the thirty dollars to improve her credit score. Now this NRA started contacting her three months after she paid Allied trying to collect on the same account and saying it is still delinquent. Who and how could we contact to resolve this information because we don't want to pay for an account again if it has been paid but we still receive harassing phone calls from this NRA?
Comments
Columbia House was known for both "negative option" order cramming of their customers, and using accounting "errors" to claim customers hadn't met their "commitment", so they owed some "termination fee". There are also consumer complaints of their "customer service" people making up unwanted "orders", as well as reports by consumers that they received some unordered "offer" from Columbia House, threw it out, then got unordered CDs and a bill. All of the above point to an out-of-control predatory sales operation incentivized to use fraudulent practices, including mail fraud.
If you read consumer complaints against Columbia/BMG on consumeraffairs.com, this is usually reported as some debt collector showing up a couple of years to 6 years later asking for amounts in the $50 to $150 range, long after the consumer had thought any commitment was met, but also after most consumers were likely to have thrown out payment and invoice records to prove otherwise. The pattern is so repeated in complaints against BMG from about 2009 on, it is striking.
For example, see the complaints, here:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/entertainment/bmg.htm
The other abnormal thing showing up in these old "music club" collection accounts is a high number of complaints (30% to 50%) from consumers claiming they had NEVER had Columbia/BMG accounts, yet with reports of credit damage by the debt collector, over what are clearly inaccurate or misidentified "accounts".
The complaint levels fitting this pattern are so high that the debt collectors (mostly NCS, NRA Group, and Takhar Group) must know they are collecting on erroneous "debt" but are choosing to preemptively damage consumer credit as a deliberate tactic to maximize collection. In fact, NCS got caught by the Montana AG for similar tactics against former Montana customers of bankrupt Hollywood Video, damaging credit on bogus "debts". Although they were forced to remove the credit damage and comply with federal and state law, that is an indication that these companies are willfully crossing the line.
If you are being contacted by NRA Group, odds are they have already damaged your credit, even before contacting you, based on numerous consumer complaints. If you paid Allied Interstate, and now NRA Group is demanding repayment, it is likely that either Allied deceptively "settled" with you, and then breached your agreement by selling the paid account, and/or that NRA Group is attempting to fraudulently collect on a paid, misidentified, or unowed account.
You can keep playing games with these jokers, or you can get an attorney to ensure the matter is permanently dealt with. Based on the many similar complaints of fraud and deception, they know exactly what they can get away with on these small nuisance "debts", which also means they should know when to blink.
You can find MANY federal FDCPA lawsuits against NRA Group on justia. In addition, you can find a number of attorneys who have filed large lawsuits against them over these bogus "debts".
Send a letter disputing the alleged "debt", as you know it was already settled and is unowed. Mail that letter certified return receipt requested, for proof of when you mailed it and when they received it.
Check your credit reports, to see if they have posted damaging false information.
Then run this by a consumer attorney. You might find one in your state through www.naca.net
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/entertainment/bmg.htm
They have a history of complaints consistent with deliberately sending out fraudulent collection bills, and damaging credit, with no real basis to believe they are dunning the correct person. You call on the phone, you just label yourself a sucker, since mailed communications is more effective in court, and there is little point to any communications if you can't use it in court.
Their typical reported response to consumers calling to dispute is some talk-off "blowing smoke", fishing for a quid-pro-quo "settlement" to get their bogus "collection account" removed. If you are acting on an assumption of good faith, you are wasting your time.
If the "account" is bogus, best advice is to get an attorney.
so if you catch them playing chicken, they have to fold.
It's not the amount, it's the credit damages at stake.
http://www.bbb.org/washington-dc-eastern-pa/b ... urg-pa-70005089