Wrongfully turned long time customer's account over to collections agency.
Complaint
A
Country: United States
To Whom It May Concern,
I cancelled DSL service with Qwest in February 2011. At the time that I cancelled, I was told that I would not have to return the modem because I had purchased it. This made sense to me, as I had easily paid for value of the modem several times over during the many years I was a Qwest DSL customer.
However, a couple of weeks after I cancelled my service, Qwest sent me UPS shipping labels to return the modem. I dropped off the modem at UPS on March 28, 2011. I have delivery confirmation from UPS that states that the package was delivered to Pueblo, CO April 4, 2011 at 1:34 PM and signed by DOUGLAS.
On May 13, 2011 Afni sent me a letter stating that they were a debt collector attempting to collect a debt on behalf of Qwest. When I called Afni to discuss the letter, I was told that the debt was owed for the modem mentioned above. I told Afni that I would like to dispute the debt and provided them with the UPS tracking number, which shows proof of delivery.
I received another latter from Afni May 24, 2011; which stated that Afni had verified the debt was valid, and intends to continue to pursue collection of the debt.
On May 24, 2011 I contacted Qwest customer service and talked to someone who gave me the ID KLMason. She told me that she worked in Qwest Billing, and that she could not find a record of the returned modem; and that there was nothing else she could do.
I am finding that in every detail in this matter, Qwest has shown poor customer service ability. From telling me that I would not have to return the modem, to turning the account over to a collections agency to denying that they had received the modem, despite the clear UPS paper trail from me to the Qwest facility in Colorado; it is difficult to find anything that is not disappointing about Qwest in this matter.
I have begun to pursue legal options with Afni. The federal government is very clear about what those options are. It seems that I could pay the amount requested, but I returned the modem and I believe the facts are clear in the matter. I would have no reason to lie under oath regarding such a thing, particularly because Qwest sent me shipping labels; but also because the modem is essentially worthless, not only to me, but also in the general sense the value of the device in question in year 2011. The federal government has various mechanism in place to protect honest consumers like myself from being harmed in circumstances such as this.
Regards,
Name Removed
I cancelled DSL service with Qwest in February 2011. At the time that I cancelled, I was told that I would not have to return the modem because I had purchased it. This made sense to me, as I had easily paid for value of the modem several times over during the many years I was a Qwest DSL customer.
However, a couple of weeks after I cancelled my service, Qwest sent me UPS shipping labels to return the modem. I dropped off the modem at UPS on March 28, 2011. I have delivery confirmation from UPS that states that the package was delivered to Pueblo, CO April 4, 2011 at 1:34 PM and signed by DOUGLAS.
On May 13, 2011 Afni sent me a letter stating that they were a debt collector attempting to collect a debt on behalf of Qwest. When I called Afni to discuss the letter, I was told that the debt was owed for the modem mentioned above. I told Afni that I would like to dispute the debt and provided them with the UPS tracking number, which shows proof of delivery.
I received another latter from Afni May 24, 2011; which stated that Afni had verified the debt was valid, and intends to continue to pursue collection of the debt.
On May 24, 2011 I contacted Qwest customer service and talked to someone who gave me the ID KLMason. She told me that she worked in Qwest Billing, and that she could not find a record of the returned modem; and that there was nothing else she could do.
I am finding that in every detail in this matter, Qwest has shown poor customer service ability. From telling me that I would not have to return the modem, to turning the account over to a collections agency to denying that they had received the modem, despite the clear UPS paper trail from me to the Qwest facility in Colorado; it is difficult to find anything that is not disappointing about Qwest in this matter.
I have begun to pursue legal options with Afni. The federal government is very clear about what those options are. It seems that I could pay the amount requested, but I returned the modem and I believe the facts are clear in the matter. I would have no reason to lie under oath regarding such a thing, particularly because Qwest sent me shipping labels; but also because the modem is essentially worthless, not only to me, but also in the general sense the value of the device in question in year 2011. The federal government has various mechanism in place to protect honest consumers like myself from being harmed in circumstances such as this.
Regards,
Name Removed
Comments
Qwest and its debt collection partner AFNI have a pattern of similar "billing error" complaints, many alleging billing for services not provided, or billing the wrong people.
In particular, the Minnesota AG sued AFNI in 2008 for similar problems with old Verizon accounts, reached a settlement, and then ended up again investigating AFNI in 2010, this time in connection with Qwest "billing errors". AFNI and Qwest claimed they just "didn't know" how their records could be in error.
Send a dispute and validation request to AFNI, mailed certified. Include in your dispute a copy of your delivery confirmation that confirms your return of the modem.
Then file fraudulent billing complaints against Qwest and AFNI with FTC and your state Attorney General, also including a copy of your delivery confirmation. From what you and others have experienced, you cannot expect either company to act in a competent or honest manner without giving them an incentive.
If you just pay them, you will not only be short the money, but have a ding on your credit for the next 7 years for your trouble. You may have to sue them, in small claims court, and let the judge decide based on your records of the return.
After I verified that I had the tracking number (also delivered to Pueblo, CO and signed for by DOUGLAS), I searched online for people who had had similar problems and came across your note here. I anticipated a huge fight with Qwest. I gathered up all of my paperwork concerning the matter, called Qwest and recorded the call.
What happened was unexpected -- the women I spoke with located the modem in the system after I gave her the tracking number. She then adjusted the balance, pulled the account from collections and notified all 3 credit reporting agencies that the referral was by mistake (only after I firmly insisted that she do so).
My suggestion is not to deal with the collections agency -- call Qwest directly, and anticipate calling them multiple times if necessary -- unfortunately, it just depends on who you talk to. Always as for a manager. Be aggressive! Record your call and be sure to have all of the paperwork you need in front of you.
I don't know if Qwest will resolve your issue as well as they did mine (they definitely have poor customer service most of the time!) but I wish you the best of luck in resolving this!