getting hassled for $200
 

A couple of years ago I carried a pager. To make the long story short, the service was so bad I tried to cancel the balance of the contract.

Some sh&thead debt collector called last night trying to collect the $200.

Question, what's the worst thing that can happen if I never pay them (out of principle)? I suspect they will continue to call. Is there anything I can do to stop it? Will they really take me to court for $200? Wouldn't the court filing fees and lawyer fees exceed that?

I know the credit rating score thing will be less than perfect now but come on! for $200!

I want your opinions

They'll drag you to court for $2.00 never mind $200. Call a consumer protection agency and see what your rights are.

I'd tell them to send it to you in writing.....if they got your phone number then they know where to send it....

Then check up on it...could be a scam...but I'm with you ...a few years later? I wouldn't pay on principle...But start a log in a notebook...keep record of when they called , duration of the call, what they said etc as there are laws to follow..and if they break them.....

Anything in the service contract regarding quality of service or customer satisfaction or complaint reconciliation? There is usually a lot of fine print, there might be something in there.

I had a collection agency on the run for about a year, they had a small list of numbers then a total but they did the math wrong. Every time they called I pointed it out and they didn't call for a couple of months

Send them a certified letter stating that you will only deal with the principals of the debt (the pager company). Keep your reciept from the Post Office - if they contact you again you can use this like a sword.

I have no advice. I just like to post on Jentay's threads.:eek: :P :D

I sincerely doubt that they will spend the money to drag you into court. If they do, then show up and tell the story to the judge.

Normally, they continue to hassle you and try to get a settlement out of you. If they can get 1/2 the balance, then they consider this a success.

The worst thing is the damage to your credit rating, if you need credit. Yes, the credit rating is affected by any delinquency, without regard to the amount. Since most agencies simply go by the raw credit score, the robots that work for them probably won't even look at the report to determine the actual situation.

will I get banned if I write that this is Bush's fault?

No, you'd be correct, as usual.;)

credit report
 

Get a copy of your credit report... if it's been two years, and they haven't contacted you directly before selling it to a collection agency... wouldn't it be on your report by now, probably as a 'past due 90+ days' ? If it's not on there, then I'd be leery of any third party action.

Its Bushes fault that Slick willy had a thing for big boobed interns...didn't they tell you that...The Bush Dynasty put monica up to it...

I had a somewhat similar incident about 6 years ago. I owed X company $50 and refused to pay due to the horrendously crappy service I had to endure. They sent it to a collection agency who wrote me a few letters and eventually gave up. I hadn't heard anything after the first year or so and I it doesn't seem to have affected my credit at this point. I wouldn't say that completely ignoring them is good advice, but it worked for me at the time.

It's because I fashioned a thinking cap for myself!


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...lr%3D%26sa%3DG

What is your credit score worth to you? Chances are good that you are already being reported as delinquent in this case, which hurts your score. They don't have to sue you to be reported as a "collection account" on your credit history.

Re-read your pager contract.

If I were you, I'd check my credit history today. If there is no evidence of any detrimental report, pay the $200 and make this go away. If you owe the money, I recommend prompt settlement and chalk this up as a learning experience.

You are only hurting yourself in the long run by avoiding the issue.

Best of luck to you.

for the record, an isolated derrogatory mark on an otherwise stellar report amounts to dog squeeze on the sidewalk. Anyone who is seriously scrutinizing your reports will see that it is an anomaly and at most will ask about it.