Posted on 03/02/2005 9:26:17 AM PST by cainin04
I need some advice. I recently recived a cell phone bill for over $500. I have good credit and have never had to despute a bill.
I talked to Verizon and explained that I did not realize I had went over on my minutes and that I would pay the normal price that it costs to cover the amount of minutes I used--that total would be $79.99. They refused; they said that they do not have a retroactive policy and that I would HAVE to pay the bill.
Basically, I am not paying a $500 cell phone bill. That is unreasonable and insane. But I also don't want to hurt my credit. What should I do?
If you can lead me in the right direction on how I should go about this, please post.
OK, so you admit that you owe the money because you used the minutes, and the mistake was yours, but you don't "think" you should have to pay the bill?
Grow up.
that's halarious.
I live in a condo and I'm in college at UGA--senior year.
Yes. It would behoove you to try to get the amount reduced and pay it. Failing that, pay the whole thing and then lose the Verizon account as soon as possible.
Don't let a non-paid telephone bill ding you for 7 years.
Yes it will hurt your credit. You incurred these charges, yet refuse to pay.
One word of advice: most companies have a procedure to dispute charges, and it almost always has to be in writing. Send a polite letter to that address by certified mail. Maybe they'll give you a discount.
That's pretty much right. I just think that a reasonable company would allow me to pay the normal price that it costs to use that amount of minutes.
Basically, I used 1200 minutes and have a 450 minute plan. If you read my previous post, you will see that I thought a friend was in the IN Network, so I didn't realize I was burning up my minutes. The plan that covers 1350 minutes a month costs $79.99. I feel that they should allow me to move up to that plan and pay that price, not charge me $500.
I have a cell phone for two reasons. 1. To use it for long distance calls. 2. In case my truck breaks down in the middle of BFE. I thought getting a cell would be the cheap route, but I could get Onstar ($17/month) and get the $25.00 a month long distance plan that many phone companies offer and come out cheaper than $500 a year--much less, per month!
thanks for your help.
Muleteam1
Just remember: phone calls basically did not happen. You have no way of proving that you ever called them, and they will deny that you did should you contest the charges to TRW. Everything should be done by fax or certified mail.
true. Good point.
Good luck, but I believe you will have to bite the bullet and pay it.
This sucks. I guess I have learned a $500 lesson. I don't want to take a chance on hurting my credit, especially since I am just about to leave college and enter the work force.
I will be getting rid of my cell phone in September, when my contract ends. I will also let Verizon know why I did this, and I will make it a point to discourage anyone from signing up for that piece of crap of a company.
You sound a little naive- to think that it is not "good policy" to send someone a bill for $500!
My advice, plead your case with them, ask them to lower your overcharge, but be sure to write down the name of every person you spoke to.
Well said.
Clark Howard might be your best bet. And dump Verizon as soon as you can.
if you don't wanna pay the freight, get off the train. you aren't stupid, you knew what you were getting into. you went over, way over - this isnt' even close. You should have known you were going way over your minutes, yet you continued to use the phone.
now you are upset that you have to pay for it. Tell me: should I, or other customers have to pay for your phone use?
pay up, and grow up. Cell phones have a purpose. idle chatting isn't it.
Congrats on the degree!
That's not LA. Too much real green. ;-)
I'm with you on every statement.
It was an accident, so suck it up.
I discovered it during a routine credit check. I called them to find out why they never sent the bill to me. That's when I found out that they were sending it to old addresses. I asked them why they didn't send it to the address where they had sent every other bill over the past year, and they just said I'd better pay what I owed them. I told them I didn't dispute the amount, and asked whether they would take it off of my credit if I paid the bill. No. I told them that I didn't think it was fair for them to destroy my credit because of their mistake. Their answer? Too bad. I sent them a copy of my credit report, which shows my house note, car notes, credit card history, and asked them if someone who has excellent history in all other areas would just not pay a $100 bill. They basically called me a dead beat, which infuriated me.
I asked a friend of mine who is works in this field, and he said that although my credit is now in the dirt (I went from near perfect score to low 60s), he said most lenders don't blink much when it's an unpaid cell phone debt because cell phone bills are disputed so often. I don't know how much faith you want to put in that, but I told Verizon to stuff it, disputed the debt, and decided to just wait out the seven years or whatever it is for the report to fall off of my credit.
Good luck. Verizon sucks donkey tails.
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