wrong name and address and Lenscrafters/vision insurance
Date: Mon, 06/30/2008 - 07:29
In Sept. 2007, my husband bought glasses at Lenscrafters, submitted our vision insurance. We thought that once the insurance was settled, we would receive a bill for the remaining amount. However, we misunderstood that the amount on the receipt was what we owed and that Lenscrafters would send the account to GE Money Bank, as a matter of policy. However, Lenscrafters apparently confused my husband's account with his father's account. They have the same name but a different middle initial, different address. But my father-in-law passed away in 2005, his house was sold to people that we do not know. All the bills from GE Money Bank had been sent to John D.'s house instead of John M.'s house. And since we thought the insurance must have picked up the whole total, we just filed away the receipt and forgot about it. A few weeks ago, we started receiving calls about this bill and in trying to figure out what the caller was talking about, I asked them to send me a statement. That is when the caller told me the wrong name and address and I realized what must have happened. I told GE Bank that I would pay the original bill once I received a statement with corrected name and address, but I would NOT pay the almost $200 in late fees, since it was not our fault that we did not received the statements. We finally received a packet of all the statements that had been sent to the wrong name and address, sent to our correct address, but with the wrong name on it, and with the late fees included. We have talked with several different people from GE Money Bank, from Encore collection agency, and from Lenscrafters in an attempt to clear this up. Lenscrafters originally denied that the mix-up was their fault, but now they are working with us. The latest mail was from Encore trying to collect the $545 total. We feel that we do not owe those late fees, as we would have paid the $373 with the first statement in October, had it been received by us at the correct name and address. We will pay the $373 as soon as we receive a bill in the correct name and address, and with the late fees removed. But we just keep getting more calls and letters, obviously from different callers, and most of the them are very difficult to understand over the phone. So frustrating!!!!!
If LensCrafters still has and owns the debt, you can try to work
If LensCrafters still has and owns the debt, you can try to work something out with them as far as paying them. However, if they have sold the debt to a collection agency, it may be a bit more difficult, as some of them don't 'play well with others!
If Lens Crafters is working with you, I would try to keep the communication going with them. Until the bill is paid or satisfied, the calls will probably contiune.If,however, they are still working with you, they can pull it back from the CA, if they haven't sold it, and you can get it taken care of..Let us know what happens..karen
Hi Karen, Thanks so much for your response. Lenscrafters does
Hi Karen,
Thanks so much for your response.
Lenscrafters does not still own the account, as they explained to me that they have already been paid by GE Money Bank, so we owe GE. When I called GEMB, they would not even discuss the account with me, as neither my name, nor my husband's was on the account and privacy laws prevent them from releasing information. I tried to explain to them that there was a mix-up, and it was John M. who owed the money, not John D., who is deceased. At that point, they transferred me to the probate department! accckkkkkk!!!!!
We are awaiting a call from Lenscrafters, hopefully they have been able to straighten things out. I will contact Encore as soon as I hear from Lenscrafters. I am assuming that now GEMB has sold the account to Encore for collection.
I will let you know what happens.
Thanks again.
If they will not speak to you or your husband because his name i
If they will not speak to you or your husband because his name is not on the account. Then it sounds like they just admitted you are not responsible for this debt, as it is not in his name.
I am not saying don't pay it but I would send them a debt validation letter and get them to fix the problem.
crossing my fingers
Here is where things stand right now, concerning my post of June 30: we have not had any calls from GE Money Band or the collection agency for over a week. So I called the customer service number on the (inaccurate) statements that we had received concerning the account. The automated service told me that the amount due on the account is $373, which is the original amount MINUS the late fees, and that "there is no payment due at this time." I am cautiously relieved! It LOOKS LIKE things are straightened out, the late fees removed, and the original amount is now on the statement. I will call Lenscrafters tomorrow to see what their take is on this. And we will pay the $373 as soon as we receive the corrected statement, but I think we will pay with a money order instead of personal check. I do NOT want this company to know anything about our checking account.
I'll post again. Thanks!
Donna, good idea about the money order! It does sound like thin
Donna, good idea about the money order! It does sound like things are getting straightened out. Good luck!
I hope that you are getting things worked out. You are right, do
I hope that you are getting things worked out. You are right, don't send them a check, they don't have any business with your banking info.
I would make sure that you also get something in writing that this will be paid in full, and they don't sell the remaining amount to a CA, just my opinion- I am a suspicious person :lol:
Good Luck Donna!!..karen
update (last one, I hope!)
It does look like this mess is straightened out! We received a call from Lenscrafters a couple of weeks ago, telling us that they had spoken to the legal dept. at GE Money Bank and that all late fees were being removed from the account. She also said that we should be receiving a call from GEMB concerning the corrections. A few days later, we did receive that call, which echoed the information from Lenscrafters. And also telling us that the "origination date" of the account would be 8-1-08, not the 10-1-07 date that was on the errant account. A few days later, we received a "new" statement, with all information corrected, and with the amount owed the $373, which is the original amount, minus all late fees. We paid the bill immediately, using money order. I called the customer service line everyday until yesterday it DID reflect the payment, and said that the account is paid in full! We are praying that this is the end of the mess! I will call Lenscrafters on Monday to tell them, and also to thank them for their help. Though the original mistake was theirs, they have been most helpful, and I doubt we could have cleared this up without their assistance and cooperation.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my original post.
And thanks to the caretakers of this website for your most helpful information!
Peace to all, Donna
That's great, Donna! Congratulations! Persistence goes a long
That's great, Donna! Congratulations! Persistence goes a long ways!!!
Congrats Donna!! I am so glad that headache is over for you. It
Congrats Donna!! I am so glad that headache is over for you. It is a perfect example, that if you stay after them, and a little work, it can be done!..karen