Collections entry on my credit report for money I do not owe
Date: Sat, 04/19/2008 - 15:28
Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide, I'm sorry this is a bit lengthy.
A few years ago I had a shipping insurance policy with a company. I never signed anything, and it was month to month and I could cancel at any time. After a year or so, I did cancel via email, which is the way the policy was originally set up. The company continued to send me a monthly bill after I already canceled. So, I called them and let them know that I already canceled. The person I spoke to said ok. I then continued receiving bills. I called again, same story. This continued for some time, until I got tired of calling them and just ignored it. To be clear I also never filed any insurance claims during the period in which they continued sending me bills after I canceled the policy, so they were in essence charging me for a service they were not providing.
Anyway, some time passes and I get a letter from a law firm stating that I owe them several hundred dollars on behalf of the shipping insurance company. It seems that at some point the insurance company just decided to stop charging me (without sending me a notice of cancellation or anything, either), and made up their own total of what they think I should pay them. Now extremely frustrated, I call the law firm, and the representative told me they "have to proceed with collections unless they hear from the shipping insurance company telling them to stop the action". So, I call the shipping insurance company AGAIN, and this time try and work my way up their chain of command. I spent several weeks of daily phone calls and messages trying to talk with anyone of authority at the shipping company. I was NEVER able to get a call back from anyone other than the bottom level customer service reps. I then called the law firm back, explained that I couldn't talk to the shipping company, and I don't owe the money. They basically just said ok.
It has now come to my attention that this law firm has put an entry onto my credit report (Experian) for collections. I am so angry about this, especially because I have otherwise flawless credit. My question is, what can I do to get this taken care of? If I file a dispute with Experian, isn't the law firm simply going to say that I do owe the money, and then it will stay on there? Please help!
A few years ago I had a shipping insurance policy with a company. I never signed anything, and it was month to month and I could cancel at any time. After a year or so, I did cancel via email, which is the way the policy was originally set up. The company continued to send me a monthly bill after I already canceled. So, I called them and let them know that I already canceled. The person I spoke to said ok. I then continued receiving bills. I called again, same story. This continued for some time, until I got tired of calling them and just ignored it. To be clear I also never filed any insurance claims during the period in which they continued sending me bills after I canceled the policy, so they were in essence charging me for a service they were not providing.
Anyway, some time passes and I get a letter from a law firm stating that I owe them several hundred dollars on behalf of the shipping insurance company. It seems that at some point the insurance company just decided to stop charging me (without sending me a notice of cancellation or anything, either), and made up their own total of what they think I should pay them. Now extremely frustrated, I call the law firm, and the representative told me they "have to proceed with collections unless they hear from the shipping insurance company telling them to stop the action". So, I call the shipping insurance company AGAIN, and this time try and work my way up their chain of command. I spent several weeks of daily phone calls and messages trying to talk with anyone of authority at the shipping company. I was NEVER able to get a call back from anyone other than the bottom level customer service reps. I then called the law firm back, explained that I couldn't talk to the shipping company, and I don't owe the money. They basically just said ok.
It has now come to my attention that this law firm has put an entry onto my credit report (Experian) for collections. I am so angry about this, especially because I have otherwise flawless credit. My question is, what can I do to get this taken care of? If I file a dispute with Experian, isn't the law firm simply going to say that I do owe the money, and then it will stay on there? Please help!
Who is the shipping insurance company, and who is the law firm?
Who is the shipping insurance company, and who is the law firm?
When did you cancel the policy? Any proof?
When was the last time you made a payment?
What state do you live in?
Sorry to answer a request for help with a barrage of questions. But give us a little more info to work with, please...
