Help with collections problem
Date: Wed, 08/04/2010 - 20:40
I'm not sure what to do here. Back in '08 I signed a contract with a facility called Massage Envy. You pay $59 a month for a 1 hour massage and its automatically billed to your credit card. I fulfilled a one year contract. After fulfilling the contract I was in a car accident that required shoulder surgery and prevented me from working. Due to the surgery I could no longer have massages and due to not being able to work, I could not afford $59 a month. I called the facility to explain this to them and they said no problem that they would cancel the contract.
The following month (Nov '09) I received a message saying that my credit card was being declined (actually it had expired at that point). I called back right away and told them that I canceled the prior month and that they should no longer be charging me. The girl had to call a manager and she called me back and told me that it would be taken care of and "not to worry". I never heard from them again.
Fast forward to the present- About 2 months ago I got a letter from this facility telling me that I owe $700 in back charges and that if I didn't pay it within 2 weeks that they would be sending me to collections. I sent them a certified letter outlining the events and telling them why I should not owe the money- they never responded.
Sure enough 2 weeks later I get a letter from a collections agency. This letter said that I now owe $1300. It said that I had 30 days to dispute the debt so once again I sent a certified letter outlining the course of events and why I should not and do not owe the money. I also stated that the amount was $500 more than what Massage Envy said I owed just 2 weeks prior. They signed for the letter, but never responded.
Today I got another bill from this collections agency. They never sent anything to validate the debt or anything. I cannot find the original contract from '08. There is no way that I could possibly pay this debt, nor do I want to since I don't think I owe it. The letter they sent today, they are threatening to take me to court if I don't pay. What do I do? What recourse do I have?
The following month (Nov '09) I received a message saying that my credit card was being declined (actually it had expired at that point). I called back right away and told them that I canceled the prior month and that they should no longer be charging me. The girl had to call a manager and she called me back and told me that it would be taken care of and "not to worry". I never heard from them again.
Fast forward to the present- About 2 months ago I got a letter from this facility telling me that I owe $700 in back charges and that if I didn't pay it within 2 weeks that they would be sending me to collections. I sent them a certified letter outlining the events and telling them why I should not owe the money- they never responded.
Sure enough 2 weeks later I get a letter from a collections agency. This letter said that I now owe $1300. It said that I had 30 days to dispute the debt so once again I sent a certified letter outlining the course of events and why I should not and do not owe the money. I also stated that the amount was $500 more than what Massage Envy said I owed just 2 weeks prior. They signed for the letter, but never responded.
Today I got another bill from this collections agency. They never sent anything to validate the debt or anything. I cannot find the original contract from '08. There is no way that I could possibly pay this debt, nor do I want to since I don't think I owe it. The letter they sent today, they are threatening to take me to court if I don't pay. What do I do? What recourse do I have?
Quote:I called the facility to explain this to them and they sai
Quote:
I called the facility to explain this to them and they said no problem that they would cancel the contract. |
Quote:
Sure enough 2 weeks later I get a letter from a collections agency. This letter said that I now owe $1300. It said that I had 30 days to dispute the debt so once again I sent a certified letter outlining the course of events and why I should not and do not owe the money. I also stated that the amount was $500 more than what Massage Envy said I owed just 2 weeks prior. They signed for the letter, but never responded. |
