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jose3030
Premium Member
join:1999-08-17
Manassas, VA

jose3030

Premium Member

Comcast ruined my credit

I used to have Comcast cable and cancelled service in May of last year.

When I cancelled, the bill stated $94.
When I went to pay it, I told the lady I wanted to pay it off in full. She said I only owed $30.

I paid what she said "even after saying, ARE YOU SURE?"...

She said yes.

After that, I was out of the country and came back and found out that they had sent my account to collections for the amount of $64.

I checked my credit score and surely enough, it's listed as a derogatory listing.

COMCAST RUINED MY CREDIT.

It was a measly $64. All due to a dumb girl at the Woodbridge, Virginia office.

If anyone here works for Comcast and can help me find out how I can correct this issue, please help me. When I got back, I immediately paid the bill (after 3-4 months, I guess)... and they ruined my credit (the one I've been building for over 4 yrs now)..

odog
Minister of internet doohickies
Premium Member
join:2001-08-05
Atlanta, GA

odog

Premium Member

AFAIK nothing can be done at this point...it's on their for 7 years.
instylz
join:2001-12-29
Woodbridge, NJ

instylz to jose3030

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to jose3030
That is not entirely true. I had some Columbia House material sent to my house about 3yrs ago. I never ordered it (dvds) and even after sending them back I was charged. I refused to pay and was put on a delinquent list. This past year when I wanted to buy a car it came back to haunt me....For those of you who don't know when you put money down for a car they fax your information to their banks and it comes back with a letter graded score....kind of like in school. Well mine came back with a score of "B". I knew my credit was supreme as I am never late and pay things off entirely and ON TIME. I did research on this and even took it so far as to go to a credit office in my town. They helped me to write a letter to Columbia House and to the different credit organizations...Trans Union etc...their are 4 major ones to my knowledge where your information is pulled from. To make a long story short I paid the credit helpers as I like to call them $150...they investigated found out it was only Columbia house that was negative in my rating and in 4 months it was all put to rest. I then went back to purchase my car and received the "A" that I deserved knocking off $75 of the monthly payments and leaving me eligable to the 6 month no payment and 12 month no interest that I fought to get. The moral is TO FIGHT IT....its not 7 yrs like stated on that other post anyway. I think that person might have confused it with bankruptcy as I know that takes 7yrs to clear and is far more dangerous. Nobody wouldn't even want to go near you if that was the case. Anyway Good Luck

jose3030
Premium Member
join:1999-08-17
Manassas, VA

jose3030

Premium Member

Gonna give a call to the local office tomorrow, to see if they can fax me some documentation which shows that i was a customer, how long i was a customer, my account #'s and all that.

I ha(d) good credit, and it's kind of a slap in the face how my credit got ruined by $64.

$64 is measly compared to getting ur credit ruined for SEVEN damn yrs.
helper 47
join:2002-11-01
Portland, OR

helper 47 to jose3030

Member

to jose3030
So you knew you owed more "When I cancelled, the bill stated $94." So you had no contact with the company after this point. No mail of yours was forwarded to you or nobody picked it up for you. So then you come back to the US and find out that you got screwed.

How would you suggest comcast clear this up for you? I'm not sure how they can find out what lady told you that you were paid up in full. Do you have anything in your records that show you were paid in full at the time?

If you can't you may try one of those credit helpers like was suggested above. Other than that you may have learned a valuable lesson.

J D McDorce
Premium Member
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI

J D McDorce

Premium Member

Comcast typically has one pay in advance and if you cancel part way into a billing period, they typically prorate your bill for the actual period that service was active. Owing $30 for a $94 statement is certainly possible, dependent on the dates of the billing cycle, due date of the payment, and service cancellation date.

For May 2002, Comcast should still have the records for the billing cycle dates, service cancellation date, and when payments were posted to the account. If the $30 payment was made by check, the cancelled check should help to corroborate the cancellation date (as well as the story).

jose3030
Premium Member
join:1999-08-17
Manassas, VA

jose3030 to helper 47

Premium Member

to helper 47
You pay one month in advance.

So when I wanted to cancel , it was a little before mid month. It definitely made sense at the time.
MrHappy316
Wish I had my tank
Premium Member
join:2003-01-02
Columbia, SC

MrHappy316 to jose3030

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to jose3030
I had this problem too when I left Fort Stewart 3 years ago. Cancelled a month before. The next month (the month I had no service) they try to charge me for that month. Called them told them politely I wasn't paying for no services rendered. Small argument ensued but in the end they said they would take it off. They sent me a bill 5 days later that said $0.00 owed.

The lady should have given you a receipt that says account paid in full. If you do, call them up and argue that fact. When all else fails tell them the next phone call they get will be from your lawyer. This usually resolves the situation quickly if your in the right.

Had to threaten AT&T like that when I ditched their phone card and my credit report said they closed the account. Had to use the lawyer threat to get them to change it to account closed by holder. Of course this threat works better if you actually have a lawyer on standby.
mglunt
join:2001-09-10
Fredericksburg, VA

mglunt to jose3030

Member

to jose3030
You definitely pay in advance, so the $30 you owed was most likely correct. They screwed up, and billed you the full month apparently.

I bought my own modem a couple months ago, and I received a pro-rated credit because of their advanced billing system. I had already paid for the full month's modem rental, but didn't have it for the full month, so they owed me a credit.

I am sure there are many services out there to get this taken off of your credit report. You just need to find out who can straighten it out for you.

Homebrew19947
Betzwood Basement Brewery
join:2001-11-15
King Of Prussia, PA

Homebrew19947 to jose3030

Member

to jose3030
1. First contact Comcast. Make sure everything is done in writing.

Assuming you get it cleared up with them (and they admit it is a mistake).

2. Contact each of the 3 major credit bureaus. Tell them you wish to dispute Comcast's negative entry.
They are then required to contact Comcast (in writing again) and have Comcast confirm the negative rating or agree to drop it.

The bureaus can be reached at:

»www.transunion.com
»www.experian.com
»www.equifax.com

Oh, was the derogatory entry on your report from Comcast or from a collection agency hired by them. It would complicate things.

jose3030
Premium Member
join:1999-08-17
Manassas, VA

jose3030

Premium Member

By a collection agency hired by them.

Called "Credit Management"..

jose3030

jose3030

Premium Member

Ok. Called my local office.
They gave me a # of a gentleman that deals w/ the collections part of things.

Called him up and he's gonna have Credit Management clear it off my record.



Thanks Comcast.

sirchief
Premium Member
join:2001-12-14
Cromwell, CT

sirchief to jose3030

Premium Member

to jose3030
All you need to do is get a letter from the Collections company stating you have a ZERO balance with Comcast.

I would get this letter sooner than later. Then, when the time comes for someone to question your credit you have the letter ready to go. It usually take a while for the Collections company to generate such a letter.

You will be fine. I speak from experience. I got stiffed a while back from some roommates. All utilities were in my name. We got behind and ended up going to collections. We paid off the debt, but it was still on my history. When I went for a loan it was on there, but was able to explain that it had been taken care of and had the letter to prove it.

Good luck and don't worry.

Homebrew19947
Betzwood Basement Brewery
join:2001-11-15
King Of Prussia, PA

Homebrew19947 to jose3030

Member

to jose3030
Get a letter from Comcast saying that it is paid off and that sending it to the agency was an error.
Insist that the letter be sent also to the agency.

Then dispute it with the 3 bureaus. Include a copy of the letter with the dispute.

Otherwise, they may just list it as a paid off collection account, which is almost as bad as an open one.

jose3030
Premium Member
join:1999-08-17
Manassas, VA

jose3030 to sirchief

Premium Member

to sirchief
Yea, he's gonna have the Credit Management folks send me a letter stating that.

Then I'll contact Equifax to have them take it off my record.

I was in the 750's in FICO... Now i'm WAY below that.

Go Chargers7
Fa Shizzle Ma Nizzle
Premium Member
join:2002-09-24
Huntington Beach, CA

Go Chargers7 to jose3030

Premium Member

to jose3030
Your receipt should show a final balance owed. If it is zero and you still have it, send it to the collection agency. They certainly don't want problems with the FTC under the F.C.R.A.