Recently I received a letter demanding payment for a bill I don't owe from Vital Recovery Services of Norcross, GA, demanding I pay a debt to AIG auto insurance.
After calling Vital Recovery Services toll free number and talking with one of their representatives (and getting nowhere), I found myself forced to respond by letter. They were attempting to collect a debt that is not legitimate. Their client in this matter, AIG insurance, was completely incorrect in their claim that any moneys are owed.
For a period of time I had automobile insurance with AIG. For a period of two months they charged to my step-father my premiums to his debit card. They also where failing to charge him for his auto insurance to his card, as AIG claimed they could not charge the same card for two different policies in two different names. It created a mess for him, which he finally was able to straighten out, though with much time and effort.
Regardless, as that really is not the matter, I elected to go with a different insurance company using a local insurance agent. My step-father, also not able at the time to get the proper resolution with AIG found a different insurance carrier as well, though different than mine.
Prior to the expiration of my policy I obtained my new insurance. Upon receipt of my proof of insurance with my new company, the insurance with AIG was canceled. At no time was I uninsured, and the transition was seamless. Most important, at the time of cancelation, all premiums were current.
It appears that AIG continued to bill for a canceled policy, though they were properly notified. I can assure you that dealing with AIG's customer service was a dreadful experience.
Therefore, as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) I am notified them in writing that this debt was disputed, as I attempted to first do in my call to Vital Recovery Services. Further, this debt is not valid, and therefore is a fraudulent attempt to collect money not owed.
Calling the collection agencies toll-free number at 877-347-2082 was a total waste of time, as all they do is ignore what you say, and try to extract money. Their agents only have one goal, that's to get into your walleteven if you do not own the money. It's bottom feeding parasites like Vital Recovery Services that give collection agencies worse names than many deserve.
Under FCRA I requested that my legal rights be adhered to by both Vital Recovery Services and AIG, and not report this debt to any credit bureaus without including this notice of my dispute.
If you ever have a dispute, don't bother to call, WRITE THEM! To be certain they understand what you are giving in writing, be certain to inform them of the following:
This letter serves as your written notice to inform you that I dispute the debt. I am hereby requesting that you confirm the fact that I owe this debt as required by any applicable state and federal laws. Please contact the creditor to obtain verification.in addition, under the provisions of state and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and related consumer statutes, I am hereby instructing you that you are to cease collection of the debt while efforts are made to obtain verification. Until you resolve this error with the creditor, you should neither contact me nor anyone else except the creditor about this collection. Furthermore, any reporting of this matter to a credit reporting agency is premature. Until you have investigated my dispute, you should not relay negative information to a credit reporting agency. If negative information has already been reported, you will need to notify the agency to remove said report until the investigative process is over so that my credit report remains accurate, or at the very least, my credit report should be updated to reflect my dispute. Your next contact with me should be either notice that the creditor has failed to provide verification of the debt and that the matter has been closed or that you believe that this debt is valid and are providing proof of my responsibility. If the former, please confirm that I am not being held responsible for the debt in writing and also that if the account has already been noted on my credit report, that you will contact the bureau (s) in question to have the account removed. If the latter, I expect that you will provide me with an explanation as to why you have decided not to remove this account from collections and a copy of all documents relevant to the debt such as the application, bills, records of communications and payments, and any other data that indicates my responsibility. I am instructing you not to contact any third parties such as my employer, neighbors, friends or family members.in addition, you may not contact me by phone at work or at my home about this collection activity. All future correspondence should be sent to me in writing.
In light of last year's bail-out of AIG (to the tune of billions of federal taxpayer dollars) one almost has to wonder if AIG's horrid customer service and poor and seemingly questionable business practices were partly to blame for their self-inflicted demise, and now this bogus debt being sent to a bottom feeder collection agency.
It would have been far better to let AIG go bust, and let someone or some group that can really run an honest organization take up the slack. All we have done is feed this horrid mega monster with taxpayer dollars.
I'm like many Americans that are simply outraged by AIG. A lot of folk are angry that AIG executives paid themselves millions of dollars in bonuses after having cost the taxpayers an exorbitant sum around $150-billion with a B. Senator Charles Grassley put a proper face on the anger when he suggested that the AIG executives follow the Japanese example and resign or go commit suicide. I guess when you screw a company up as bad as they; you have to attempt to cover your losses with bogus billing claims and collection agencies.
Familyguy
Anderson, South Carolina
U.S.A.
0 comments