Below is the original email I sent to Alltel and their response:
Hello, my name is Sgt. JD, and I used to have excellent credit. I am inquiring whether or not you can help me remove a negative entry from my credit report which was put there by Alltel.
I am a soldier in the US Army in Iraq.in 2006 I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC and had a cell phone account with Alltel. 9 months into my Alltel contract, I was deployed to Iraq, which is where I am now. I used my military orders to put the account on "military hold" until I get back to the states. I set up a forwarding address and paid off my account, and deployed. Since I used e-Bill Pay through my bank, I didn't see any problems.
Fast forward several months and I apply for a credit card and receive a letter saying I have a delinquent account ($280!) on my credit report! This was a shock, as for many years I have had a flawless credit report. It seems my final bill from Alltel had not reached me in Iraq (a war zone), despite repeated attempts. However, I am in Iraq and didn't have a telephone. Before I left I gave Alltel my father's phone number, but he unexpectedly moved to Arizona soon after I left, so he never got any calls.
I couldn't give Alltel my military address in Iraq as I didn't know where I would be yet, so I gave them my fathers address in the states, but he, being 85, failed to have MY mail forwarded, he only put his name down. I am assuming this is what happened, because neither he nor I never received any mail from Alltel.
Also, for whatever reason, my "eBill" from Alltel was never sent to my online bank (USAA), which is how I normally paid my Alltel bill! Because the account was placed on military hold, Alltel didn't send out any more eBills, despite me having a balance due! I can hardly be blamed for this, sir. This is a software issue/management decision on your end. If they had sent it, I would have paid the $46 and this would have been settled.
Anyway, It took us several months to go first to Kuwait, then up to Iraq to Camp Anaconda, then to a FOB. It was several months before I had a real address to give Alltel to send me any correspondence. Alltel, instead of just holding the bill (due to the unusual circumstances), cancelled my account, and to add insult to injury, the charged me a $200 "early cancellation fee"!
I called them up and begged ot be excused for not receiving that final bill, but since I was IN A WAR ZONE some mail might not reach me. They did waive the $200 early cancellation fee, and I paid the final $46 or so from the last bill, and they said they would update the credit report.
I asked them to remove the entire entry, but they wouldn't. So now I have a negative entry on my account because Alltel didn't wait to reach me and simply cancelled the account, all within a few months of me leaving the states. They KNEW I was on military orders and that the account was on military hold, as when I called to talk to them, the woman said "Oh, look here, I don't know why they cancelled your account, we have the orders on file..."
I admit that some of this was partly my fault, but also feel Alltel should not have cancelled my account and turned it over to a collection agency so quickly. Especially due to me being in Iraq and mail delivery not always being a sure thing. I am hoping Alltel will have a heart and correct this error with the credit agencies. I have written several letters to Alltel, including Corporate in Little Rock, but have received no response.
I am a soldier, always paid my bills and for years have had excellent credit, which you can check. You can also check my old account and see I had military orders filed with them to put it on hold. You can check my email address on this email to see that I am overseas.
When I am out of the military I planned to buy a house in Springdale or Fayetteville, and with theis blemish on my credit report, I may not be able to, or be forced to accept a higher interest rate.
I am hoping you can help me out and do something for a customer and a soldier overseas.
Thanks,
Sgt JD
Below is an email sent to me by Alltel:
Soldier in Iraq
Response (Tia B) - 02/28 12:32 PM
Dear James Dylan,
Thank you for selecting Alltel. My name is Tia and I will be happy to assist you. The steps that were taken are correct. The account was disconnected and the early termination fee added because of non-payment. Our records show per your request, military suspension started on September 11. Since the full balance of $72.00 in August was not paid, the balance carried over to the next month. August bill shows the previous balance was $57.96.
This bill shows that amount paid and shows the new balance due as $72.00, This amount was due on September 14. When the new bill in September printed, we had already made adjustments on your account because of the military suspension dropping the $72.00 down to $46.20 due.
We attempted to contact you 8 times in October at the contact number you had on file for us to contact you at.in November we tried 18 times. This was all before the account was placed with a collection agency.
Since the account was placed with a collection agency, you no longer have an account with Alltel.
Thank You,
Tia B
JD
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
U.S.A.
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