In September I followed a tweet by a popular Christian author recommending a work from home training program called "Online Trade Training". I followed the link, mostly because I trusted his recommendation, and bought the $79 program. Later that day he issued an apology as his Twitter account had been hacked. Because I followed the link through Twitter on my iPhone I could not find the URL to request a refund per the money back guarantee so prominently advertised on the site.
No email ever arrived with any contact information so after a few weeks I contacted my credit card company to contest the charges, which were now up to $179 from the original $79 purchase.
I started getting sales calls from representatives from Online Trade Training. However none of them appeared to actually work for the company because once I explained the situation they all told me they had just purchased the leads from them and weren't actually affiliated with the company itself. One salesman did finally give me the number for their customer service department where I talked to Sean, who told me the reason I'd never received an email was because my account was "on hold" and that to receive a refund I would have to log in every day for a month, go through the curriculum, etc. When I explained to Sean that I simply wasn't interested in doing business with a company that found it necessary to hack in to a Twitter account to generate leads our conversation came to a dead standstill and I informed him I'd already filed a dispute with my credit card company.
Not long after my conversation with Sean I received a threatening letter from CRB Collections on behalf of Online Trade Training. Per their own site, CRB Collections specializes in buying chargebacks (i.E. Charges disputed with your credit card company). I again contacted my credit card company and was told they had never heard back from Online Trade Training regarding my complaint but also that they couldn't do anything about them selling the debt to a predatory debt collection agency. When another collection notice arrived in the mail and the phone calls started I realized they were now claiming I owed them $479, rather than the initial charge of $79. That's when I took matters in to my own hands.
I searched for "Debt Collection Dispute Letter" online and found great samples you can use that will tell you exactly how to correspond with them. Basically, you throw the ball right back in to their court by demanding they provide documentation regarding the debt they're attempting to collect and proof they have the right to do so. KEY: you must send this registered mail for proof of mailing and delivery and you must send this within 30 days of receiving their letter.By law, they cannot phone you, mail you, or file any negative information on your credit report until they respond. USE THE SAMPLE LETTERS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET FOR EXACT LANGUAGE.
THEN, I filed an online complaint with the Ohio Attorney General. They were awesome to work with!!!
I just received word from the Ohio Attorney General that CRB Collections and Online Trade Training have dropped their debt collection efforts. They made completely inaccurate claims about me to the Ohio Attorney General but at this point, I don't care. I will have to keep a close eye on my credit report in the future to ensure they don't try to gig me anyway, but THERE IS A WAY TO FIGHT THESE BOTTOM FEEDERS AND WIN.
Don't give up!!!
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