I've already filed with www.consumeraffairs.com. Let's see, my story begins about 5 years ago when I moved to the area and got the first place that could be called all mine. It was a lousy 1BR rental, but I wasn't making much money and it was all I could afford.
Cue the telemarketers... I got the standard spiel that everyone here got - I was entered in the sweepstakes by my credit card company, I would get 3 magazines for free if I paid for Rolling Stone, plus a diamond watch. I didn't even want one of the magazines but they pointed out that it was free, so what did I care? Uh huh.
I was younger and just not savvy enough to smell a rat here. It sounded pretty good and we'd gotten (legitimate) offers from this particular card before. So I fell for it.
They began charging almost $60 a month to this card. My finances rapidly became pretty desperate. I received this packet of papers in the mail that I was instructed to sign and mail back to claim my diamond watch. Ok. I read over this gift claim form and could easily see that it was a contract, binding me to almost $600 total payments for 4 lousy magazines - one of which I had zero interest in. I don't remember the precise amount but I think it was in the neighborhood of $580.
At that point I said forget it and filed the unsigned contract away. I wasn't able to cancel. They took about 4 of these payments from the card, I think (it's been a long time and I don't even have these statements anymore - I'm basing this on the fact that they say I owe about $200 less than the contract amount). I had to cancel the card.
I got a few payment demand letters in the mail demanding over $300, but you can't get blood from a stone after all. I did receive the magazines, as stated on the phone - just at a far higher cost than I expected. Plus, I didn't understand why they wouldn't cancel given that I never signed the agreement that they sent. I also don't recall ever receiving a confirmation call, but wouldn't swear to it since it has been so long.in any case, I was under the impression that I would be able to cancel if need be.
In the meantime, I suddenly became a magnet for every sleazy, high-pressure, scam artist telemarketer you can imagine. I am sure if it wasn't the same people, they definitely gave my info to them. It got so bad I couldn't answer my phone... But thanks to them I did learn how to say NO. Oh, and I almost forgot the "we've been going nuts trying to reach you" prize notifications several times a month... Which went straight into the trash.
So after a few letters (and no phone calls from them)... Nothing. My address and telephone number remained the same for four years. Not a peep. Then, a year ago I bought my first house.
A couple of months ago I start getting calls from an 800 number: "Unknown caller". They call every day, several times a day, even in the early morning. I looked up the number on the internet and came up with Luebke Baker & Associates. According to their website (www.lba93.com) they are a debt collector - "helping people become debt free every day". Sure.
My financial situation is very much improved since that first telemarketing call, five years ago. I have long ago discharged all of the medical bills clouding my credit, and keep all of my other accounts current. I check my credit regularly, almost obsessively.
I thought perhaps they were looking for the previous owners of this number. My fiance began picking up the phone whenever the number would pop up, just to see what they wanted. Without fail, as soon as he said "hello" they would hang up on him. Rude. Today, again, they called and woke him from a well-deserved nap. He picked up and a very rude man on the other end barked a single word (my name) at him loudly enough that I could hear it on the other end of the bed. I should mention that my fiance has a very deep voice, and there is no way in hell he could ever be mistaken for a female - and my name is definitely feminine. Of course, my fiance said no, he was not me. The man then asked if I was in, again being extremely rude and loud. He said no and asked who was calling. The man hung up on him without a word!
So, we decided that he would call back with me listening in and he would tell them that I was his wife to ask why they were calling me. A woman picked up and launched on this fast-talking spiel about how I owed CMS over $300 but they were willing to settle for $175 and tried to pressure him into authorising payment on the spot! She said that in return for this settlement I would be released from my contract with them and they would remove all derogatory information from my file. She never said it was my credit report - but she definitely implied it.
I gestured "no!!!" to my fiance and he told them he would pass the info on to me. I explained about the scam and showed him this site and their entry at www.consumeraffairs.com. I also explained that I had never signed the contract from which they claimed they were releasing me, and that they didn't have my SSN at any point. I told him if they called back to tell them never to call here again or I'll file harassment charges.
I don't think they can enforce a contract that was never signed. I know in most cases a verbal contract IS indeed binding and enforceable. However, the FTC has barred their deceptive marketing practices (see http://www.ftc. Gov/opa/06/moi.htm) and levied civil penalties against them both for their telemarketing tactics and refusal to cancel upon request. I don't believe I or many other inexperienced people gave truly informed consent and whatever taped verification they have was not obtained in good faith.
I noticed in a search another person submitted a report to this site about being contacted recently (this month, in fact) to settle for $174 on an account that has supposedly been dead for years. I wonder if it is a coincidence that not long after being promised reduced penalties pending payments totalling $350K that these collection accounts appear out of the blue. I admit that it is only speculation on my part, but I find it suspicious that they ignored my on-file phone number and address for collection purposes for years (I continued to receive prize notifications until the day I moved) and then less than a year after the settlement they come to me with demands for money.
I will not be harassed, browbeaten, threatened or pressured into giving money to this dishonest outfit. They already got more than they deserved from me. The money I spent is long gone, and I don't care about getting it back. Right now, I want them to stop calling my house and remove my records from their files. If they attempt to somehow enter information into my credit report they will have a letter from my lawyer so fast their heads will spin.
My two cents, for what it's worth.
KL
Baltimore, Maryland
U.S.A.
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