Months after fulfilling my one-year contract, for which I had paid timely and in full each month, I sent in my final payment. MCI, in their inherently stupid way, incorrectly applied my check to a DIFFERENT MCI customer!
I sent them the cancelled check three times. I wrote. I FAXed. I called. Yet I kept getting dunned.
Then, people started calling. Every single evening. Surprisingly, they would actually say, "Yes, I see where it's been credited to a different account." I would speak to people who said they would "sit by the FAX" awaiting another communique from me, yet the following night, I would receive another phone call.
Finally, MCI turned this $31.31 account to a collection agency. Amazing in that I'd paid it months before and had provided proof numerous times. I screamed and hollared, but no one listened. Even more amazing? The collection agency, GC Services Limited Partnership in Gulfton, Houston (and/or ATL, GA), sold the account or otherwise transferred it to ANOTHER collection agency, Nationwide Credit, Inc. [2015 Vaughn Road, Building 400, Kennesaw, GA 30144, FAX 770-612-7273, President Anthony Marino].
I wrote to MCI. I wrote to both collection agencies. I explained it to everyone when they called. They always said, "Oh, I'll take care of it, " and the next evening, the phone would ring again.
Ultimately, I hired an attorney. He wrote to them instructing that they CEASE contact with me and direct all contact to him. If they couldn't read the numerous FAXes and letters I'd sent them, I suppose it was too much to ask that they read the letter from the attorney.
The calls continued. Finally, in February, eight months after I paid this account IN FULL and ON TIME, my attorney wrote to them and noticed his 'INTENT TO LITIGATE.' He also filed a "NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH FTC - VIOLATION OF FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT."
On March 13th, his office received a call from MCI saying that they were closing my account. No apology, no nothing. But here's the AMAZING THING... The following evening, on March 14th,12:15 PM EST, a representative from Nationwide Credit calls me at work!
I wrote to Nationwide. I wrote to MCI. I've written and FAXed until I'm out of energy and ink. But damned if I'll give up. MCI spent probably THOUSANDS attempting to collect a bill that was PROVEN time and again to have been paid in full. Yet they will not send a letter confirming that my account is closed and all further collection attempts will CEASE.
I've spent the money for an attorney... So why not spend some more? I hope that very soon they will rue the day they neglected to (a) read my mail, (b) send me a confirmation letter that my account was closed, and (c) send me the credit balance I am actually owed - $1.67.
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