Can Credit Company damage my credit?

[ginabobolee]

I posted this before, but now credit company is sending me the letter...

Weedman came to my house and spray something on my lawn and aksed for $50. I called them and said we never asked for the service. They said my dad ordered the service when they called. I asked my dad and he said no. He said he told Weedman that the neighbour is doing the lawn service for us. (The neighbour has been doing the lawn service for us for 10 years and we paid him 10 chqs every year)

Anyway, I called weedman back and explained to them that my dad didn't order it. They insisted he did, and I insited he didn't. At first, I explained to them everytime they called, but then I just ignore them after 2 months. After one year, we got letter from credit company demanding my dad pay this right away or his credit will be damaged. I am furious.

My dear rfders, who can I talk to to end this? Do I talk to credit bureau to prevent this?
and Yes, I am being cheap, my summerlicious dinner will cost more than $50. BUT I am not paying for something that I never ordered but "enforced" on me.

[deep]

Sorry, this is YOUR house, but your dad agreed to the service? Or this is your dad's house, and you live there, thus calling it "your" house. If it's the first one, ask them how exactly someone else is allowed to contractually bind you for services on your property.

Also, ask them for a recording of the conversation or a signed contract.

Finally, send them a copy of the letter that you will place in the editorial section of your local paper explaining their business practices.

I hate The Weed Man. (Not to be confused with "That guy with the weed"....he's cool.)

[googoo]

yep weedman sucks, didthe same thing to my Dad, he just paid them the $50 and told them to F 0ff.

ZzB

[goldenegg]

Yes, they can completely harm your credit rating.

I think you'll need to take them to small claims court. They have the burden of proof. Unless they have something signed, I doubt you'll lose the case.

[Piccolo]

I posted this before, but now credit company is sending me the letter...

Weedman came to my house and spray something on my lawn and aksed for $50. I called them and said we never asked for the service. They said my dad ordered the service when they called. I asked my dad and he said no. He said he told Weedman that the neighbour is doing the lawn service for us. (The neighbour has been doing the lawn service for us for 10 years and we paid him 10 chqs every year)

Anyway, I called weedman back and explained to them that my dad didn't order it. They insisted he did, and I insited he didn't. At first, I explained to them everytime they called, but then I just ignore them after 2 months. After one year, we got letter from credit company demanding my dad pay this right away or his credit will be damaged. I am furious.

My dear rfders, who can I talk to to end this? Do I talk to credit bureau to prevent this?
and Yes, I am being cheap, my summerlicious dinner will cost more than $50. BUT I am not paying for something that I never ordered but "enforced" on me.

Get weedman to prove that you entered into a contract for the services.
Ask for that documentation. The burden of proof lies with weedman. The letter you got from the credit company is probably standard when a company sends personal information to the collectors.

Heck, get the credit company to send you proof that you owe $$ for these services. I would HOPE that they need more then just weedman saying - this person owe us, get money.

[goldenegg]

I would HOPE that they need more then just weedman saying - this person owe us, get money.

Unfortunately not. The only way out (that I know of) is to either pay or take them to court.

[Siefer999]

Unfortunately not. The only way out (that I know of) is to either pay or take them to court.
so they are basically holding his credit for ransom?

[ginabobolee]

it's my dad's house but I handle the bills. I did ask for the record of conversation and they never gave it to me. The credit company even spelled my dad's name wrong.

I hate it when they say they will hurt my dad's credit. He has super good credit rating. He hates owing to people but I hate it when we have to pay to settle this "peacefully".

So there is no credit bureau that I can talk to? Small court is my only option?

[MrDisco]

its not the credit company which is damaging your credit - its the inability to pay an outstanding bill which is damaging the credit score.

did you call the credit company and dispute the charges?

[ginabobolee]

its not the credit company which is damaging your credit - its the inability to pay an outstanding bill which is damaging the credit score.

did you call the credit company and dispute the charges?


No, and I don't plan to. I talked to credit companies before (at work) and they are absolutely horrible. The languages they use.....

I plan to just ignore it or find a way to stop them, maybe small court claim is my only way.

[cwb27]

So if I understand what you've just said. You're going to ignore the fact that a Collection Agency is telling you to pay up and deal with this in small claims court? All for 50 dollars?

You're willing to risk your father's credit rating? The fact that it could be made so bad NOBODY will give him credit for anything?? i.e He tries to buy a new car, OOPSS! Car company can't give him credit! He tries to buy new furniture have it financed? OOPPSS! The store can't allow him to finance it due to his bad credit! The list goes on. Bad credit will haunt him long down the road.

So let me get this right, again, you're willing to risk all this and more... For $50.00? If this is all correct, I think you need to re-evaluate this situation, swallow your pride and pay the $50.00.... Or else you can only blame yourself for what will happen in the future.

Quick edit: Don't get me wrong, but if this were $500 that all this is about, than hell ya, I'd be on your side about this. But c'mon.. $50 bucks...

[Fallen_Paladin]

it's my dad's house but I handle the bills. I did ask for the record of conversation and they never gave it to me. The credit company even spelled my dad's name wrong.

I hate it when they say they will hurt my dad's credit. He has super good credit rating. He hates owing to people but I hate it when we have to pay to settle this "peacefully".

So there is no credit bureau that I can talk to? Small court is my only option?

In spelling the name incorrectly, you might already have an opt out of this "contract" that they have.

Did they deny you the phone recording, or say that they'll get it for you and are still neglecting it? Every contract that is agreed to upon by phone has to be recorded, heard by someone to ensure accuracy, and kept on file (or at least all the contracts that the telemarketing company I worked for a while ago did).

[Final Lazy]

So if I understand what you've just said. You're going to ignore the fact that a Collection Agency is telling you to pay up and deal with this in small claims court? All for 50 dollars?

You're willing to risk your father's credit rating? The fact that it could be made so bad NOBODY will give him credit for anything?? i.e He tries to buy a new car, OOPSS! Car company can't give him credit! He tries to buy new furniture have it financed? OOPPSS! The store can't allow him to finance it due to his bad credit! The list goes on. Bad credit will haunt him long down the road.

So let me get this right, again, you're willing to risk all this and more... For $50.00? If this is all correct, I think you need to re-evaluate this situation, swallow your pride and pay the $50.00.... Or else you can only blame yourself for what will happen in the future.

Quick edit: Don't get me wrong, but if this were $500 that all this is about, than hell ya, I'd be on your side about this. But c'mon.. $50 bucks...


No, your credit rating tells lenders your ability to pay your debt obligations. The rating has a scale (of I believe 0 to 1000??). A perfect rating can give lenders more reasons to believe you have excellent credits. However, if you have outstanding debts recorded with a credit agency, it doesn't mean all of a sudden you will have no credit. A guy with a few bad records can probably still rent a car, get credits cards, and finance for funitures at bad boys. But that doesn't mean you can let your credit ratings go rotten. The problem arise when you attempt to finance for big item purchases (ie, a house, a business line of credit...etc), in particular situations where your monthly cash inflow might not be sufficient to cover outflows. A lot of factors are considered when lenders decide whether you are suitable for lending, including the borrower's current debt obligations, his/her income, and age. A bank is unlikely to give an 80-year-old a 40 year mortgage even if he/she have a prefect credit rating.

I believe all credit agencys in Canada are privately operated. The governement have very very little (if any) part in this industry. In order to reverse a bad record in these (2-3) agencys, you have to deal with them each individually. So it WOULD in fact be a hassle to reverse the records if this company does manage to put in the bad record.

Have you tried contacting the BBB?

[ginabobolee]

I don't understand this. Some of you suggest that I pay even though I don't owe just to avoid all the hassle? This is so not right. I guess most of people just pay off since it's such a small amount. I am not going to pay the collection agency and I will find a way to stop it. Thanks for the input

[gman]

First, I won't pay because of the principal.
2nd, does your dad really care about the credit? For example, if I am in this situation, I would say "bring it on". I don't expect it can damage my credit in the level that I care.
3rd, since they don't know how to spell your dad's name, how could they touch his credit?
4th, report this to BBB. and if you have more time, sue them.

[Shaner]

Such a small thing will NOT damage your Dad's credit to the point where it will seriously affect him (it probably won't ever affect him anyway).

If I were you, I'd call the collection agency, tell them that you never ordered the service, you aren't paying for it under any circumstances, and if they want to either put a record on your dad's credit rating or take him to court, tell them to go right ahead.

Seriously, this is a minor thing that isn't going to do any damage. Your Dad will still be able to buy cars and furniture, regardless of what some people on this site tell you.

If you didn't order the service, DO NOT pay them!!! Too many people in our society just pay up to avoid the hassle, it's just sad really, don't follow in their footsteps.

[curtis]

If that were the case, what's to stop anyone from starting a company just doing what this company is doing?

So if I understand what you've just said. You're going to ignore the fact that a Collection Agency is telling you to pay up and deal with this in small claims court? All for 50 dollars?

You're willing to risk your father's credit rating? The fact that it could be made so bad NOBODY will give him credit for anything?? i.e He tries to buy a new car, OOPSS! Car company can't give him credit! He tries to buy new furniture have it financed? OOPPSS! The store can't allow him to finance it due to his bad credit! The list goes on. Bad credit will haunt him long down the road.

So let me get this right, again, you're willing to risk all this and more... For $50.00? If this is all correct, I think you need to re-evaluate this situation, swallow your pride and pay the $50.00.... Or else you can only blame yourself for what will happen in the future.

Quick edit: Don't get me wrong, but if this were $500 that all this is about, than hell ya, I'd be on your side about this. But c'mon.. $50 bucks...

[cwb27]

What I posted was pretty muchthe 'sky is falling and North Korea is in the process of nuking the world' situation... Sorry for the rediculous exageration., kinda went off on a rant there. :|

[cn008]

What is/was the result?

[Narci]

Happened to me 2 years ago. Weedman left a bill for $50 saying my mom had ordered the service. I called them up and asked when my mom ordered it and to send me the contract. Lady said it was doen over the phone so I asked her to pull the phone records. She said she couldn't do that. I asked her to read me who authrorized the service..she said (not using real names) Judy Smith. Now, My mom was divorced and went back to her maiden name about 13 years ago and never uses smith as her last name. I basically told her there no such person as Judy Smith at this address. We ended up arguing and she hung up on me...never heard from them again.

[Narci]

If that were the case, what's to stop anyone from starting a company just doing what this company is doing?

Apparently Hydro comapnies do that except they are sneakier.

[Bytown]

First, I won't pay because of the principal.
2nd, does your dad really care about the credit? For example, if I am in this situation, I would say "bring it on". I don't expect it can damage my credit in the level that I care.
3rd, since they don't know how to spell your dad's name, how could they touch his credit?
4th, report this to BBB. and if you have more time, sue them.

Sue them over $50 not worth it.

[najibs]

$50 for weed? Seems like a hot deal to me!

[apvm]

I hate telemarketing..they should be illegal fwiw.

[Odysseus_Maximus]

$50 for weed? Seems like a hot deal to me!

+1 lol