How long can a phone company like sbc keep a phone on that aint being paid for ?
Now we are not disputing the fact that the bill is the sole responsibility of my girlfriend and the fact that mom didnt pay as agreeed has any bearing on sbc.
But after months of non payment the bill was able to reach over 600.00 before she called and shut it off when we asked sbc why they did not disconnect it sooner they told us it was my girlfreinds responsibility to have the service shut off
After recieving a bill marked final bill that first only showed a 251.75 balance and starting to pay on that did they inform us of a second bill because they split charges in order to not disconnect the phone. NO ONE AUTHORIZED THIS when asked they say they dont need any authorization from any one to split bills like this
Well I got to reading the bill and it says clearly on each billing statement TO AVOID DISCONNECTION by such and such date pay this amount $ ?
If this amount was never paid why was the service allowed to continue?
According to the fair debt collection act: it is a violation to threaten any action they do not intend to do so thier own bill is a fraud if I read that right also under the slamming and cramming laws it states :
Proper authorization
A company providing telephone service must be able to prove it has proper authorization from the consumer before ordering a change in a consumer's service. Proper authorization can be provided as:
A written signature on a form that meets specific requirements.
Taped voice authorization during a call made from the phone line to be changed.
Taped voice authorization by an independent, third-party verification service.
Written information that meets specific requirements and is mailed to the consumer within three business days of the consumer's request.
So am I dead wrong to think something is not amiss with this whole mess
As it stands now she has continued to pay on the debt and requested a complete statement of all charges from the time the account was opened and knows better in trusting her mother to do the right thing as she has cleary showed she cant
But I am still amazed they allowed the bill to reach this amount. I mean why in the world would you allow a service to continue till july when you havent recieved a payment since february
Oh by the way it only stopped in july cause she called in to have it shut off after finding out the bill wasnt being paid
Answer:
I'm very much a defender of debtors, so I understand your situation. But you are not going to win this one. ;(
Let me start by explaining the laws you quoted.
The FDCA you cite only applies to collection agents, attorneys, and 3rd party collectors. It does not apply to the original creditors (except in a few states). And even in those states, the intent of the law was to prevent collectors from telling you they would sue you, even though they do not have a properly validated debt, or a legal right to collect.
In your case, they did tell you the would disconnect the service if not paid. It doesn't say when.and they certainly will kill the service eventually. So I don't see a defense here.
The other bill was intended to prevent competeting phone companies from stealing customers by transferring service without the knowledge or permission. Therefore they require an extensive amount of proof that it's you who ordered the service/change.
Again, this doesn't help you. As a matter of fact, if you tried to use this law it will backfire, as you never gave them written permission to change/cancel your service. So that would waive them from responsibility.
I used to work for the phone company (31 years). While their policy has varied, they generally try to give as much time as possible to pay your bills. People with longstanding good credit are given even more time. I don't know of any "set" time they must disconnect your service. You could explain this situation to the phone company and see if they can waive one or two months, but they have no legal reason to do so.
Yeah, you're wrong. You (your girlfriend and her mother) contracted for, and used, a service, and you are obligated to pay for what you used. The fact that the phone company didn't shut off the service (waived the shut-off) doesn't excuse you from paying for what you bought.
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