Expert: Timmy Chou - 11/18/2004

Question
Hello again Timmy,
 Last week in an email you advised me to send a registered letter to the collection agency asking for written documentation of the "debt" and written evidence that I agreed to pay for it,(the early cell phone termination contract"). May I ask; Is it to the collection agency I should send this registered letter, or to T-Mobile itself?
Also I would, as you suggested, like to pay the portion of the bill covering just the phone usage immediately. Please direct me again. Would I mail the "phone usage" portion of the bill to the collection agency, or T-Mobile, and would I need to send the payment certified, registered, or (regular mail and let my check stand as my receipt)?
By the way, do you mediate, arbitrate, or litigate such small indebtedness disputes such as mine?

Thank you very much again.

Sincerely,

Mike Eidson, LAc.

Answer
You should send your registered letter to the collection agency.  Usually collection agencies have an electronic account referral relationship and have only account information from the vendor.  You must ask to see the contract signed by you agreeing to the early termination clause.  They will have to contact T-mobile and try to find the file.  Sometimes cell phone resellers do not disclose the contract.  If this is what happened to you you should be ready to describe the seller and the sales transaction and that you were not advised about the clause.  I would also suggest you send payment to T-mobile directly.  Keep copies of your payment and as you suggest, your cancelled check will serve as evidence of payment.  Write on the check in the memo field "Account #123456 Paid in Full".

Be sure to tell the collection agency in your letter that you dispute the debt they are collecting and that all payments due to T-mobile have been paid in full.  

Keep in mind that they may not care.  Lots of collection firms violate the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.  Your defense is to document each and every contact, by phone or otherwise and to say on the phone that you have sent a written notice disputing the debt and that the contact violates the FDCPA.  Many collection firms rely on your unwillingness to file a complaint against them and just bully you anyway.  

Of course, be aware that somewhere in some small print you may have agreed to the termination fee, or agreed to be bound by another agreement that includes the termination fee clause.  

I typically only do mediation work between individuals or groups of individuals because corporations make terrible mediation participants.    

Good Luck!