Expert: Michael Brotherton - 5/24/2007

Question
long story short. my cell phone 2yr agreement was over in 2002.  i had my house phone cut off and was using my cell phone to make calls. of course i didn't raise my minutes.my fault.  i eventually did raise my minutes.  i was told by cingular representative that i could pay a little more on top of my new regular amount & i should be ok with the creditors.  i got a phone call stating that i need to pay 250.00 on the past bill. after telling them that i can't afford to do that i told them to cut my cell phone off because i can't afford to the pay & present bill.  i told them that i will pay what i can afford each month. i did miss a month.  now they are calling me wanting money and told my mother that if i don't contact them that my bill my be higher.  i don't understand how when my contract with them ended years ago do there is now cancellation fee.  i tried making a payment by phone but i can't to let them know that i'm trying.  i know that it is not the amount they want but it's what i can afford for right now. i really don't want it to go to collections in order to make a settlement .  what to do???  

Answer
Send them a cease and desist letter advising them to cease phone contact. Put your budget to paper and determine a realistic payment amount then write them a letter stating how much you can pay. Keep it real. Don't let them intimidate you. They aren't going to sue you for 250. They may have a valid debt but you can set the terms on payment. Stand up to them. Be tough and don't worry about their threats of sending your account to collection. You can only pay what you can pay.

Good luck