I want you to go to both the Equifax and TransUnion websites and download a Request Form whereby you are requesting a Consumer Disclosure Report which you can order by mail. You will have to include with the Request Form 2 pieces of identification ( copies only ). See instructions on the Form for acceptable identification. Mail this information to the respective Credit Bureaus. Your total cost will be a postage stamp. Within 3 - 4 weeks, you will receive your Consumer Disclosure Report which will give all the details in your Credit File. Study it carefully. Check to see if Rogers Communications shows as a "Tradeline" or if Contact Resource Services Inc. shows as a "Collection Account" If you have further questions, report back on this website.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

Thank you. I will send the letter right away so they cease communication with me. But.. even if they stop calling me by not paying the $200 Rogers claims I owe them, will this "debit" with Rogers (or CRS) appear on my credit report and harm my credit?

For starters, any oral or written communication between a collection agency or a collector and a debtor will have no impact on a Credit Score. Credit Scores are based solely on information contained in a Credit Report and any communication between a collection agency or collector and a debtor is NEVER reported in a Credit Report. It just goes to show you how far these "goons" will go to scare the "bejesus" out of you.

In Alberta, the legislation governing collection agencies and collectors is called "The Fair Trading Act" with it's related "Regulations".

Under the "Fair Trading Act Collection and Debt Repayment Practices Regulation 194/1999" it spells out in detail what collection agencies and collectors can and cannot do.

More specifically to your situation, you are guided by the provisions of Paragraph 12(1)(k) in conjunction with Subparagraphs (i) and (ii).

12(1) No collection agency or collector may

(k) continue to collect or attempt to collect money from, or continue to communicate with,

(i) the person, where the person has informed the collection agency or the collector that the person is not the debtor, unless the collection agency or collector first takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that the person is in fact the debtor, or,

(ii) the debtor, where the debtor has informed the collection agency or the collector by any verifiable means including, but not limited to personal service, certified mail, courier, facsimile, or e-mail, or by any other method, that the debt is in dispute and that the debtor wishes the creditor to take the matter to court.

I want you to write a letter to Contact Resources and send it by certified or registered mail and state the following:

"Pursuant to Regulation 194/1999 of the Fair Trading Act Collection and Debt Repayment Practices and more specifically pursuant to Paragraph 12(1)(k), I dispute this debt of $.......claimed by Rogers Communications
and I formally request that you initiate legal proceedings to bring this matter to court."

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this matter will not go to court and it will die a "natural death". No more harassing phone calls.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

So I've spoken with Contact Resources and she says the calls will continue and it will continue to effect my credit rating until I pay the charges. I did tell her that as soon as they can produce a contract with my signature that I will pay it and if they cannot produce this, they needed to stop calling and harrassing me. She told me it was not harrassment and the calls would continue. Where do I go from here?

The only way to deal with this matter is to contact Rogers Communications and tell them that you dispute the bill and request that they sue you and take the matter to court. If you receive a "Notice of Claim" from either Rogers or a collection agency, come back on this site immediately and post the information here. I will tell you how to proceed.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

Because it was a line we hadn't used for a couple of years, and Rogers said they had migrated it to PAYG and there was another line on the bill for which we payments we didn't notice it was stolen till January. The calls were made in December.

I have seen a lawyer over this and they said Rogers and I had agreed to a variance of the contract to PAYG, a plan stipulates I only pay an amount I agree to provide upfront. That Rogers didn't fulfill their part of the agreement via employee error is immaterial.

There was a CRTC ruling to this effect involving Bell and a customer, in which the telecoms ombudsman upheld the changes agreed to verbally over the phone.

When you first noticed that your phone was stolen, did you contact Rogers Communications IMMEDIATELY to report the theft and request that they FREEZE all incoming and outgoing calls and then follow up the telephone call with a letter sent by registered mail? If not, you are "on the hook" for $3,500 unless there is a Clause or Provision in the original contract or agreement that states otherwise.

The verbal contract that you had with Rogers has nothing to do with these charges. Rogers offers many different plans and the PAYG plan is only one of many such plans.

I have not seen or read your contract or agreement with Rogers so I cannot comment on your liability. I do know that with credit card agreements, there is a limited liability clause for lost or stolen credit cards, usually to a maximum of $50 providing the lost or stolen credit card is reported immediately to the credit card issuer.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

My situation is almost the exact opposite. After my 3 year contract was up with Rogers I called to cancel the line. It was a line we hadn't used for almost two years because we have several newer phones.

The Rogers rep asked me to go on Pay as You Go with the usual talk of no cost, no commitment etc. After doubly confirming I had no further commitment with PAYG, I agreed.

Last month I received a bill for $3500. Two months after agreeing to PAYG, someone had stolen the phone and racked up 754 long distance calls in a two week period.

Rogers says I must pay even though they confirm that their notes show we had agreed to a PAYG plan.

Where do I stand on this?

Thanks

Thank you!!!

Unless CRS can produce a written contract or agreement signed by you, then there is no contract. The next time that you are talking to CRS, tell them that you dispute the charge and suggest that they initiate legal proceedings to bring this matter into Small Claims Court. Follow it up by sending them a registered letter by briefly stating that you dispute all charges that are not stated in your original contract or to which you were not a signatory in a subsequent contract or agreement. What this will do is it will force CRS to cease any further communication with you unless they can produce a signed contract or agreement. Either they take you to court ( for $200 it won't happen ) or they will cease harrassing you.