Columbia House Scamming...Final Update
This is the final update on the Columbia House situation (hopefully!) and I will stop spamming your f-list.
I'm updating here because some people wanted to know what happened in the end, and because I think since several people posted they were also finding themselves in the same situation that this may be important information to share with all.
It's rather anti-climactic, really.
Yesterday after I got the third and more threatening invoice from CH telling me to pay up for the DVDs that I never got and the membership I didn't open, I emailed them again here:
I chose "Membership Obligation" from the drop down menu and wrote this:
I just received a letter from the credit department of the Columbia
House DVD Club, reporting that my account has been suspended, reported
past-due and reported to a national consumer reporting service.
I have called, I have written, and I have emailed about this
membership. I did NOT sign up for the membership. It is a fraudulent account.
No one has been able to answer my questions (and I can't find a number
with a real person at the other end) and no one I've managed to contact
has responded, except with this new bill.
What happened is: I have only received one DVD, which alerted me to the
account opened in my name. I immediately sent back the DVD once I spoke
to a representative at Columbia House, following her instructions to
return the DVD and trusting her when she said she would "take care" of
the membership issue.
I received a bill at the beginning of this month (April) with a late
fee as well. I sent the bill back with a letter explaining that I did
not open this account nor do I want it and I would not pay for a
membership fee.
Frankly, I'm really frustrated that I've gotten another bill, and less
than a month after being charged a late fee I've been charged again.
And more frustrated that supposedly I've been reported for not paying
this bill.
I would like this account closed, any defamatory information given to a
third party retracted, and the balance on this account removed. How
can we work together to make this happen? I don't see paying this as an
option, since I'm not willing to pay for an account I didn't open.
If there is some kind of documentation about who opened the account and
when, I would love to see it.
Please respond soon. I would love to talk to someone in person about
this if you could give me a number. I appreciate any help you can give
me. And I'm sorry if this email sounds harsh in any way - I know you
didn't cause this problem. I'm just tired of spending my free time
trying to get the issue resolved. :)
Thanks,
CandiceIt probably should have been shorter, but I wanted to make sure I communicated everything (since every person who sees what I have sent is someone different) and I wanted to be sure to communicate that I in no way was blaming the poor representative on the other end for this mess. I also wanted to be sure that they knew I understood my rights as a consumer and that the burden of proof was on them.
I still have to double check my credit report, but this is the letter I got:
Thank you for your e-mail message.
Account #50499866197
Please accept our apology for any inconvenience.
We have canceled your membership and cleared it of all charges. Please
disregard any additional mailings you may receive as they were already
in process when we received your cancellation request.
If we may be of further assistance, please let us
know.
Sincerely,
Jenny Pitt
Customer Service
VERY anti-climatic, but resolved. If copying and pasting my letter (please make sure you change it to actually fit your situation) would help someone resolve their CH issues, please feel free to use it. Hopefully this information will help someone else!
Thanks for putting up with me!
I'm updating here because some people wanted to know what happened in the end, and because I think since several people posted they were also finding themselves in the same situation that this may be important information to share with all.
It's rather anti-climactic, really.
Yesterday after I got the third and more threatening invoice from CH telling me to pay up for the DVDs that I never got and the membership I didn't open, I emailed them again here:
I chose "Membership Obligation" from the drop down menu and wrote this:
I just received a letter from the credit department of the Columbia
House DVD Club, reporting that my account has been suspended, reported
past-due and reported to a national consumer reporting service.
I have called, I have written, and I have emailed about this
membership. I did NOT sign up for the membership. It is a fraudulent account.
No one has been able to answer my questions (and I can't find a number
with a real person at the other end) and no one I've managed to contact
has responded, except with this new bill.
What happened is: I have only received one DVD, which alerted me to the
account opened in my name. I immediately sent back the DVD once I spoke
to a representative at Columbia House, following her instructions to
return the DVD and trusting her when she said she would "take care" of
the membership issue.
I received a bill at the beginning of this month (April) with a late
fee as well. I sent the bill back with a letter explaining that I did
not open this account nor do I want it and I would not pay for a
membership fee.
Frankly, I'm really frustrated that I've gotten another bill, and less
than a month after being charged a late fee I've been charged again.
And more frustrated that supposedly I've been reported for not paying
this bill.
I would like this account closed, any defamatory information given to a
third party retracted, and the balance on this account removed. How
can we work together to make this happen? I don't see paying this as an
option, since I'm not willing to pay for an account I didn't open.
If there is some kind of documentation about who opened the account and
when, I would love to see it.
Please respond soon. I would love to talk to someone in person about
this if you could give me a number. I appreciate any help you can give
me. And I'm sorry if this email sounds harsh in any way - I know you
didn't cause this problem. I'm just tired of spending my free time
trying to get the issue resolved. :)
Thanks,
CandiceIt probably should have been shorter, but I wanted to make sure I communicated everything (since every person who sees what I have sent is someone different) and I wanted to be sure to communicate that I in no way was blaming the poor representative on the other end for this mess. I also wanted to be sure that they knew I understood my rights as a consumer and that the burden of proof was on them.
I still have to double check my credit report, but this is the letter I got:
Thank you for your e-mail message.
Account #50499866197
Please accept our apology for any inconvenience.
We have canceled your membership and cleared it of all charges. Please
disregard any additional mailings you may receive as they were already
in process when we received your cancellation request.
If we may be of further assistance, please let us
know.
Sincerely,
Jenny Pitt
Customer Service
VERY anti-climatic, but resolved. If copying and pasting my letter (please make sure you change it to actually fit your situation) would help someone resolve their CH issues, please feel free to use it. Hopefully this information will help someone else!
Thanks for putting up with me!