Sent to Collections! Help anyone???

[happy_me24]

Hey,

Okay so here is the long story short

Hubby and I had problems with Premier Fitness (who hasn't!!) and so we canceled our membership (and it was over a year, so we weren't in contract anymore)
We got all the proper documentation and they closed our account saying that it was fully paid and they signed it
We got a letter from them 10 months later (this past April) saying we (well apparently only hubby) owes X amount of dollars and they would send us to collections if we didn't pay
He took the letter to the gym, manager looked it up and sure enough, head office was just being stupid because our account was closed and we owed nothing and the gym has all the documentation saying so.
Manager sent the documents to head office and re did a statement saying our account balance is $0 and is closed
Today, hubby gets a phone call FROM THE COLLECTION AGENCY!
Now I feel that we are screwed......he's sending the letter tomorrow to the collections agency that proves we do not owe any money.

Has anything like this happened to anyone? Has this screwed our credit?

Thanks for any responses.....and by the way, DO NOT GO TO PREMIER FITNESS! We have had sooooooo many problems with them taking out double payments, early payments, and now this! Makes me sick!!!

[FallenPixels]

Once you send proof to the collection agency they are supposed to stop calling but get a copy of your credit report as they will likely have reported it there to get a collection agency involved and you will have to send them proof too

[happy_me24]

Thanks.....I'm just afraid that it's going to hurt our credit and we have very good credit right now that we've worked hard for.

[MrsSunshine]

as long as it was an error.. there shouldnt be a problem.. and your credit history should be fine too. good luck

[FallenPixels]

It happened to us when they mixed up our account with someone else, those collection people can be nasty too and they never apologised once they finally agreed that it wasnt our debt.

[ahatt]

I've never had anything like this happen to me. That is really frustrating, but it's awesome that you kept all the documentation so that you have proof that you owe them nothing. Hopefully it get's sorted out. You may want to call Equifax or TransUnion and ask if this will affect your credit rating, and what you can do.

Now I'm all worried because both DH & I have memberships at Premier, and we will be cancelling his membership this week. I will make sure I keep all the documentation, so if the same thing happens to us we will have proof.

[MortgageQueen]

Absolutely if you contact Equifax and Transunion (although technically you should only have to contact transunion- but better to err on the side of safety) and send them the proof, any negative report will be removed. . . however. . .DOUBLE CHECK after a week or so.
I have had clients do this only to find it hadn't been corrected.

[super_e]

The CBC show Marketplace did a report on how Gyms rip people off very regularly, and the worst gym was .... Premier Fitness. Their story was more about how they kept charging people's credit cards and bank accounts even after they had cancelled their membership.
You can check out the episode here: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/biggymripoff/

[tjthemanto]

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/biggymripoff/

Yeah .. I had seen the above episode too ..its a total RIP OFF ..they keep on billing you even after you cancel .

Never give your bank or credit card info to these guys ..if you can pay by cash or maybe even by check on a monthly basis ite better to do it that ways ..as opposed to automatic billing of your CC or debit ( bank acc # )

[happy_me24]

Thanks for everyone's help! And yes, we have learned with gyms....not fun at all.

Ahatt -- we were at the one on Ritson in Oshawa, is that the one you're at? I thought the gym was good, but now all these problems have made me really REALLY hate it and not recommend it at all! Good luck with everything, hopefully it all works out for you guys!

[ahatt]

That's the one we're at too! Ohh no now I'm all paranoid about canceling DH's membership. Hopefully we don't have any issues.

Hope you got everything all worked out!

Thanks for everyone's help! And yes, we have learned with gyms....not fun at all.

Ahatt -- we were at the one on Ritson in Oshawa, is that the one you're at? I thought the gym was good, but now all these problems have made me really REALLY hate it and not recommend it at all! Good luck with everything, hopefully it all works out for you guys!

[screamy]

I would encourage you to write both Equifax and Transunion (if the mail strike isn't over by Monday, I'd fax them and keep a proof of delivery report) and send them a copy of DH's confirmation from the club that nothing is owing (if you're able to send something that confirms a zero balance owing after your cancellation, so much the better).

Ask each agency to send you written confirmation that your complaint regarding the collection agency issue has been noted by them on your account, and that they will not register anything adverse on your credit rating history related to the inaccurate allegations.

Copy your gym's HO and the BBB, again, in writing.

With any luck, they'll have the sense to call off the dogs at the collection agency (you might want to copy them, too).

[walkonby]

Hey,

Okay so here is the long story short

Hubby and I had problems with Premier Fitness (who hasn't!!) and so we canceled our membership (and it was over a year, so we weren't in contract anymore)
We got all the proper documentation and they closed our account saying that it was fully paid and they signed it
We got a letter from them 10 months later (this past April) saying we (well apparently only hubby) owes X amount of dollars and they would send us to collections if we didn't pay
He took the letter to the gym, manager looked it up and sure enough, head office was just being stupid because our account was closed and we owed nothing and the gym has all the documentation saying so.
Manager sent the documents to head office and re did a statement saying our account balance is $0 and is closed
Today, hubby gets a phone call FROM THE COLLECTION AGENCY!
Now I feel that we are screwed......he's sending the letter tomorrow to the collections agency that proves we do not owe any money.

Has anything like this happened to anyone? Has this screwed our credit?

Thanks for any responses.....and by the way, DO NOT GO TO PREMIER FITNESS! We have had sooooooo many problems with them taking out double payments, early payments, and now this! Makes me sick!!!

I watched this on MarketPlace, I think recently


http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/biggymripoff/

Maybe it might help you in some way?


OOPS!



I didn't even see that 2 other people already mentioned the MarketPlace report. lol

[Insane]

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/biggymripoff/

Yeah .. I had seen the above episode too ..its a total RIP OFF ..they keep on billing you even after you cancel .

Never give your bank or credit card info to these guys ..if you can pay by cash or maybe even by check on a monthly basis ite better to do it that ways ..as opposed to automatic billing of your CC or debit ( bank acc # )

That is good advice plain and simple! I do not let anyone into my bank account to debit anything (except for the life insurance because there was no choice there). Once they take the money out of your account it's so hard to fix a situation. Automatic debits are risky and totally not worth it-ever!

[dagney]

I had a big fight wil Bell. One of my co-workers suggested phoning our "Employee Family Ass't Benefit" check your pay stub to see if this is under your benefits - it gives you 1 1/2 hours of lawyer time, etc. The lawyer called back within a couple of hours and was great!! Basically a business has 1 year?? to file a claim. If they haven't taken you to small claims court already it usually means they don't have a case and r just harassing you in hopes you will pay them. The lawyer gave me a line to use basically saying that if "you haven't taken me to small claims court already that it means the company doesn't have a leg to stand on" and if you keep harassing me I will turn around and take the collection agency to small claims court. After of year of hassles that was the last call they ever made to me. I hate Bell!!!