The three letters in this chapter illustrate the types of letters to send when a problem is not resolved. The first letter is very simple and light in tone, the second letter is direct and more businesslike, and the third letter is very firm with legal action threatened. You will note that the second and the third letters are sent via certified mail to leave a paper trail of proof of the consumer’s attempts to resolve the problem. The certified mail receipts will be helpful to the consumer if legal action is necessary. Judges are not sym-pathetic to companies when court action is required to make them do the right thing.
You may be able to recover attorney’s fees and costs if you have to hire a lawyer.
Fact Pattern
Each of the letters follows the same fact pattern. The homeowner, David Berke, sold his home. He notified his utility companies of the sale, and moved into his new home.
However, the gas company failed to transfer his bill to the name of the buyer. David continued to be billed months after he moved, and the gas company eventually turned his account over to collection and placed negative information in his credit file.
In this situation, David (the homeowner) should also obtain a copy of his credit report to ensure that the utility company removed the incorrect information. If this informa-tion is not removed from the file by the utility company, then he should write to the credit reporting agencies disputing the information and requesting that it be deleted.
If this is not done by the credit reporting agency within roughly thirty days, then the homeowner may have a nice lawsuit against the utility company and the credit report-ing agency. (For more on credit reportreport-ing, see Chapter 5.)
H o w t o W r i t e a C o m p l a i n t L e t t e r • 9
1 0 • 1 0 1 + C o m p l a i n t L e t t e r s T h a t G e t R e s u l t s
L e t t e r 1 . 1 : H u m o r o u s
David Berke
11386 Clavey Road Glencoe, IL 60035 606-414-7272
August 8, 2007 Unfriendly Gas Company
P.O. Box 60825 Chicago, IL 60601
Re: Error in Billing Dear Sir or Madam:
On January 4, 2007, I moved to my new home in Glencoe, IL. I noti-fied the post office and all utilities, including yours, of the move. All utility companies except your company have delivered final bills for service for my former address. I have called your customer service office repeatedly, but elves must be working in that office. All evi-dence of my calls has vanished. Each person I speak with there claims to have no record of my calls or move.
Believe me, I have not been cloned! You are billing me for residential gas use at my old address and my new one. Please correct this error.
Enclosed is a copy of proof of notification to you of the house sale.
Thank you,
The Real David Berke
H o w t o W r i t e a C o m p l a i n t L e t t e r • 1 1
David Berke
11386 Clavey Road Glencoe, IL 60035 606-414-7272
August 18, 2007 Unfriendly Gas Company
P.O. Box 60825 Chicago, IL 60601
Re: Error in Billing Dear Sir or Madam:
I wrote to you on August 8, 2007, to complain that there is an error in billing. A copy of that letter is enclosed. I had high hopes that you would resolve the problem, but that has not occurred. Today I received another bill along with a note that you are turning the account over for collection. I dispute the accuracy of the bill and demand that you cor-rect the account, including contacting the collection agency to advise of the error. You must correct any negative information you have placed in my credit file and/or reported to third parties.
Once again, I am advising you that the buyer of my former residence should be billed for service after the sale of the home, not I. This prob-lem has not been solved after eight months. If you do not correct this problem within five business days, I shall have no choice but to take legal action against you. I trust that this will not be necessary.
Very truly yours,
David Berke
Via certified mail #8307409121
L e t t e r 1 . 2 : D i r e c t
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David Berke
11386 Clavey Road Glencoe, IL 60035 606-414-7272
August 28, 2007 Unfriendly Gas Company
General Counsel P.O. Box 60825 Chicago, IL 60601
Re: Error in Billing Dear Counselor:
Enclosed please find a copy of each of my previous two letters to the customer service department at your company, along with a list of the dates, times, and persons with whom I spoke there about the error in my billing.
Your company has failed to resolve this matter. In addition, now you have placed negative information in my credit file and turned the account over to a collection agency. You have violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by continuing to pursue this matter. You have besmirched my good name and my credit standing.
Therefore, I plan to take legal action against you to collect damages and attorney’s fees, as well as costs incurred to rectify this travesty. I am filing complaints with the attorney general’s office, utilities regulators, Better Business Bureau, and other private and public agencies.
Very truly yours,
David Berke
Via certified mail #4390064182
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C
Ca arrs s
For most people, a car is one of the most expensive items they will ever purchase or lease. A car is necessary for many people to commute to work, take children to school and their many activities, and for convenience.
Car dealers are a source of many consumer complaints—from bogus processing fees added to the sales contract, to defective repairs and unreliable new cars. Consult the federal, state, and local laws to determine the permitted fees and charges. Dealers may try to increase their profit by adding fees, such as loan processing, warehousing, adver-tising, paperwork, administrative costs, or other pure profit items. You do not have to pay any of these fees. Read your financial documents very carefully.