Cingular Wireless complaint

Dear Complaints.com,

Please find, attached, a letter regarding my ongoing dispute with Cingular Wireless.

Thank you for posting it,

Ward Halverson

Dolgeville, NY

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Ward Halverson

90 Van Buren St.

Dolgeville, NY 13329

Client Services

Collection Company of America

700 Longwater Drive

Norwell, MA 02061

File #16122273, Cingular Account #686880108

April 15, 2004

Dear Client Services:

I am writing for several reasons, having been called several times by your company and finally receiving a written statement regarding your work for Cingular Wireless.

First of all, I am writing to dispute the validity of the debt referenced by your agency (see account number above). This, then, is a formal request to receive verification of the debt, per my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Additionally, I hereby request that you send me the name and address of the original creditor (including specific contact information, as Cingular Wireless has never communicated with me in writing regarding their concerns). I also request that you cease communication with me, except to provide written verification of the alleged debt and its current status. Please be advised that you are required by law to notify all Consumer Reporting Agencies to whom you have reported this debt that this debt is disputed. I will no longer speak with representatives of your company by phone. Finally, copies (but not originals) of all further communication to me shall be sent to my attorney, Lowell K. Halverson, 13721 Tastad Rd., Arlington, WA 98223. I shall remain your primary contact in this matter until otherwise specified.

Secondly, I have a number of concerns about your collection agency’s practices over the last couple of months:

* On 4/2/04, a manager – who would not provide his name, but supervised a staff named Joanne at extension 121 – yelled at me, several times repeating the threat that my credit rating would be damaged, and then hung up on me. He said that my “account will continue” until I paid the disputed amount (letter enclosed). His behavior appears to violate Section 806 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that debt collectors may not “harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact”.

* The manager also threatened to “report me” to credit bureaus. However, debt collectors may not give false credit information about me to anyone, according to the FDCPA, including a credit bureau, as it has not been established whether the information he would have provided is true or false.

* The manager’s treatment of me was demeaning, confrontational, and embarrassing; my children were in the room during his loud lecture. I am concerned that his behavior was “conduct in order to disgrace the consumer,” potentially violating Section 807: False or Misleading Practices.

* I wrote on 3/4/04 (copy enclosed) that “any fees beyond this [exceeding my understood liability of $102.53] I expect Cingular to communicate with me about so we can resolve it,” a clear-enough request to end communications between your company and myself. However, calls continued. Collection Company of America did not cease communication, potentially violating Section 805: Communication with Debt Collection.

* I paid $102.53 on 3/4/04 (received and cancelled by your company that same week), but am concerned that your company may have applied that money to the combined “principle” and “charges” total, not to Cingular Wireless at all. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector “may not apply a payment to any debt you believe you do not owe”. I would expect that payment back within 30 days of today, plus interest at current Reserve Rates.

* On the phone, your staff argued about my contract with Cingular Wireless, stating several times, on several occasions, that I had a legal and contractual obligation to Cingular Wireless – as if they were qualified to pass judgment on that issue – and that I had to pay all the various charges Cingular has imposed on me (again, without written communication on their part). This seems to violate Section 807: False or Misleading Representations regarding the character amount (or legal status) of any debt.

* Your company never sent me written notice within 5 days, in accordance with Section 809: Validation of Debts (I received the enclosed statement almost two months after your original call).

* On that note, the statement I received (on April 7, 2004) does not say that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector. This seems a clear violation of Section 809: Validation of Debts, article (3). As well, this statement does not include either: (4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer by debt collector; or (5) a statement that, upon the consumer’s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

* Finally, I am concerned that you are attempting to collect additional fees. According to federal law, the collection of any amount including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law (Section 808: Unfair Practices). This may be legal, however, in New York State.

I have the right to sue you in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If I win, of course, I may recover money for damages suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney's fees also can be recovered. In accordance with the law, I am reporting these problems to both the New York and Massachusetts State Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. As well, if other people have similar concerns about your violation of the law, we may sue your company and, potentially, Cingular Wireless if they are similarly accountable, in a class action suit, and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of your net worth, whichever is less. You may be aware of the 3/24/04 Commission's Annual FDCPA Report recently published. According to the Report, “companies that the Federal Trade Commission alleges have threatened and harassed thousands of consumers to get them to pay old, unenforceable debts or debts they did not owe have agreed to settle charges that their abusive and deceptive collection practices violated federal law. The settlement prohibits the companies’ alleged abusive debt collection practices in the future, require disclosures to consumers of their rights in the companies’ collection notices and communications with consumers, and requires the companies and their principals to pay a $300,000 civil penalty.”

I will wait to hear from various state and federal agencies to determine whether I will continue in my pursuit of justice under the law. In the meantime, please abide by all my instructions.

Yours,

Ward V. Halverson

CC: Lowell K. Halverson, Attorney-at-Law

New York State Attorney General’s Office

Massachusetts State Attorney General’s Office

Federal Trade Commission

Cingular Wireless Office of the President

City of New York Department of Consumer Affairs

(enclosures)