Cindy Strnad on wed 20 dec 00
Hi, Barney.
I had something like this happen once with books I had already paid for. I
wrote to the collection agency and explained the problem. They never
responded, but I never got another bill, either. Maybe talking to the
collection people would help you, too.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
http://www.earthenvesselssd.com
NLudd@AOL.COM on wed 20 dec 00
Well, Barney, since you asked...
I empathise with your predicament, and agree with Philip's advice.
My view - FWIW - is you better check your records and ascertain if it is
indeed true you owe this - still unnamed - ceramic supply company what they
say you do. That it took them over two years to bill you for monies due does
not negate being liable for the purported debt. It does of course tell us
something we might like to know about the company's quality of management,
before giving it our business.
If you are _sure_ you do not owe them and that their claim is baseless, I
suggest you write formally to the management (cc to an attorney) placing your
firm refutation of their claim on record, and citing your own data _ proven
to your satisfaction _ in rebuttal.
If this does not stop them, perhaps a sympathetic lawyer-potter on Clayart
can give you some tips as to your options. I would definitely like to know
the identity of this company.
good luck, and the usual disclaimers... for I am not a lawyer, and alas we
know this is a most litigious land! Say, I been away awhile - who is this
guy Chad, and why is he pregnant?
Ned
Barney (barn@MEDIAONE.NET) wrote
> I have a ceramic supply co that has that notified me in August of this year
that
>I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of some
>obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that I owed
>since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. The
>amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the principle of all
>this. Any suggestions? Barney
Barney Adams on wed 20 dec 00
Hi,
I have a ceramic supply has that notified me in August of this year that
I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of
some obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that
I owed since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. I
then
asked for a list of the items so I could see what it is I was being
charged for.
I stopped doing buisness with them long ago because they never had what
I
ordered in stock when I drove up to pick pick up my order. I still have
no
idea of what they are trying to collect for, but have been notified by
their collection
agency. The amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the
principle of all this.
Any suggestions?
Barney
Philip Poburka on wed 20 dec 00
Dear Barney,
Sounds like 'Scrooge' is lookin' for a 'live-one'...
"IF" they can substantiate in a fairly detailed way just what 'goods' they
think they were maybe not paid for, and just 'when' that was, like a 'Date'
on the Bill, or invioce...and whatever 'proof' they have that 'you' recieved
those 'goods', well then, you could look and see what if any sense it makes.
This all sounds awefully 'petty' and moreso, 'dubious'.
You could tell 'em that your Lawyer's favorite 'hobby' is to
make a quick three-four grand just bye simply 'fileing' against infractions
under the Federal Fair Debts Collections Acts.
That your 'arm' is gonna get tired, holding him back...
Or just - if they 'call' - sing 'em a few sprightly 'bars' from some
'Christmas Carol' of your choice...'Good King Wensislause' or something...(I
may not have spell'd that correctly...)
Good luck with 'em!
Happy Hollidays!
Phil
in
lvnev
------Original Message------
From: Barney Adams
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: December 20, 2000 9:35:22 PM GMT
Subject: ceramic supplier complaint
Hi,
I have a ceramic supply has that notified me in August of this year that
I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of
some obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that
I owed since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. I
then
asked for a list of the items so I could see what it is I was being
charged for.
I stopped doing buisness with them long ago because they never had what
I
ordered in stock when I drove up to pick pick up my order. I still have
no
idea of what they are trying to collect for, but have been notified by
their collection
agency. The amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the
principle of all this.
Any suggestions?
Barney
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
ARTISTINSC@AOL.COM on wed 20 dec 00
Dear Barney,
Sorry, bummer. I imagine the direct approach taking in receipts and checks
and asking an explanation would be best for starters. I quit doing business
with a major supplier too as they cheated me when I enrolled for a class and
they messed up and stuck me for around $100. Otherwise it just drags on.
Margaret
In a message dated 12/20/2000 3:21:16 PM Pacific Standard Time,
barn@MEDIAONE.NET writes:
>
>
> Hi,
> I have a ceramic supply has that notified me in August of this year that
>
> I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of
> some obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that
> I owed since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. I
> then
> asked for a list of the items so I could see what it is I was being
> charged for.
> I stopped doing buisness with them long ago because they never had what
> I
> ordered in stock when I drove up to pick pick up my order. I still have
> no
> idea of what they are trying to collect for, but have been notified by
> their collection
> agency. The amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the
> principle of all this.
> Any suggestions?
>
> Barney
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
> -----------------------
>
eden@SOVER.NET on thu 21 dec 00
Hi Barney,
I'd definitely write the company at whatever length you feel moved to and
be sure to send a cc to the collection agency as Cindy suggests. Explain
your position and your conviction that it is not a bonafide debt. You are
unlikely to hear back. But if they keep harassing you just keep responding
in writing. Then if you are forced to do something heavy-duty you have
this pile of correspondence to wave about, always very effective.
And don't worry about it for another minute until after the first of the
year. Happy Holidays.
Eleanora
...............
Eleanora Eden 802 869-2003
Paradise Hill
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 www.eleanoraeden.com
Steve Mills on thu 21 dec 00
Ask for copy invoices and paying nothing until they can prove to you
that you owe them the money. With anyone who owes us money we ALWAYS
supply copy invoices on request.
Steve Mills
B.P.S
Bath
UK
In message , Barney Adams writes
>Hi,
>I have a ceramic supply has that notified me in August of this year that
>
>I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of
>some obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that
>I owed since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. I
>then
>asked for a list of the items so I could see what it is I was being
>charged for.
>I stopped doing buisness with them long ago because they never had what
>I
>ordered in stock when I drove up to pick pick up my order. I still have
>no
>idea of what they are trying to collect for, but have been notified by
>their collection
>agency. The amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the
>principle of all this.
>Any suggestions?
>
>Barney
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
KLeSueur@AOL.COM on thu 21 dec 00
When you get the letter from the collection agency write them a letter
telling them your experience with the supplier. They will in turn go back to
the supplier to seek documentation for the bill. If the supplier gives the
documention they will send you a copy. You can then send another letter to
the collection agency contesting the bill if you believe that it is
incorrect. If the supplier doesn't give documentation, the bill will be
dropped by collections. As long as there is an active contest (reasonable
contest, not just "I don't believe it's my bill") of the bill there will be
no report made to a credit rating agency.
Kathi LeSueur
Fabienne Micheline Cassman on thu 21 dec 00
At 03:35 PM 12/20/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>agency. The amount is'nt that much, but I'm struggling with the
>principle of all this.
>Any suggestions?
>
>Barney
Barney,
I would start by digging up all the receipts in my possession (invoices,
credit card statements and printouts, cleared checks, etc) to be ready to
show that I have paid for it if it turns out to be a duplicate of some
sort. If the stuff isn't a duplicate, as Steve said, I would ask for them
to prove you received it.
Then again, principles are commandable, but in light of the time you will
spend fighting it out, is it worth it when you could just be doing
something else more pleasant? Perhaps you may just want to include a
letter explaining why you are paying it off and be done with it. Only you
can know your threshold.
Fabienne your snowed out neighbor :o(
--
Milky Way Ceramics http://www.milkywayceramics.com/
Yes, I have learned from my mistakes...
I can reproduce them exactly.
Louis Katz on fri 22 dec 00
For better or worse I am a procrastinator and poor business person. Probably the
reason I am in education. So it goes. It is not unlike me to bill late, two years
seems a bit extreme.
I would at least at first assume that they are not out to screw you and that they
do think you owe them money. Whatever it is, it almost certainly is bnot worth
their hassle.
Ask them for a list of what the charges are for in detail so that you can
exhaustively check your records and recollection of what may have traspired and
assure them that if you owe them the money you will pay them.
I got a bill once for an Xray reading in New York city performed in the month of
August. Now I was Xray was read in August. I sent them a nice letter saying that
they should provide me with some documentation. The sent back a copy of my letter
with a note that said, "you owe it so pay it:. I ignored it. They turned it over
to a collection agency. I sent them the same note. They sent a threatening one
back. I sent them a copy of a sales slip showing that I had been in Corpus Christi
the day the xray had been read and told them ˆ had others for the week before the
xray was read. I told them I would be happy to provide them with any other
information necessary but that the following were my standard research and
secratarial charges:
Minimum charge for services $75
Minimum charge for supplies $25
Typing per page $7.50 (five page minimum)
Staples and paperclips each $.025
Envelopes with addressing $1.00
Postage 200% of United States Postal Service Rate
Research time $50 per hour up to 40 hours per week. $75 per hour above forty
hours.
Photocopying $5.00 charge for first page, $1.00 each page after that.
Travel 200% Maximum allowed U.S. Government Per Deum(sp) plus first class airfare.
oh my it went on forever I had a blast writing it. Never heard from them again.
Funny thing was if they had told me that the date in August was a billing date and
that the Xray had been read in February I probably would have believed them. But I
remebered 4, they billed 4 and then they billed this one they read in August.
I also worked for a hippy produce company that was bad about billing and things
would go for several months. Some other firms ended up 10K$ in the hole to us and
it was big tzimmis. I found the story about the lead dreidels wonderful, and may
cast myself a tin one. Ramble.
Hope you can keep cool about the bill. People down here are complaining about the
cold and it is fifty Degrees F now. Kinda hard on the bananas.
Louis
> In message , Barney Adams writes
> >Hi,
> >I have a ceramic supply has that notified me in August of this year that
> >
> >I owe them some money for an order from 1998. I received a list of
> >some obscure numbers and prices. I told them I found it unlikely that
> >I owed since I've always pre-paid or paid in full when I picked up. I
> >then
> >asked for a list of the items so I could see what it is I was being
> >charged for.
Beth Donovan on fri 22 dec 00
Hi, Barney,
To add to Eleanora's idea, cc your state Attorney's General office. There
have been two occasions in the past where I was billed incorrectly, and
until I cc'd the Attorney General, nothing was done. Within 1 week of that
last note, my problem was taken care of, and to top it off, the Kansas
Attorney General contacted me to be sure that the problem had been resolved.
Government can occasionally be our friend!
Happy Holidays!
Beth Donovan in Leavenworth, Kansas
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