The following is a copy of the letters I have sent to the Principles of Comcast. I do not expect a response as they are untouchable with secretaries that filter everything out. I have also written to my councilman in Los Angeles where I resided at the time the below incident occurred. Doubtful that I will hear back from LeBonge either but that is more likely then Comcast.
If this letter gets to anybody please understand that rather then lifting a finger, Comcast's practice is to turn a customer over to collection without ever checking twice. I hear this all the time and now it's happened to me.
__________________________________________________________
January 2, 2006
Brian L. Roberts
%Comcast Corp.
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2148
Dear Mr. Brian Roberts and Comcast;
I am writing you because you have wrongfully ruined my otherwise flawless credit record and I seek to have that action reversed as soon as humanly possible.
Here are the facts surrounding this case:
1.On or about April 1, 2004 I co-signed a Comcast service agreement for my son, who was getting his first apartment. I opened the account in Hollywood at the Cahuenga office, then telling the customer service rep that my son was learning disable, could not read and asked they send me a duplicate copy of the monthly bill, which they refused, saying that the bill had to be mailed to the address that the cable box was installed at. My son is 30 years old, remains functional but learning disabled which is why I co-signed so as to make certain our obligations to you were fulfilled.
2.On or about Nov 1, 2004 my son terminated his lease at his apartment (with the managements consent). My son returned the Comcast equipment to your office on Cahuenga in Hollywood, CA requesting that his account be closed out. Nothing was mentioned to him but only an affirmation that the account would be closed as per his request. I continued to pick up his mail for a month from the manager of the building but no final invoice was included nor did I get a final statement at my home which was 4 blocks away from his address, and while I was still an active customer of Comcast at my own residence.
3.On or about September 24, 2006 I discovered that there was a collection notice on my credit report, showing Comcast as the creditor. I called Comcast and discovered that there was an unpaid final bill on my sons account which had been sent to collection. I immediately paid the amount due using my Chase credit card only to find out there was no way the collection department would take off the smear they had put on my credit file.
Despite the fact that Comcast had my address on file as the co-signer on the account, and despite the fact that I was (and still am) a Comcast account-holder in good standing, there was no effort whatsoever on Comcasts part to offer me the opportunity to pay my sons final closing bill. Comcast did absolutely nothing to notify me about any outstanding balance, no phone call, no invoice, nothing at all. Instead, Comcast sent the account to collection and had my credit ruined.
I cannot flaw the services of USPS since I continued to receive my normal Comcast bills at my house for my own account. I can say with absolute certainty that no attempt was made to notify me, as co-signer on his account, of any closing bill with monies owed.
At the time Comcast sent my sons account to collection (with my name attached) all three of the above pieces of data were still valid. Comcast made no attempt whatsoever to collect the debt from me before damaging my reputation.
While I do understand that Comcast expects to be paid for the services it provides, I also believe that it is incumbent upon Comcast to make some reasonable effort to offer a person a chance to settle an account before it is deemed to be delinquent. Given this assumption and with the ability Comcast has to trash a persons reputation and security through these actions, Comcast did not call me; did not mail me a bill and did not attach any notice to my regular bills, one would certainly conclude that Comcast fell short on doing what would be deemed reasonable in terms of making an effort to settle the debt before turning it over to collection.
The damages caused to me as a result of Comcasts failure to make a reasonable effort to collect on this debt are real. I make much of my living through real estate transactions, and having my credit rating degraded 100 points because of $140 prevents me from getting the most favorable financing terms. This degradation in my credit score due to this sole incident will likely cost me well over six figures during the seven years that this remains on my record.
My goal is to have this resolved, without incurring large legal expenses and anguish. I implore you to review my history as your then and current account holder (over 30 years, starting with MediaOne and winding up with Comcast as my provider), review my credit reports both before and after this incident. You will see that prior to this incident my credit rating was outstanding, in fact most credit checks have elicited remarks like that is one of the best weve seen. I ask you to verify with your records and see that no notice was sent to me, no calls made and no mention was made on any bills you sent to me on my account. Comcast, through improper handling of this situation, has placed my financial future in jeopardy.
I hope that you will follow up with this and verify who I am and what I am trying to impart to Comcast, and retract your negative remarks from the credit reporting agencies. You have been paid the monies owed (on the same day that I discovered this issue, as a result of a credit check run on my social to purchase a vehicle which I wound up paying cash for).
I have been given the run around from Comcast to the collection agency and over and over again, each department saying that the other has to remove the stain.
Before I move forward with stronger means, please consider this letter as a statement of truth and understand the real damages to my future security. You collected and keep collecting payment from me on other accounts with the same information and social security number and would it have been beneath your code of ethics to look me up in your database and contact me before you did this?
I hope to hear from your company soon regarding a resolution.
Read Next Complaint >>