Be me

>be me
>internet having issues
>isp contacted
>come out and fix it
>come out again and claim to be there to fix it
>they claim it is what was causing the issue even though the issue got fixed weeks back
>they get to work on digging up ground wtf
>get contacted by some literal who
>claiming we owe a bill
>nothing gets resolved as the guy attempts to pressure my mom into paying over the phone while providing no proof
>a few weeks pass
>calls again and frustrates her as he refuses to send out paperwork claiming the corona virus lockdown prevents him from going out to send it
>ironically tries to get me to go out and use a fax machine
>he is bent on getting it faxed or emailed and utterly avoiding mailing it
>saying how it must be paid immediately or else we'll be taken to court
>hand him an old email that is shoddy in behavior and might not open emails correctly at all lol
>tells me over the phone the bill is $2k+

Alright is there a way I can lower this bill or get them to piss off? Parents are retired so credit score is irrelvant as I'm tired of these people attempting to take advantage of them time and time again. Plus social security doesnt cover enough to pay this bill in full along with monthly costs. If my understanding is correct these collection agents can be screwed over. Anything I can do?

Attached: Screenshot_20200430-033331.jpg (997x595, 182.42K)

obviously a scam. call their help line or whatever and tell them if they dont shut the fuck up and stop trying to bill you for a service that never happened and you never asked for you'll switch ISPs. they'll probably waive it. if it's real, let it go to collections, and when the indians call you just say you're not paying because you already paid.

Hi op, former debt collector here. Don't worry about that guy, they are just trying to a scare you into paying in full. It is unlikely they would take anyone to court for an amount under 10k. Honestly if credit score doesn't matter just ghost the debt collector and it will eventually reach its statue of limitation and effectively be wiped, this usually takes 7 years. If you get served any court documents or think they will take it to court (they are probably closed anyway atm for debt matters) just say you are poor and can pay 5 dollars are week, if they ask for proof of income just have a pre prepared fake budget that makes you sound super poor.

Best of luck

Yea also if they can't send proof you have no reason to pay, wait until they send proof before you do anything.

This, it sounds like a straight up scam.

Seems like a scam. They are the ones who have to maintain the service if their cables get fucked up for some reason. $2k bill out of nowhere seems like a massive scam. Don't pay them anything.

Dont think its a scam. It seems to be a company contracted by my isp which makes things really shoddy while at the same requiring the check be made out to my isp.

He's threatened my mom with court but acted more formal around me. Income for parents is literally limited considering their circumstances.

Never got anything in the email but the guy did send an email. Idk if I just tied a noose around my head as he was hell bent on not sending it via mail. Just some weird looking bill with no signature of my parents accepting this. Any idea where to go from here? The fact he said he'll shave off a good chunk if we settle out of insurance, which makes me suspicious as the amount becomes noticeably lower as if though they are jacking up the cost. They also require signing of some other form should I want it settled outside of insurance.

>PAY NOW OR WE DO THE THING
So 100% a scam.

Ironically one guy at my isp said i owe nothing if i get nothing and that they hace no evidence i owe anything. Ironic how the process is so split apart that contacting my isp doesnt show proof yet at the same time another call to my isp says it may be legitimate but that they have no idea because they dont have access to said records....wtf bullshit is this!? Already had some itemized looking paper sent via email but idk if its legit and what to do.

To continue mailing centers are still open. Your ISP would bill you not some fucking no one.

Idk if i screwed my parents over by handing an email over. It's not their email tho but the fact he can bs stuff by claiming he sent stuff to an email as proof may have fucked me over.

if he won't send you the bill via mail, it's probably a scam. Also just check with your ISP dude.

Thats the weird part. It some literal who but at the same time they want the check made payable directly to our isp. Get the feeling it is some weird contract nonsense going on here.

If I contact the guy again anything I should do or say?

Also maybe black out personal information, then post the bill.

If he doesn't want insurance involved that raises a red flag, if i was you i would say im not paying until i sort out why this was contracted by the isp without our acceptance of cost. Contact the isp and ask them to send an explanation on why you have to pay, if your parents didn't agree to it somewhere it won't hold up in court or be paid by insurance. Seems like a big gyp by the isp and this contractor.

I did check with my isp. But they literally can not confirm ir deny if the bill is real because they dont keep records on hand for those things except the accounting department which we are not allowed to get in touch with according to themselves. It's a literal "just believe they are being truthful and not scamming you" situation.

He could be a 3rd party debt collector acting for the isp

Either they give you a contact in accounting who can confirm that, or you don't fucking pay the bill. If they can't prove that you owe the money, then you effectively don't owe the money.

Not on pc atm. In case it helps I'll describe it:
>looks like an itemized accounting bill
>a bunch of "evidence" picture claimed as the reason for the damage

Thanks. Looks like the isp needs to be contacted yet again as they're too incompetent to give me a straight answer and refuse to pass it over to management no natter how many times it is requested
>first person: "no dont pay it"
>second person: "maybe, maybe not but they are a firm we contract (even tho it sounds like I'm googling them in background and have no idea)"

Likely but the fact the isp cant confirm shit is pissing me off especially with internet being shoddy regardless of qhat they did. Plus the debt collector wanting me to jump through hoops while he is seeking money and just sends me an itemized bill without proof as to WHY I have to pay this bill when no proof has been shown that we agreed to this

Have to think this through on how to handle as I don't want my parent's screwed over by some nonsense we didn't need.

That is usually the way, you will need a lot of patience. Also do as much communication via email as you can with all parties, that way there is a record of the bullshit they say which you can use later to fuck them over.

So before they started to do some digging they gave you some paperwork to sign, right?

Cool thanks!

I'd have to ask my dad to confirm.

If no I can obviously avoid this bill, correct?
But if he ended up getting tricked into signing some sort of paperwork from them they (my parents) are screwed, correct?

If there's no record of it than just ignore them completely.

No, even if they signed they would not be screwed. Just need to know if there was anything in there about digging. Also before the works started, they/he informed your parents about it, right?

>we are not allowed to get in touch with according to themselves. It's a literal "just believe they are being truthful and not scamming you" situation.
holy shit go tell them to shove a fat horse dildo up their ass

Cool!

>Also before the works started, they/he informed your parents about it
About a bill? Nothing about a bill or any sort of payment needed.

And this. No written record means this was (most likely) done illegally or something shady. I would ignore and if contacted again, best thing would be to bluff and write him an e-mail asking for his personal info with the paperwork since your insurance agent is asking for it

Lol. They were indeed here, but we never agreed to or were told that there would be any sort of payment due.

Then it's nothing. Other user (former debt collector) pretty much explained it well. Make sure you have written proof in emails or anything else though just in case

Great. I'll have to talk with dad hpefully he remembers as he isn't the type to bother caring about this enough to even remember it. They never gave him anything to keep but idk what he talked about with them when he did speak with them.