I entered into an agreement with Earthlink to recieved DSL for $x dollars a month for an entire year. The agreement had an early termination fee.
6 months in, Earthlink started charging me the regular price, not the promised discount price. I spent 8 hours over the next 3 months talking to customer service about being overcharged. I was fed a variety of excuses, including that excuse that the contract was for only 6 months.
So with 2 months left on the 1 year oral contract (which Earthlink was no longer honoring and even claimed didn't exist), I switched to Yahoo! DSL and refused to pay Earthlink anymore.
Earthlink has tried to collect 2 months at the regular price plus the early termination fee of $150. I sent them a letter explaining how with all the overpayments I made, I only owed $9.99 and that fee was not applicable since they broke the contract, not me. A collection agency has tried to collect. Now a law office is trying to collect.
Answers:
That's easy. You, of course, kept a copy of the contract you entered into. If it was via an email, print it out and send it to their lawyers with a cover letter stating that they should cease contacting you.
Of course, if you didn't bother to keep a copy of the contract, you don't have a leg to stand on.
I would just pay it. if you don't it will mess up your credit.
Sorry, but YOU broke the contract not them. From what it sounds like you did NOT pay attention to the terms of the offer. There is MANY ISPs that offer a discount rate for 3-6months, but to get that rate you have to agree to a 1-2 year contract. When you ordered the service you agreed, and this became a contract. Sorry, but this is a typical service contract term with typical benefits (6 months discounted rate and 6months normal, etc).
The law office can now file suit against you, and if they win can collect the outstanding debt, PLUS their fees. They'll also be able to obtain a wage garnishment order. Bottom line you either need to pay or get a lawyer at this point. This is already effecting your credit, and can ruin your credit if they must file a suit and get a wage garnishment order. Act now and they may agree to a settlement otherwise it's court time.
I don't know why people think an oral contract is NOT valid. They ARE very valid, especially if they (as Earthlink will) a recording of the conversation where the terms where agreed to. Most states only make them not legal if for a period over 2-5 years in length and/or for high dollar amounts (ie $100k), otherwise they are legally binding, and in some this can be overcome by having the conversation recorded.
Also if you signed up online this is a written contract and legally binding even though you never "wrote" your signature on it.
I would tell them to shove it. I would say, "don't ever call me about this again. If you do, I will sue you for harassment. I am never paying you a dime, not ever. Don't call me, don't write me, don't contact me at all. Period. If this shows up on my credit report, I will complain to every agency i can find. I will call your office everyday until you have it removed."
look for proof of the terms of the contract (a copy of the contract) and proof that they broke the contract (a copy of the bill) save that and mail copies of both to the bill collectors and lawyers.
yeah, just pay it.
I have earthlink, unfortunately, and yes, you do owe them what they say you do. You can't/wont' win. They will give a bad mark on your credit, haunt you, and win. What do you/we the consumer have to stand on? Not much. They always win.
If their lawyer believes you broke the contract, then almost certainly you did. Perhaps you misunderstood the contract from the beginning. All businesses these days make contracts which are intentionally easy to misunderstand, but in a courtroom, you will lose.
An oral contract is NOT legally binding if it exceeds a certain $ value which is normally quite low- $100 or so.
Earthlink is affectionately known as "Earthstink." Anything anybody can screw up, they can screw up better.
Be prepared to spend more hours on the phone, dickering with a cust service rep who doesn't have a clue.
you see, an oral contract isn't binding. The Uniform comercial code says so. An everybody agrees. Except Earthlink.
And once this is over and done with,be prepared to receive calls from Earthlink about their special offers. "
Goodluck.
Just to verify what are the promotions elnkis offering , you can call sales dept again and ask them what promotions elnk offers to new customers. You will know exactly that most of them will be at a discounted rate for 3-6 mos and on the 7th to 12th month it will be back to the monthly recurring rate.
when you switched to dsl yahoo before your contract was up- (because elnk leases the phoneline for a year when you agreed to having dsl with them) the dsl from elnk was released. Dsl relies solely on a phone line - Technically elnk is not proving you dsl service anymore( if sbc yahoo is) but since billing wise, your account is still active, you should have kept it until the commitment is up and you won't be charged the termination fee. im sorry, you may need to pay elnk or call customer assitance for help, just explain your case and take a deep breath before you call- it might be aggravating but I'm sure they will help you. But if it was already forwarded to the collections, you may have to deal with them or send a letter of dispute - ideally all calls are documented on the elnk side
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