Complaint Review: Columbia House TV Club

Columbia House has changed hands a few times over the past few years, so I hope that my old information can be of some help. I worked in the OLD customer service from Columbia House, when it was owned by Sony, not the current BMG, so take my information for whatever it may be worth, if anything.

When I worked there, Columbia House did NOT report to ANY credit bureaus because they did NOT collect social security numbers which are needed normally to report to credit bureaus. We were even told in training that they did not report to credit bureaus. Again, bare in mind this was under SONY's ownership of CHC. BMG may be a whole different set of rules. However, the collection agency is real to some extent. Again, no social security number verification. Ask for a copy of your application, if you already have one, check it for ss#.

When BMG bought CHC they pretty much fired everyone of us here in Terre Haute, they only keep the main factory pretty much for storage and address purposes only and a small amount of customer service reps, mostly college students. CHC use to be one of the largest employers in Terre Haute, once employing over 2,500 people and having a good reputation for job security and good paying jobs, however when BMG took over employment has been reduced to just under 500 or so and current employees are only paid barely above minimum wage.

Also, when dealing with CH/BMG try to make sure to get the name of the rep who you spoke to and ask each time to talk to this person, if unavailabe ask when they will be. If it's a billing dispute, again under 'old CH rules' , I would always ask the customer to send in the cancelled checks, both the front and back, or copy of the money order receipt. Back in the day most checks or money orders were 'keyed' in by human hand so human error was always a possibility. It was always a good idea to send in the front and back of the personal check so if that amount was applied to the wrong account we could simply go in and remove the credit from the incorrect account and put it to the right one. If it was by money order, since there was no way to 'trace' where that went, we usually just credited that customers account when the copy was received. Again, under 'old Columbia House'.

Best of luck. Hope this helps out in some way. Columbia House was not always as bad as it is today. CH use to put real emphasis on 'Customer Service'. We were ALWAYS checked for quality and had to meet high company standards in order to keep our jobs. I always received the highest marks in quality for my Customer Service skills and customer satisfaction. It's a shame that BMG has left that philosophy of business behind.

Hello, peeps.

Columbia House claimed I owe them $58.20 for some movies.

$58.20 is not adding up for me.

I believed I don't owe them any money at all.

I always pay my dues.



"Currently your account shows $58.20 for the following charges:

WHAT EV HA62SE 2.13 2/28/07(return shipping)
CHARLIE CHOCDE 2.13 2/28/07(return shipping)
WHAT'S UP DOC 2.13 2/28/07(return shipping)
SURVIVOR:1SEAS 8.57 2/28/07(return shipping)
BACK FUTURESET 6.42 2/28/07(return shipping)
DEPARTED 26.75 3/05/07
LATE PAYMENTCHARGE 3.00 4/20/07
LATE PAYMENTCHARGE 3.00 5/18/07
LATE PAYMENTCHARGE 3.00 6/15/07"



I sent the movies (What Ever Happened To Baby Jane, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, What's Up Doc, Survivor First Season and Back To The Future) back to them in February 2007.

Why should I pay for those movies? I do not have those movies at all. I sent the movies back to them.


I already paid for THE DEPARTED on March 16, 2007.

Yet, Columbia House want to STEAL $26.75 for the Departed from me.


Also, they charged $3.00 each month for LATE payment fee.

I will not pay the late payment fee either.



I DID NOTHING WRONG!

I think we don't need pay for this fraud.We need submit complaint to FTC(Federal trade commission).They can help me out.The columbia company has been penalized by FTC,because they break a law.

I read this article and felt that I needed to make a comment.One thing is don't ignore such matters. Cause they can put it on the Credit Bureaus which can take months to get off..As when I pulled credit bureaus for a company I used to work for..I DID NOT ignore such things as Columbia House..these things can take up to seven years on a credit bureau to fall off..that means no new cars, no homes, no credit cards,nothing for seven years.no cable, phone service, gas and electric, etc. I would rather pay the fee than to ruin my credit for seven years. There is ways and means of getting this off the credit bureaus but you need to know exactly what to do and when to do it.DON'T IGNORE the problem and think that it will go away. I also USED to be a collector. We never stopped until we got the money that was needed to satisfy the debt..email them..Do call them..Follow thru with everything you say you will..Keep records and emails.write to all 3 of the bureaus..Collections has rules they have to follow, if not they can be sued..I did locate Columbia House's home office by just typing in the search area, Columbia House and read everything that came up including the phone numbers someone else who had problems with them put in..I called the first 2 and they went around in circles. The third number did take me to a list of individuals that worked for the company..BINGO I hit pay dirt.I left a message on someone's vm and followed up with a email. They did stop the calls after about 3 emails and the one phone call.. all the calls stopped. Please sign up for the National Do NO Call List..Report to the BBB, write letters to the bureaus (all 3) and explain what has happened.. I have done this with 3 other companies in the past and it works.. write to the collection agencies also. If you call them, then they have your work #, your home #.Do not bow to their standards..Let your voice be heard.I am now Columbia House free and will remain that way the rest of my life..Return all movies that was not asked for and writeon them Return to Sender, Never Ordered. keep records of returns..If they start an account with out yourknowlege, ask for proof of signing or joining sk for proof of who they talked with if done over the phone or ask to hear the tape of the conversation..Dispute all charges with the collections dept..they will not tell you anything about anything. They don't have too..write to the BBB and to the state generals office..NEVER IGNORE THESE MATTERS.......EX Columbia House Member........

Debbie, seriously, I wouldn't worry about a "black mark" on your credit from Columbia House. People who routinely evaluate check credit reports are undoubtedly quite familiar with such "scam ripe" businesses, and will account accordingly for such a "mark", if they even do report you.

If you have any documentation you've sent to Columbia House disputing this, definitely keep it, what the heck. If you haven't written an actual letter (emails really don't count for much), well, write one, and keep it, and then IF it ever did come up, you would have proof that you properly disputed the charge, and they disregarded you.