First Consumers National Bank (FCNB) They won't get a nickel until they prove who they are and agree on the accurate amount owed. Beaverton Oregon
After receiving a low-interest cash advance from my Eddie Bauer Master Card, I began receiving bills, and paying them ON TIME. In June 2003, I received a notice claiming my latest check had bounced, and demanding the payment, along with a $29.00 fee.
When I checked with my bank, they informed me they had absolutely no record of the check at all. Even if it had gone through, there had ALWAYS been plenty of funds to cover the check! IT DID NOT BOUNCE!
When I called FCNB, I got a recording with erroneous information, and NO OPPORTUNITY to talk with a person - just an address to write to. Sensing trouble, I then sent a certified letter, return-receipt requested to the address provided (FCNB; PO BOX 5280; Portland, OR 12209), explaining their "error", asking them to return the "bounced" check (I knew that was impossible) and complaining about their incommunicado state. Subsequently, I received no response except a standard computerized bill asking for another payment, still demanding the additional payment plus the $29.00 fee.
I sent another payment in an amount approximating what the payment should be (I had to guess) ON TIME again - also certified, return receipt requested. Approximately a month after my first certified letter, I received its green return receipt from an address in another state. About a week after that, I received the second green receipt for the payment I had sent.
I have just received a bill from some collection organization which has apparently bought the debt. AMAZING! They don't know anything about it, except the erroneous information handed to them by the rip-off clowns at FCNB, and are asking for a sum far greater than what is actually owed. I have informed them via their 800 number that they must prove they own the debt, and then prove that I owe the amount claimed. They might be able to prove the former, but NOT the latter. I'm not trying to avoid paying, but they won't get a nickel until they prove who they are and agree on the accurate amount owed.
If this happens to you, DON'T PAY ANYBODY ANYTHING until you learn who's who and what's what. If you have a collection agency demanding more than you owe, let THEM PROVE IT, or investigate the matter THEMSELVES! Good luck to you other poor victims of unbridled corporate greed.
Harvey
Chicago, Idaho
U.S.A.