Call Kurtis: We're In Collections?
They never even knew they were in collections until they saw the blemish on their credit report. And getting the situation fixed wasn't easy.
The market was good when new parents James and Lindsay Gregory bought their home last year. And with interest rates even more competitive now, they recently decided to refinance. But they were unexpectedly rejected.
"The guy doing our refinancing said 'You have $428 you owe Frontier and they've put it into a collections account," says James. "I was flabbergasted."
The Gregorys never had Frontier service, but figured it stemmed from a home they almost bought in 2009. James called Frontier to set up service on the day planned on moving in, but at the last minute the sale fell through. James called Frontier to cancel immediately.
James recalls that conversation, "They said 'You'll probably get a bill due to the billing cycle. So next month if you get one, just give us a call.'"
James says he did get a bill the next month and another a few months later. Both times he says he called, and Frontier zeroed-out the balance. But now he hears the account was never closed and he's in collections.
"It's affecting my credit, it's affecting my refinancing and my finances overall. This is not acceptable," says James.
James says he's made a number of calls to Frontier in the last few weeks asking for the account to be canceled once and for all and for a letter stating this situation wasn't his fault. He wants the letter to submit to the credit bureaus to repair his credit score. But so far, no letter has arrived.
"It's out of our control and that I think is the most frustrating part is we've done our part and they don't seem to be doing theirs," says Lindsay.
So we called up Frontier. They say the Gregorys' account was closed in late March. And after we contacted the company, they contacted the credit bureaus to delete the blemishes. After James' credit is repaired, he and Lindsay will finally be able to refinance.
"It means financial relief," says James.
The Gregorys will also be getting a letter they can submit to the credit bureaus themselves. Frontier tells us it could take up to 90 days for the credit agencies to update their records.
Frontier Communications' entire explanation of the Gregorys' issue:
In September 2009, Mr. Gregory placed an order to establish telephone service with a second line at his pending new home. When Mr. Gregory called to request a disconnect due to his sale falling through, Frontier disconnected the primary line per the customer's request and adjusted the account to a zero balance. The second line for the home was not disconnected at that same time. Frontier mailed bill statements to the address provided by Mr. Gregory for September, October, November and December 2009. In January 2010 the line was disconnected for non-payment after no payments were received on the account for the second line. Mr. Gregory contacted Frontier in February 2010 to request a detailed bill for this telephone number and mail was returned with no forwarding address for the bill. On March 28, 2011 a representative issued a credit adjustment on the account to bring it to a zero balance. We issued a request to the Credit Reporting Agencies to remove this account from their records however it can take up to 90 days for the Credit Reporting Agencies to update their records. We also issued a letter to the customer with information on our actions. We apologize that the second line was not disconnected with the primary line for this customer causing a discrepancy on his credit report.
Stephanie Beasly
Communications Manager
