jediman
join:2002-06-27
Merrimack, NH
| Illegally taking funds ...again?!?
Adelphia reached into my bank account for "direct pay" without authorization... AGAIN! ...Time to head to court with it this time i wonder?
I for one am ready to dump Adelphia, and also maybe take them to the cleaners for a bit with this one too. What would you guys do about this? Its the....4th time they have done it to me..and the last 3 times i had to call the local office and the lady working there assured me it was taken care of...oh yeah, for like 2 months maybe. HEH!
Think I should tell them to start upping my service free? |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
| I am assuming that at some point you signed up for direct pay? and then decided to stop?
There has to be two sides to every story, at the moment we appear to only have 1/2 of one.
Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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jediman
join:2002-06-27
Merrimack, NH
| reply to jediman
Heres the kicker, i already went over this with my local office and the hotline before a few times. Nope, never signed up for auto pay. Never gave them a voided check or my bank account info, or anything ever stating that they could deduct automatically every month. Already talked to my bank several times, and they said the same thing, no blank check, no authorization, no money. Still somehow they are doing it...again. And this will be the last time. If i have to go door to door to get people to goto court with me, so be it, but these are the last days of ADelphia in my town >:)
And yes, I will be calling them again shortly. So what do you all think? Court? Obviously their word isnt good enough since they wont stop with this crap. |
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jpzippo
Help Someone Today
Premium
join:2003-02-26
Bethany, CT
clubs:
| The only time I have had a problem of this sort it was because of my mistake. I had mistakenly set up with a company for auto deduct instead of one time pay. As far as I know and I pay a number of my bills on-line, you have to provide a company your banking info they don't get it on their own. |
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jediman
join:2002-06-27
Merrimack, NH
| reply to jediman
I know this, like i said,I went over this before. The only thing they get from me a month, is a check, made out for that months bill, and for a one time deduction that way only. Somehow, their system , and apparently it was this way again or something though they deny it since they claim it has to be hand entered... that this is how they got my info. Quite frankly, I know this is BS. So yes, they are in fact illegally taking it out, I never authorized it. |
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BurntCricket
Gotta Do What Ya Gotta Do
Premium
join:2000-09-02
Here
clubs:
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to jediman
First, a question >> is this the same account you would be paying the bill with anyway ??? If so, where's the problem ??
If not,since by your statements I believe it is a checking account, go to the bank, close that account and open a new one, if you went to the bank they should have told you about this option. Fourth month of this ?, HMMMMM. Myself, I think there is more to this than you are willing to admit. As far as "taking them to the cleaners", all you can collect is what they took out, which you owed anyway.
--
Everything is relative and subjective.
[text was edited by author 2003-07-14 13:24:24] |
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hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY
clubs:
| reply to jediman
"And this will be the last time. If i have to go door to door to get people to goto court with me, so be it, but these are the last days of ADelphia in my town"
Yawn.....
Hob
--
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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panth1
The Coyote
join:2000-12-11
Boca Raton, FL
| reply to jediman
See if you can have your bank put a block on Adelphia from taking any money from your account.
I would also get it in writing, from Adelphia, that you do not use Auto Pay for their service.
If they keep doing it, then I would take a Lightsaber to the drop to your house. 
--
ISPs: Road Runner/Powerlink
Current Status: Powerlink
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY
| reply to jediman
Ask for a copy of the paperwork authorizing this withdrawal. If they can't provide it, ask for your money back. Why waste more money going to court. Do you have online banking? Are you sure that you don't have a payment set up to go out automatically that you've forgotten about? Post a screen shot minus account numbers. |
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chanur
Premium
join:2001-02-26
Colorado Springs, CO
| reply to jediman
It's unlikely you would get far with this, particularly if the payments were "legitimate" in the sense they covered service received.
There's likely more to this story than we are hearing... "how" did Adelphia get your account info? Have you been late in making payments? Have you withheld payment in the past due to service problems?
Do you have your original paperwork from when you signed up with the service, and have you reviewed what the payment terms are? |
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dsless
join:2001-05-16
Pittsburgh, PA |  reply to jediman
Ummmm, I don't know the whole story. But how did they get your bank account information anyhow? I always send them a check. I don't trust them either. |
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Coolbrz
join:2002-12-16
Port Allegany, PA | reply to jediman
Auto pay is setup by the customer, through a third party. Adelphia does not set up auto pay. |
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY
| reply to dsless
said by dsless  :
Ummmm, I don't know the whole story. But how did they get your bank account information anyhow? I always send them a check. I don't trust them either.
They could get his account information from his check.
They have to be able to prove that they have authorization to do this. If they can't then he should verify that his online banking isn't set up to kick out a payment every month.
Keep in mind that sending paper checks these days is foolish. The less people who can see your account number the better. At least online transactions are encrypted. |
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MikBo
Just Happy To Be Here
Premium
join:2002-01-04
Lynchburg, VA
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to jediman
Yep it is entirely possible to access you account these days with out authorization,first time I saw it happen was when I sent a check to the DMV and overpaid.The took the proper amount from the check and put the remaining amount back in my account electronically.The trick they do now days is just as bad.I call payment creep.In the course of a year your bill is due sooner every 6 months or so after a years time you actually pay them extra as the billing moves up in it's cycle,them boy"s is slick!And guess who might do such a thing?
--
"Things will get better,despite our efforts to improve them!"--Will Rogers |
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Meeble
join:2002-09-19
Champaign, IL
| reply to jediman
simple solution - ask for the copy of the authorization paperwork.
if they don't have one on file with your signature authorizing that automatic debit - then my next stop that day would be the lawyer's office because those unauthorized debits are illegal and you can wrap up a pretty penny - especially if you can prove you called them and reported it.
i had this happen before and the company ended up giving me like 3 free months service [not adelphia btw] - my friend had a similar thing happen with his cell phone and they settled out of court before the trial.
oversights happen and this is probably one, but there is still accountability to be had - especially if you called and notified of this already. |
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chanur
Premium
join:2001-02-26
Colorado Springs, CO
| said by Meeble :
if they don't have one on file with your signature authorizing that automatic debit - then my next stop that day would be the lawyer's office because those unauthorized debits are illegal and you can wrap up a pretty penny - especially if you can prove you called them and reported it.
i had this happen before and the company ended up giving me like 3 free months service [not adelphia btw] - my friend had a similar thing happen with his cell phone and they settled out of court before the trial.
I'm commenting on this because I wouldn't want jediman to have false expectations. He's not going to get rich doing this, and would be lucky to get free months. From a criminal perspective, if there are any criminal statutes being violated (wouldn't know, depends on the state unless you can find a Federal law that applies) assuming the worse and Adelphia is guilty he would get nothing but satisfaction at any fine levied (unless in the rare circumstance the state/federal law provides for some payment of damages to the consumer - but I wouldn't count on it). From a civil perspective, he would have to show damages. The most I could imagine is him writing a check in conjunction with the automatic debit, causing checks to bounce... he might recover something, minimally, there.
The danger in apply any other person's experiences is every situation is different. In your friends case, I'd bet the "settlement" was of the nature of a cease and desist... phone companies have deep lawyer pockets and wouldn't likely shell out cash unless the situation was far more egregious than this one (for example, withdrawing $10,000 from his account without authorization).
said by Meeble :
oversights happen and this is probably one, but there is still accountability to be had - especially if you called and notified of this already.
I agree in principal, in that he should be able to get this fixed. But he is not going to get rich. |
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Meeble
join:2002-09-19
Champaign, IL
| reply to jediman
depends on how much he spends on a lawyer and how many times he told them of the oversight and was told it was corrected. It also depends on whether he physically paid any of those months as well as their auto withdrawl - expected revenue from the loss of that extra money would then be taken into account to [even in the simplest regard interest that money could have earned could technically be added to the damages].
I'm not saying he would get rich, but there may be case for him to take up a damage case against them if he chooses so. there's far more frivilous lawsuits than this out there. |
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dsless
join:2001-05-16
Pittsburgh, PA
| reply to wwdubbia
Actually I do send my payments via checkfree corp. They are all elctronic. I just making my case simple.
[text was edited by author 2003-07-14 18:54:00] |
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chanur
Premium
join:2001-02-26
Colorado Springs, CO
| said by dsless :
Actually I do send my payments via checkfree corp. They are all elctronic. I just making my case simple.
[text was edited by author 2003-07-14 18:54:00]
Equal or better chance it's a checkfree problem... good place to start.
Meeble - you are 100% correct. Most people do not have the stomach for the work involved to do this, for the minimal payback. The cost in time and effort always needs to be balanced against real value. That said, sometimes it is worth it... if there is even a case to be brought. Many people want to sue when they don't have grounds for it.
If it "continued" to happen, as a next step I would suggest involving someone like Tom Martino, a consumer advocate who lives for this kind of stuff, particularly at the level where it's extremely irritating but not high profile enough to get most peoples attention. |
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jediman
join:2002-06-27
Merrimack, NH
| reply to jediman
First off, I dont use autopay, dont use online bill paying, period. They are the only people i need to send a check to to pay, and thats teh only way they are allowed to have my money!
Last time they couldnt provide ANY info or any proof that I authorized the auto pay in any way shape or form, and also refused to refund my money. And Im not late with payments either. So the thing is, yes, they have done it again, and yes it is illegal, since I know that when i call tonight, they wont have any sort of proof. So then, after having actually spoken with an attorney on this once before, if they cannot provide the information/proof , and refuse to give back the money and suck it up, then yes, I am entitled to sue their arses off. Sure it would take some time, but hell, I really dont wanna spend time in court nor the money. Id really rather get the $ back, tell them to FOAD, and switch providers...if i could  |
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