Over the past decade, David and Beatrice Edwards have had three cellphone providers.
None of them was U.S. Cellular.
So it was a bit of a surprise when representatives from the Chicago-based company began calling the Wilmette couple several years ago, asking for a $100 early termination fee.
Each time U.S. Cellular called, Beatrice Edwards would politely inform the customer service representative that she had never been a U.S. Cellular customer.
“When we asked for a bill or contract for service, they refused to send us any information, and in fact turned our ‘debt’ over to collections,” she said. “We may have called the company dozens of times asking for any form of documentation, and they have ignored our request.”
So it continued. The collection agency would call, the couple would ask for proof of what they owed and the process would recycle.
Eventually, the collection agency reported the couple to the credit bureaus, damaging their credit history.
Tired of experiencing the collection company version of “Groundhog Day,” Beatrice Edwards emailed What’s Your Problem? in August.
“We’re perplexed because we were never customers of them,” she said. “They’re unwilling to show us a bill or show us a contract where we signed up with them.”
She said the money wasn’t really the issue.
“I could pay the $100 and just get out of it, but I thought that’s highway robbery,” Edwards said. “The collection agency said, ‘You might be taking a moral stand, but you owe the money.'”
The Problem Solver called Terri Cornelius, a spokeswoman for U.S. Cellular.
Turns out, the couple’s original cellphone service provider, PrimeCo, was purchased by U.S. Cellular almost a decade ago — after the couple had already moved on to T-Mobile.
The early termination fee apparently was reported by PrimeCo when U.S. Cellular took over.
Late last week, the company called the couple and said it would drop its collection effort.
“We have determined that the account was in existence prior to U.S. Cellular acquiring Mr. and Mrs. Edwards’ previous cellular carrier,” Cornelius said in an email. “We have resolved the issue with the Edwards.”
In a letter to the couple dated Aug. 30, U.S. Cellular said it had closed the account “with a zero balance.”
“Based on your complaint and as a gesture of goodwill, the account has been removed from (the collection agency) and the balance has been waived,” the letter said.
Beatrice Edwards said the letter arrived Friday morning.
She insists she did not cancel her PrimeCo contract early, but she is glad the issue has been resolved.
“Oh, my gosh, yes,” she said. “This has been going on for so many years.”
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