Posted on April 4, 2009 at 11:12 am I got a phone call from the gas company yesterday. I used to have to pay for my own gas in my old apartment, which I didn't know. I started getting invoices from them, but they were addressed to "resident" so I ignored them, thinking that I had free heat and hot water. One day, the bills started coming under my name. I dont know how that happened, because I was not on a lease at my old apartment, and I paid my landlord in cash. Soon, the bills started piling up, and I honestly could not pay them. I was paying 950 per month to live there, and I was getting paid 1200 per month, and a monthly pass for the subway was 49 dollars. There was no way I could afford to pay the gas bill, because it was at least 150 per month.I called the company and told them that I thought I had free heat and hot water, and I don't know how it got under my name in the first place, but I wanted to sign up for financial aid. I have yet to hear from them about that. I then moved, and became a victim of home invasion, two men held me at gun point and stole upwards of 2000 dollars from me, and I was forced to move, again, and borrow my mothers mortgage money just to do so. I have not been able to pay my mother back, and she is facing forclosure on her home. I have decided I am going to send my mother 20 dollars a week. It will help her out. I am not financially stable enough to pay her any more than that.So this is where the story gets bad. So I get the phone call from the collection agency for the gas bill yesterday, and they tell me I owe them 800 dollars and I have 3 months to pay it. I explain the entire situation to them and tell them that even though I never signed up for the service, I will start paying it off as long as I get adequate financial aide, because I did use the service even though I never signed up for it. He told me that was unnacceptable. I told him that I called the company when I was still living at the old apartment and that they would help me with that and he told me if I didn't start paying him that they would consider that refusal of payment and they would start calling my family and friends to track me down.What does one do in this situation? Is this harassment?

Posted on April 5, 2009 at 10:24 pm To be honest,  i wouldnt call it harassment, but its kinda absurd instead. How can they call your family just to track you down. I dont know if its illegal in your country.

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 1:21 am Collection agencies can be brutal to deal with. You did tell them that you would try to start paying off the debt once you got financial aid which shows you are making an effort. I think as long as you are making an effort they should accept this and try to work out a payment plan with you. And yes, I do believe this is harassment!

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 9:38 am Yes, it is totally absurd. It is harassment and I think you can sue them for that

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 10:45 am they cant harras you like that certainly there has to ba  legal way to get them to stop get a qualified lawyer and i think this case would come to your side easily

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 11:17 am I really want to thank everyone for their advice in this topic, this debt has been stressing me out to no end, especially with the fact that I had told the company what was going on and why I was unable to pay them right now, and what I needed before I paid. I am sure that if I get a lawyer that they would be able to help me out, but the problem is I cannot afford a lawyer. What do I do now? I recently downloaded a call recorder for my phone, so the next time the company calls me I am going to record the entire phone conversation. That should be a step in the right direction, right??

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 1:47 pm Yes, it is harassment. It's also too soon for them to take you to court. A refusal to pay is just a threatening tactic. Most likely, they'll either continue to call you after their deadline, or another collection agency would be assigned to your case. Either way, if the total amount due is less than the limit in small claims court,  they'll prefer to continue collection first, and sometime down the line retain an attorney.You must be able to prove that  you were harassed, that's what a lawyer will tell you. Check your state's legal statutes that govern recording conversations. Some states require that you get permission from the other party before you record a conversation. Some states don't have that provision. If you're from a state that doesn't have that provision, record the conversation,  save all the nasty voice mail messages as well, then talk to an attorney.On the other hand, you can do everything in writing (certified mail), sending them debt validation requests, asking them not to contact you at work, if they are, making a settlement offer (payment schedule), etc. What they claim in a letter you owe, is not necessarily what they can prove in court ( it usually isn't).

Posted on April 6, 2009 at 2:02 pm Just because the gas company decided you owe the debt, doesn't mean that you do. As you said, it was addressed to "resident". A lawyer could argue, that it was the landlord's responsibility to inform you of this bill. I also agree that maybe should contact an attorney, if you're not comfortable going it alone. You may want to hire an attorney, who gets paid through commission or makes a percentage of the money you win in court. Typically 30-40% of the total judgment.

Posted on April 7, 2009 at 10:28 am This sounds really fishy to me. I mean you were renting a place that you do not have to pay gas and so forth and than all of the sudden you are held to pay. I mean this is really crazey. I have heard of landlords doing this and it is wrong over look your lease always and I would look at your lease and see if it states that they had to pay, if so than copy it and mail it to the gas and electric that way they can go for the landlord instead. As another member here stated find a lawyer as well. It seems like you should talk to one for sure. Take care and I hope this helps.

Posted on April 7, 2009 at 4:30 pm Things like that has happened to me befor and what I do is just ignore it! If they call, I delete the message, if they write, I throw the letter away!