This has all started with my innocent request of the account holder name change back in January, 2010 (from both mine and my spouse's to solely my name).
When I made the request, the company reassigned my account number into a new one (which I was advised the only way to have the name changed with an additional administrative charge).
Later, I received the final bill for the account dated January 7, 2010 with a cancellation fee (of $234.35) for the home protection plan which apparently I enrolled into (no recollection of doing it, nor signing any paper). I immediately figured out that this fee was charged by the company mistakenly assuming I might have requested its cancellation without realizing this account was transferred into my new account.
Therefore, upon receipt of the bill on January 20, 2010, I spoke to one of their representatives explaining the fact that this account was closed due to my request for the name change and they have assigned me a new account number noting that I had never requested any cancellation and the plan should have been transferred to my new account. Over our telephone conversation, the representative confirmed me with the new balance (excluding the cancellation fee) and I paid it off on the same day. interesting enough, two years later (in February 2012), I have received the same bill dated February 3, 2012 with the outstanding balance of the same cancellation fee again ($234.35).
Since then, I've spoken to their billing inquiry department through their resolution process, 3 times, trying to explain the situation. Neither have they ever admitted their error in this matter, nor showed any willingness to seriously take my information into their account insisting the fee is valid as their system has indicated (I wonder where the confirmation I'd received two year ago went missing).
Their resolution process is a joke to me by the way those representatives were dealing with a customer like me. I doubt how objective their input into the system after each of our conversations because their attitude was bias giving me an impression they are right and the customer is wrong. It has been almost one distressing month arguing with them on this matter having one threatening me saying that I am liable for this because this is a verbal contract I agreed upon (neither I do not recall agreeing upon having it, nor any one had ever advised me their home protection plan was a form of contract), the other repeating what is written on their system refusing to hear me out. No one was even able to provide me any proof of both initiating and canceling the plan.
In addition to all this, I have purchased two gas heating furnaces from this company spending more than $13, 000 over the last years for my previous and current residences. I also never had a chance to take advantage of the plan. At the time (they claimed in November, 2010) I had allegedly enrolled it, I still had to pay the additional service fee of approximately $85.
Where is a logic to this charging a cancellation fee when there was no request for it to begin with? Also I notice that there was no interest charge over this two year old outstanding balance. Why? If the balance was valid all along as the company insists, how come did it take them two years getting back to me on this?
Is it the customer's responsibility to pay the price for the company's administrative oversight? Many thanks for looking into this, Hyerin
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