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I got a security system installed in Dec. 2000 (because my neighbor had gotten raped at gunpoint, and I was scared to death!)
At the time, I was in school, and the alarm was for a rental apartment.
I signed a three year contract, and paid in full for it (my parents paid for it cause they were pretty freaked out about my neighbor also).
I ended up moving out of the apartment after a year, and called the company and told them that I had moved, and that they could either transfer the contract to the new lesee, or cancel it. I thought that was the end of it. I never asked for my money back, so basically, they got two years of free payment.
However, they still called a number of times over the years. Every single time, I told them that I had moved out, and to cancel the contract. They wanted me to write a letter to them to cancel the contract. But since I didnt remember the pin at this point, I couldn't do it the way the specified. So, the only way to cancel the contract was to go down to their office in person, and sign something (this of course being incredibly inconvenient since I work all day, and their office is all the way on the other side of the town). So...I never made this a priority, only because since my contract was paid in full, and I never really wanted my money back, and it would be over in three years anyways.
Well, yesterday, I get a phone call from a debt collector that says that I owe this alarm company $1400. I had no idea why, and I was very upset (I have - HAD?!?!?- perfect credit)
So, I call the alarm company, and they said that since I didn't put in writing that I wanted to cancel my alarm system, that the three year contract is automatically extended, that's why I owe them the money etc. Well, this time, they say that I can write down my SS# and driver's license number in the letter and that they can then cancel the extended three year contract (THEY NEVER TOLD ME THIS BEFORE!!!!!!!!!)
And, it DOES say that in the contract (in the very fine print) that you need to put a cancel request in writing...
But, is this actually LEGAL!!! I mean, seriously, you can not verbally say to cancel a contract, even if they KNOW that you don't live there (the president of the company said that he knew I didn't live there any more)...
Please, if you can help, is this legal...
I'm writing the letter to tell them to cancel the contract now, but it just seems like such a scam to me. If I'd known, I never have signed the contract!!
I mean, what if I had moved out of the state...
PLEASE HELP!!
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