‘I’ve tried everything possible’: Man fights back after credit report mishap

It may have happened to you. A look at your credit report shows a debt you don’t believe you owe. One man is certain he doesn’t owe the amount placed on his credit report and he’s fighting back to get it removed. A process — as he found out — is anything but easy.

Corey Cammisuli is in the process of finding a new home to rent. One of the common requests from landlords is to ask for a credit report. Cammisuli’s is good, with an exception.

“I have a hit for nearly $700 as being in collections,” he said. “It’s inaccurate and I’ve tried everything possible to get it removed.”

It all started nearly two years ago after Cammisuli cancelled his service with a Barrie-based internet provider.

“At the time of ending service I said to them ‘tell me what I owe you and I will pay for it.’”

An email he shared with us from the company stated he owed nothing, at that point, but had to return the modem by mail within 30 days.

“They told me to just send in the modem, they gave me the address. So I sent it to them through Canada Post.”

The company, Velcom, then emailed him saying the modem never came.

“One of the emails said you need to prove to us that you sent [the] modem. So I gave them the tracking number.”

According to Canada Post, the modem was received at the address — well within the 30 day cut-off. But Velcom was still sending him bills for the unreturned modem. He even had Canada Post investigate the delivery, which determined that the “item was delivered.”

“So I sent an image of the tracking receipt again, directly from Canada Post, and they said ‘its too late we’re sending you to collections.’”

Cammisuli claims no collections agency reached out to him initially. According to provincial law, registered collection agencies in Ontario must send you a private letter by mail or email. He was told by the collections agency that the email may have been in his junk mail, but he couldn’t find it.

“So I’ve made an official request for them to send me the original email or letter sent to me but they have not done so,” Cammisuli said.

Cammisuli said he reached out to the collections agency only after finding their name and contact information on his credit report once the debt was reported.

“They told me only Velcom can remove this debt, not them.”

Cammisuli also disputes the amount placed in collections. The charge for an unreturned modem, which emails from the company state is what he owed, is $500. As for the additional $189 on his credit report, bills label it as “balance forward and tax” with no other explanation.

“They won’t tell me what the additional amount is for. I have an email stating I owed them nothing after cancellation, I just had to send them the modem, which I did and have proved multiple times,” he said.

“I’m fighting this because I don’t think it’s right and don’t want any other person to go through this.”

CityNews reached out to Velcom. After our inquiry, company CEO Rob Contaldi said they will remove the modem charge but claims Cammisuli still owes $56.50 for an early cancellation fee.

Contaldi would not answer when we asked — multiple times — about the additional charges placed on Cammisuli’s credit report. As for the modem charge, he claims the tracking number Cammisuli sent was invalid. But Cammisuli shared with us emails showing he sent them an image of the tracking number directly from Canada Post, indicating the item was delivered.

“I did not type the tracking number out in the email to avoid mistakes,” he said. “I sent them the screenshot from Canada Post showing it was delivered. If it was invalid it’s because they checked after it was out of Canada Post’s tracking system, which is why I had Canada Post open an investigation, which determined it was in fact delivered to the company’s address.”

Velcom did not respond to our request for an interview nor our request for emails, bills or other correspondence sent to Cammisuli to back up their claims.

“If he covers the $56.50 we will provide a letterhead. His credit history would still be affected with the $56.50 amount regardless,” Contaldi said in an email.

Dough Hoyes is an attorney who helps consumers with debt relief. He’s not representing Cammisuli but we shared with him all emails and documents related to his case.

“Obviously, something is out of whack there,” Hoyes said. “The fact is collections agencies have to notify you. So the collection agency should be able to give you a copy of the letter they originally sent. Even if it did get lost in the mail, that letter has to be in their system.”

He sees several cases like this where consumers dispute what’s on their credit report.

“Sometimes the charges are justifiable but mistakes happen,” Hoyes said.

But disputing those mistakes is not always easy.

“I think, unfortunately, this is a very common issue,” he said. “So you’ve really got to be the squeaky wheel here. You really got to be pretty aggressive going through all the avenues to dispute this because it’s very frustrating. But hopefully by doing all those things, you can get it resolved.”

As for Cammisuli, Hoyes recommends he just pay the $56.50 but under one condition.

“I would be sending the collections agency something saying, ‘okay, the company says I owe $56.50, will you agree to accept that in full and final settlement of this debt? And you will reflect it properly on my credit report?’ And if they say yes, great, I send them the money and be done.”

Cammisuli is trying something else first. He’s reported the dispute with the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services, or CCTS. It is an independent organization that works to solve disputes between customers and internet companies. He was notified that they are looking into the claims.

“I’m fighting this because I don’t think it’s right and don’t want any other person to go through this.” He said.

If you have an issue, story or question you’d like us to report on, reach out here.