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You don't resolve this with the utility company but rather with the credit reporting agency citing an inaccurate negative report. The credit reporting agency will remove the negative item if you can prove that you sent the payment on time, but you need to have some proof. A negative report cannot be added until you are at least 30 days late because that is the minimum on all reports. Sending an account to collection after 10 days is highly unusual.
I did prove this to the agency and they agree this was an odd case. However, they want me to do the leg work to get Unitil to remove it from their agency. They would not provide to me their contact at Unitil what works with the agency or send it back themselves because it was "not their issue".
I think the issue is that you were already delinquent, they worked out a payment plan, and then you fell down in your responsibility to get the payments to them on time. So since you've presumably been in arrears for considerably more than 30 days, I highly suggest you pay them now and worry about lawsuits later.
I think the issue is that you were already delinquent, they worked out a payment plan, and then you fell down in your responsibility to get the payments to them on time. So since you've presumably been in arrears for considerably more than 30 days, I highly suggest you pay them now and worry about lawsuits later.
I completely agree, the OP knew that their bank took time to have payments delivered to the utility company. Did they take steps to either hand send checks, or drop a payment off, or switch their payment date? No..
The fact that it took 10 days for payments to be issued and processed from the bank is not the fault of the utility company, and indeed the payment was LATE...
All of these talks about lawsuits etc is just total BS.. The payment was LATE, due to no fault of the utility company..
To the OP, the best effort you have is first to move your payment date up 10 days, so future payments are not late, and then dispute the late payments with the credit agencies using the forms available on the individual agencies websites...
Next time, DONT BE LATE, and while you claim this was beyond your control, the sending of the account to collections was not in error!!!
Ahh, but that is the point. Bill pay tells me that Unitil will have the payment within 2 business days, which is more than enough time... and again I have the paperwork that shows this. If Unitil tells me that will accept bill pay, and bill pay tells me it is only a few business days for the payment to arrive, how am I suppose to know that Unitil does not accept electronic payments by bill pay and the actually payment will take longer to process because they have to mail it? Remember, I asked Unitil about bill pay and they said it was fine, citing that it will take a day or two to process. I was not informed that bill pay needs to send out a check for them or this mess would of been avoided. I asked and was given wrong information. Bill pay online tells me 2 business days, and that isnt true.
Bill pay tells you the estimated number of days it takes for a company to receive your payment. If its 24 hours, its an electronic payment, if its longer, its a check. They tell you rather clearly how past payments were made also, including check numbers, or electronic transfer numbers.
Most utility companies take electronic transfers, so if your utility company isnt, cancel the electronic transfer and try setting it up again. Be sure to use the full zip code and correct PO # because thats how they link accounts to the business you are paying. (PO addresses are actually bank addresses not utility companies, and physical checks go to the bank and never reach utility companies so they deposit quicker. Banks then send electronic records to the utility companies telling them what deposits were made.) Pull out previously cashed checks and check out the cancellation date on them, this will tell you if the delay was at your banks office, or a delay between the utility banks receiving of payment and sending the records to the utility company.
If the delay was at the utility companies bank, you have a valid complaint, if the delay was at your bank, then you dont.
I hear what people are saying about the delay in payment. Is that Unitil's direct fault? No. But again.. when you ask the Unitil credit department if Bill Pay is ok and you give it a full week buffer, much more than what bill pay says it would take... how does the blame 100 % lay on me?
I am not looking to sue anyone, I just want this back to the way it was.
It would be one thing if the utility said bill pay was fine, but make sure you pay it 2 weeks in advance, just to be safe. They didnt. "Is Bill pay ok, yes it is sir." If I was told that it will take up to 2 weeks to process, then I would of just paid directly on their web site or gone down to my local office. I use bill pay because I use it for all my bill payments.
I hear what people are saying about the delay in payment. Is that Unitil's direct fault? No. But again.. when you ask the Unitil credit department if Bill Pay is ok and you give it a full week buffer, much more than what bill pay says it would take... how does the blame 100 % lay on me?
Because you should have taken action after the first time a payment arrived late. Your utility was generous in that it did not place you in default the first time it happened; however, when the same thing happened a second time, that definitely became reason for concern. When you're using a third party to pay your bills, it is crucial that you follow up and make sure that it gets delivered, and if it doesn't, to make sure that you squeeze that third party until it cries Uncle. I have never had a bank's bill pay perform that poorly, not even Chase.
I didnt know the 1st payment arrive late until I received a collection notice 2 weeks AFTER I sent the second payment.
On the flip side the management at the utility company saw the light and is reversing the problem. It took time and patience to get to the right person.
Glad you got it worked out. In this situation, you probably would have had recourse with both the bank and the utility company and possibly the collection agency as well.
It's hard to say that it is the fault of the OP personally, but it is the fault of the agency the OP selected to process and send the payment, so it's attributable to the OP.
If, on the other hand, the creditor had specified a method for payment, and the creditor's agent had screwed up, that would be attributable to the creditor and the creditor would be in the wrong.
I think the OP has a legitimate complaint against the bill paying company, and I think they should have taken a much more active role in trying to get it resolved. I would consider dumping them and dealing with someone more reliable.
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