I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010.
Prior to that, I joined a local gym. They use a billing service that seems to be a national thing that works with smaller gyms.
Earlier this year, I went in and canceled my account (or so I thought). The employee at the counter told me I was canceled, have a nice day, etc. I found out later, when they tried to bill my expired debit card, that they were still billing my account. When I called to find out what the heck was going on, I was told that they require a certified letter (not just a regular letter, and in-person doesn't count) to cancel an account. I sent them a certified letter to cancel the account.
Now they're still calling me, telling me that my account is past-due and they can't cancel the account until I bring it up to date. They're going to keep adding to my balance every month until I pay it off.
I'm pretty pissed at the shady business going on here. An employee told me I was canceled (of course didn't give me a receipt, and I wasn't smart enough to ask for one), then I find out I'm not. I'm getting the runaround from the manager at the local place and the billing place, both pointing fingers at the other. They're charging me a $30 "return payment" fee because they tried to charge my debit card after it had expired - of course they never called to ask for a new card number until it was too late.
Since the contract was signed before the bankruptcy, legally is this considered a debt incurred before the bankruptcy (and thus subject to discharge)? Or because the charges happened afterward, is this considered after and therefore separate?
I'm not really worried about the $50, I can afford to pay that if I have to. I'm just pissed at the whole situation. At the same time, I'm working hard to rebuild my credit post-bankruptcy and don't want this black mark showing up. Their contract doesn't have my social security number, and they haven't produced a copy of it that actually has my signature, so I'm not sure they really could do that if they wanted to.
Advice?
Prior to that, I joined a local gym. They use a billing service that seems to be a national thing that works with smaller gyms.
Earlier this year, I went in and canceled my account (or so I thought). The employee at the counter told me I was canceled, have a nice day, etc. I found out later, when they tried to bill my expired debit card, that they were still billing my account. When I called to find out what the heck was going on, I was told that they require a certified letter (not just a regular letter, and in-person doesn't count) to cancel an account. I sent them a certified letter to cancel the account.
Now they're still calling me, telling me that my account is past-due and they can't cancel the account until I bring it up to date. They're going to keep adding to my balance every month until I pay it off.
I'm pretty pissed at the shady business going on here. An employee told me I was canceled (of course didn't give me a receipt, and I wasn't smart enough to ask for one), then I find out I'm not. I'm getting the runaround from the manager at the local place and the billing place, both pointing fingers at the other. They're charging me a $30 "return payment" fee because they tried to charge my debit card after it had expired - of course they never called to ask for a new card number until it was too late.
Since the contract was signed before the bankruptcy, legally is this considered a debt incurred before the bankruptcy (and thus subject to discharge)? Or because the charges happened afterward, is this considered after and therefore separate?
I'm not really worried about the $50, I can afford to pay that if I have to. I'm just pissed at the whole situation. At the same time, I'm working hard to rebuild my credit post-bankruptcy and don't want this black mark showing up. Their contract doesn't have my social security number, and they haven't produced a copy of it that actually has my signature, so I'm not sure they really could do that if they wanted to.
Advice?
Bankruptcy Wizard
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