collections on a modem fee?
Ok, so here's the story:
Last year I was living in Ottawa; I had been there for a year and had bell internet service with no problems. In mid-August, I decided to move back to Toronto.
The night before we were set to move, I called Bell customer service to ask that my service be transferred to my new apartment. The customer service person proceeded to tell me that since my current contract was almost up, I should sign up for a new internet contract that came bundled with TV and whatever, etc etc for only an extra $10 of what I was paying then. She wouldn't budge on trying to sell me this deal when I insisted that I needed help first and foremost on moving my service to my new apartment and that I did not want to sign up for a new deal. I was already super stressed out from the packing left to do, and I felt that this customer service/sales person was taking advantage of my stressful situation. I hung up on her because of how frustrating the experience was.
The next day, I set out in the van and left Ottawa for the last time, with all my stuff packed. Or so I thought. I had forgotten the modem. My Ottawa apartment was one of those newer condos and the modem had its own little dedicated wall sconce, like a breaker box, with its own door and inside a utility closet. Easy to forget.
Once back in Toronto, I realize I forgot the modem. I'm not doing a 10-hour round trip to retrieve the thing. I call Bell and explain the situation. I explain I can't retrieve the old modem. I ask if they can still move my service to my new apartment. They say yes, and proceed to get me set up. They send over a technician to install my new service and set up a new modem.
Later, I find out that what the Bell customer service person did was to open a new internet account for my new apartment instead of just transferring the old one over. So now they were charging me for two accounts, one of which I no longer used and hadn't been used for months now. It wasn't visible on my Bell account on the website or phone app. I had been getting emails for the bills. I thought that they were merely sending duplicate emails for the same account, until I noticed that the account numbers were different. In my interactions with customer service I had been led to believe that they were helping me transfer the account. Instead, they just opened up a new one and did nothing about the old one.
Sorting out this whole fiasco was incredibly frustrating and Bell extremely unhelpful. In November I decided to cancel my Bell service and switch to a new provider. I returned the new modem they had given me, paid my balances, and considered my hands washed clean of it.
Now, in the past few weeks, they have been sending me that I owe $224 for the old modem. They say it may go to collections. What should I do about this? I am incredibly annoyed and surprised at the gumption these people have to try to continue to squeeze more out of me.
- In Ottawa, they tried to sell me more stuff instead of helping me when I called them in a vulnerable position.
- In my new apartment, they led me to believe they were helping me move my account when instead they opened a new one without telling me the old one still existed. They proceeded to try to double charge me for two accounts. This is some kind of weaponized incompetence.
- Now, months after the accounts have been cancelled, they are trying to collect on their modem. This is after I explained, and they understood, that I couldn't retrieve it. I feel like with this understanding they forfeited the modem. Furthermore, I understand that their modems can't be reused - so it's basically a piece of junk to them at this point.
Any help is appreciated. Happy to provide more context if needed.