believe my cable company violated fair debt credit act. want to know if I have a case? they stopped billing a disputed amount last year and ...

Question

believe my cable company violated fair debt credit act. want to know if I have a case? they stopped billing a disputed amount last year and wrote it off, but when I try to reestablish service (at seasonal home) they demand payment of disputed amount already written off.

Answer

Your cable company is a creditor so the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") does not apply. The FDCPA applies to debt collectors, so if the cable company assigned the debt to a collection agency or sold it to a debt buyer or hired an attorney, those parties would be debt collectors. When you say the cable company wrote it off, do you mean they charged off the debt? If so that is simply taking an asset (a debt that the cable company is owed) and making it a liability (a debt that is not going to be paid). I don't see this as a violation if in fact they charged off the debt because charge off is not an admission that a debt is not owed, it is simply a representation to the IRS that a debt is not collectible. I would need more facts to fully ensure I am properly understanding your scenario. The Michigan Regulation of Collection Practices Act applies to acts of creditors but here, for the reasoning already stated, I am not sure you have a case.