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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!ittatc!dcdwest!sdcsvax!sdcc6!celerity!sdo
From: sdo@celerity.UUCP (Steve Oualline)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Mail order problem
Message-ID: <409@celerity.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 18:42:07 EST
Article-I.D.: celerity.409
Posted: Mon Mar 10 18:42:07 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Mar-86 22:12:59 EST
References: <2277@bbnccv.UUCP> <1120@burl.UUCP>
Reply-To: sdo@celerity.UUCP (Steve Oualline)
Distribution: net
Organization: Celerity Computing, San Diego, Ca.
Lines: 30


	I once had a letter send to me that said that I had a 
pre-approved MasterCard waiting for me and all I had to do
was send in a postcard to get it.  No mention was made of any
annual fee, so I sent in the postcard.  The credit card arrived
with a bill for the $25.00 annaul fee.  Since this was the first
time I had heard about an annual fee, I returned the credit
card cut in half and told the company I was not about to pay
for an annual fee.

	For the next several months bills arrived for the annual
fee.  I send the company several letters explaining to them why
I did not owe them any money.  They ignored them.  Finally a bill
arrived that said words to teh effect, "Please pay promptly so that
you won't damage your credit rating".  

	I called the company and told them that 

1) Extortion is demanding money from someone by threating them.

2) They were threating to damage my credit rating if I did not
pay them $25.00 that I did not owe them.

3) I was not going to talk to them again.  My next call would be
to the Attorney General to swear out a criminal complaint.

	That was the last I heard from them.

	Note: If they had done anything to damage my credit rating
I would have sued for libel as well as filing a criminal complaint.