Monday, December 19, 2011

I signed a contract with Charter Communications when I was under 18. They are trying to collect. Do I owe?

I live in Texas. When I was 16 I temporarily moved in with my girlfriend (now my ex) for six months. We lived in an apartment, along with her female friend (giggity).





I signed a contract with Charter communications at either 16 or 17. We broke up when I was 17, and I moved to Arizona. I just recently moved back to Texas at age 19 (and I just turned 20 last month).





I live on my own and I tried getting Charter internet. They told me I owe them nearly 800 dollars for not returning a DVR box, and some other random late fees (I guess my ex lied to me when she said she canceled the service after I moved out, and also kept the DVR box).





I disputed this with them, and they told me to take it up with the collection agency. I told them the circumstances surrounding the contract, and they told me to fax them my birth certificate. However, about a week later my grandma gets a letter from them in the mail. I guess they discovered my old Arizona address and re-opened collections, but this time they offered to cut how much I owe by over 50%, telling me I could settle the "debt" for about 400 or so.





I take this as an obvious sign that they realize I legally owe them nothing and want to try and get me to give them money anyway. I refuse to give them any money, as I understand that this type of contract is not legally binding under state or federal law due to my age.





Other factoids:





I was not an emancipated minor.





I was getting money from my dad, and was listed as a dependent, because I was still legally a minor.





I was not even on the lease of the apartment.





I want to file a lawsuit against either Charter of the collections agency, but I keep getting the run around when I call them up demanding they remove the debt. Is it illegal to enter a minor into collections for a debt that is not legally owed?





Can I sue charter or the collections agency for illegally damaging my credit?





I am asking only about the purely legal aspect of this, as the courts don't care about the emotion of it. Am I legally obligated to pay them, and can I sue them? Yes or no, and please go into detail without a moral rant against me.





Thanks.|||Since you were a minor, the contract is invalid, period.|||Your assumption that you are not obligated to pay because you were a minor when you signed the contract is true to a certain extent.





But if you were to read Texas Law then you will be surprised to find out that they can use Rescission to enforce their claim for restitution.


In most contract disputes, a court puts the nonbreaching party in the position he or she would have been in if the contract had not been breached. However, there are times when the court may place the party in the position he or she was in before the contract was executed. Rescission may be selected in cases in which one party intentionally misrepresents a material fact, for example: if one lies on the application in which you did so in being a minor and knowing that you were not legally allowed to enter into a contract.





Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of an important issue of the contract. The presence of fraud in a contractual proceeding makes the contract voidable only by the party upon whom the fraud was perpetrated (in this case it was Charter Communications)!|||With the lenght of time on the outstanding bill. It should ahve been written off as bad debt. You do not have to pay, but they would like you to pay. Legally you were underage and no responsible. That is the mistake of the company.


You will be liable for a high deposit.


Used to proecss credit applications for people.





I would also file a dispute with the 3 credit agencies. Say that you were not legally of age to have the service when you were 16. and this is making a harship on your reporting. WE used to read all the disputes whne people got hit with high deposits. Sometimes you can reduce a deposit when a circumstance as yours was noted.|||I completely side with the above poster. I too had once initiated a contract with Fingerhut for a small card when I was 16. When I did not pay for the card it went to collection with two agencies. I used the online feature on ... I think experien? to post the dispute. They removed it from my credit. I just realized it was on the second one and will be contacting them for removal.





I am not sure if you are a fan of court tv shows, such as Judge Judy/Peoples Court but you can learn a lot of little useful things on them, such as a minor under 18 cannot enter into an agreement with a cell phone, credit card agency, ect and if the agency does issue them credit, it is their responsibility not yours.|||You are legally obligated since you knowingly contracted for and used their services. Age has nothing to do with it. Take the 400 deal and clean up your credit history. Anyone can sue for anything, but collecting is another ball game.

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