dzwilliams
New Member
A little under a year ago, I was renting a house by myself. I paid my electric bills, except for the last one, which was around $360-390. I went on a payment plan (not being able to pay it all at once) and, foolishly assuming it was all paid, I stopped paying. A couple months back, I remembered my PGE account and wondered if I still owed them money. I called PGE, which the automatic teller told me the account was down to zero dollars and I was done with the payment. Yesterday, I got a call from some guy who said someone would be dropping by the next day with a court summons for an unpaid bill with the Bonneville Billing and Collections Inc. at an appointed time, which followed through. After going through the papers, it seems ridiculous that this has escalated in such a short time as this, and that they're even troubling to sue for literally $385.02. I've done some research and people have said they're getting sued in the same circumstance, only over a much larger sum of money. The summons doesn't look official at all, like someone just typed it out (no seal, no attorney signature, no court date).
Another interesting point: the summons was dated 12-18-12, exactly a month ago, and they're just now getting it to me. I have a feeling this summons isn't the real deal. It has a docket number and the address for the court, but no date for court appearance.
I know almost nothing about the legal system, what can and can't be done. They've added filing fees and service costs, which ups the total to $467.02. I am perfectly capable of paying this amount, which is required of me in the next 14 days according to the summons; but I'm wondering if there's a way to reach an agreement and pay off the rest of the bill alone, no additional fees attached.
I remember getting tons of calls from different unknown numbers over the past few months. I didn't know the caller number and didn't answer, thinking that if it was important, the caller would leave a message. I was never left a message until yesterday, never sent any mail about this supposed pressing issue. You'd think they would make more of an effort to contact me if it was this important.
I will admit there is a chance of me not having paid the full bill PGE sent me; but I know for a fact that it's not what the collections agency claims it is ($385.02).
My main concern is finding a starting point. What can I do to get to the bottom of this?
Another interesting point: the summons was dated 12-18-12, exactly a month ago, and they're just now getting it to me. I have a feeling this summons isn't the real deal. It has a docket number and the address for the court, but no date for court appearance.
I know almost nothing about the legal system, what can and can't be done. They've added filing fees and service costs, which ups the total to $467.02. I am perfectly capable of paying this amount, which is required of me in the next 14 days according to the summons; but I'm wondering if there's a way to reach an agreement and pay off the rest of the bill alone, no additional fees attached.
I remember getting tons of calls from different unknown numbers over the past few months. I didn't know the caller number and didn't answer, thinking that if it was important, the caller would leave a message. I was never left a message until yesterday, never sent any mail about this supposed pressing issue. You'd think they would make more of an effort to contact me if it was this important.
I will admit there is a chance of me not having paid the full bill PGE sent me; but I know for a fact that it's not what the collections agency claims it is ($385.02).
My main concern is finding a starting point. What can I do to get to the bottom of this?
