Internet Provider Service Account - Creditor Transferred My Wife's Account to My Account Re-aging Other Debt

On November 2, 2007, my wife received a past due notice for $353. 56 for internet service that never worked. Starting in August 2017 to September 28, 2017, the ISP failed to answer emails, voicemails, calls and their technicians could not fix the connection or fix the service. They lied numerous times and very incompetent. My wife signed the Account and Terms and the account was in her name. The contract indicated the company is obligated to provide the service which they never did and the contract stated, “The Customer is responsible to pay all fees up to the date of termination of the service, except where the ISP is unable to provide services under this agreement through its own negligence.”

The company showed negligence, incompetence, lied and the technicians showed no regards to my service. My wife sent them a letter on July 9, 2008 laying out the position there was no service provided.



Fast forward to May 4, 2010, I signed the contract and signed up with service with the same ISP. We had no other options for internet service so we thought we would try it again. Between July 2008 and May 4, 2010, we received no other notices for my wife's past due amount. We cancelled our service on 6/9/2012 paying our account every month. We received a final bill with my wife's old account attached with a line item of transferring her account to my account saying we owed the same $353.56 from 11/16/2007!!!



I ignored the bill because we never received service and would not be paying for service I never received. I received another bill dated 7/20/12. I sent a certified, signature return letter asking for validation this was my bill. This wasn't my alleged bill. It wasn't in my name, I didn't owe it, I wanted them to prove this was my bill. The owner emailed me and threatened to sue me. He would threaten to sue me regularly over the years.



Fast forward to October 20, 2014, I receive a collections agency letter for the same $353.56 which is now $365.56. As allowed under the FDCPA, I sent a certified, signature return letter within 30 days (signed 11/17/2014) telling the collections agency this was a time-barred debt (six years or more in Michigan) to let the original creditor this as well and if the collection agency went to legal action knowing it was time-barred I would sue them for $1,000. I received another letter from the collection agency dated 11/19/14 telling me the bill remains outstanding and I have ignored their attempts to resolve (which is a lie!). It said I should call or the collection process will proceed. I didn't do anything else.



Fast forward to 5/26/17, the ISP company emailed me another bill, which he has added an arbitrary past due charge of 60 months of $328.80 bringing the new total of $694.36!



I emailed a copy of the collection agency letter indicating the bill is from at this point nearly 10 years now! He said the bill wasn't even 5 years old (working off the premise of the amount when he transferred the balance in 2012). He is now again threatening to sue me, he has the summons and complaint filled out ready to serve me.



Does he have a case or is the bill time-barred?

Can he re-age the account without my permission? Is he allowed to transfer my wife's account under my account?

Was the collection agency allowed to send me another letter after I sent them a letter not to?

If I am sued, would my affirmative defense of the statute of limitation stand?

Would I be able to sue for punitive damages or some other damages? Harassment? Bringing me to court when they know the SOL has run out?

Can he add late charges arbitrarily?

Should I try to settle if you think he will win?

 

I appreciate your response. Makes great sense. I appreciate it.

 

I will. Do you think my SOL defense will work from what you read?

 

Correct, I have all of the letters and proof of accounts and dates. I also did research. Michigan is not a community debt state so I would not be liable for my wife's debts.
Also, the ISP would have needed both of our permission to transfer the accounts.
Yes, both accounts were established at the two separate times by each of us alone with separate account numbers. The last activity on my wife's account was November 2007. Then, in 2012 when we cancelled my account the ISP transferred her old balance to mine.
There forward I disputed the account as mine.

 

This is actually the original creditor doing this. He/the owner has emailed me personally and threatened to sue me for going on ten years now! The crazy thing is this has NEVER appeared on my credit report as a delinquent account. I am looking at my credit report all of the time.
Thanks for your advice. I think if he keeps threatening suing me I will pay. I believe that too.