Verizon Mishandled Phone Return, 'Repackaged' Devices as New, Alleges Complaint

in the suit are the TCC Bellefontaine Verizon store in Bellefontaine, Ohio, Verizon itself, the debt collection firm I.C. System and the Equifax, Trans Union and Experian credit reporting agencies (CRAs). Bellefontaine resident DeLong visited TCC in July to ask about switching wireless carriers from AT&T and Verizon, the complaint said. He was told if he wasn’t satisfied with the switch, he could go back to AT&T within 30 days without being charged, and AT&T confirmed it. After switching, DeLong experienced connection “lags and dropped calls,” the complaint said, so he switched back to AT&T, canceled the Verizon contract, “timely returned” the phones to TCC, and received a return receipt showing TCC accepted the return, it said. Verizon didn’t notify DeLong of the return, and it “repackaged the phones as new,” despite having no right to do so, alleged the complaint. In September, Verizon demanded that DeLong pay $6,109.63; DeLong notified Verizon the charge was an error, it said. DeLong received a bill for the same amount the next month, and again notified Verizon of the error. In a November letter, I.C. System informed DeLong it was seeking to collect a debt on behalf of Verizon for $6,109.63 plus $610.96 in fees. Later that month, DeLong had a conference call with Verizon and the store, during which Verizon and TCC acknowledged DeLong had returned the phones. When DeLong called I.C. System to say he didn’t owe Verizon money, the debt collection firm “disregarded” his explanation, the complaint said, and continued to pursue payment. In December, DeLong received credit reports from the three CRAs, each showing debts of $6,720.59, it said. He hired a lawyer, who sent a debt validation letter Jan. 2 to I.C. System, disputing the alleged debt and requesting validation, the complaint said. On Jan. 17, DeLong received a letter from I.C. System confirming it would “no longer be pursuing the debt,” it said. He disputed the “false, inaccurate and misleading” reporting of debt by the CRAs, none of which conducted a “reasonable reinvestigation” as required by the FCRA, the complaint said. As a result of the CRAs’ actions, DeLong’s credit was adversely affected, he has had difficulty buying a home, and he has had to search for homes with a higher interest rate, the complaint said. He also experiences “severe emotional distress, including anxiety, stress, and sleepless nights,” and suffered over $25,000 in damages as a result of the defendants’ "actions and inactions," it said. DeLong claims violations of the Ohio Consumer Protection Act, plus negligence, fraudulent inducement, conversion and unjust enrichment vs. TCC. He brings FCRA claims vs. Verizon and the CRAs and a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act vs. I.C. System. The plaintiff requests maximum statutory damages, plus actual, emotional, general, punitive and other damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.