Consumer complaint received 2015-08-24
Company: McCarthy, Burgess & Wolff, Inc.
State: MI
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed
Sub-issue: Debt is not mine

Complaint:
My business was an advertiser with XXXX, the phone directory. In 2014 I was promised by XXXX representatives from XXXX that I would be able to submit complete, " camera ready '' art for a revised ad. This was in response to my adamant position that I would NOT continue my advertising if I had to keep the current ad. Both representatives, first a woman and then a man as verification promised me that I would have until the following Friday to submit changes and that she would contact me for those changes. That Friday happened to be the day the book started printing. I did not get to change the ad as I was promised. The verbal agreement, the verbal contract entered into with me by both of XXXX 's representatives was breached by XXXX. I fought with XXXX directly for over a year to resolve the charges but they turned the collections of these clearly illegitimate charges over to McCarthy , Burgess & Wolff, ( hereafter MB & W ) of XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, to harass me. 
A representative of MB & W tried alleging that I was subject to the auto-renew portion of their terms and conditions. Terms and conditions that are not made available until AFTER the contract can not be cancelled. The provision being cited in those terms and conditions is the Auto-Renew clause. A clause that is nearly impossible to exercise the cancellation provisions of. A notice to cancel is required to be sent to a special administrator, at a special address. An address that is like a shell game, constantly changing and no honest answer would ever be given to an advertiser wishing to send a cancellation notice as provided for in the Auto-Renew clause. I know, I tried and I was lied to. Later editions of the terms and conditions listed the address as the address on the advertising documents. An address that changed periodically and it seemed with each mailing. 
The only substantiation the MB & W has ever alleged was " eProof. '' XXXX uses a highly suspect and corrupted " voice verify '' process where they are the sole possessors and editors of the recorded conversations between their dishonest representatives and the advertising victims. XXXX & MB & W have both refused to provide transcripts of the entirety of the conversations with the XXXX representatives since the audio played to me over the telephone only had the female Representative 's voice audible and where the advertising client 's ( my ) response should have been was just dead air. This matter had never been legitimate and the XXXX parties to the collection efforts to get me to pay the illegitimate charges have never made any attempt to provide any documentation that legitimizes the charges. 
Now MB & W has resorted to using robocalls from a telephone number out of XXXX to mask their true identities. They expect me to make a toll call to them to further fight their efforts to collect for illegitimate charges that are due to their client 's representatives ' lies. This is NOT a matter of the auto-renew clause that is nearly impossible to terminate due to no honest answer ever being given regarding what address is correct to send the cancellation notice letter to. This is an issue of breach of contract on the part of XXXX 's representatives. XXXX representatives verified a date up until which I could submit ready-for-the-printer ad artwork. Even if I had not relied on the dishonest representative to contact me, if I had contacted them, the book was already printing on the final day I was told. So the simple fact is, XXXX 's representatives made a promise that they KNEW could not be kept. And I am being harassed to pay for their lies. 
There is a tiny portion of the alleged debt that is legitimate and I have agreed to pay that, with conditions. But no discussion is possible except to simply pay the full, illegitimate amount demanded. And since it is illegitimate, I refuse.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation