Consumer complaint received 2026-02-25 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was paid
Company: CAINE & WEINER COMPANY, INC.
State: TX

Complaint narrative:
This complaint is being submitted regarding deceptive business practices, contract misrepresentation, and unfair membership renewal procedures by XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX signed up only for a Virtual Office Agreement ( Account # XXXX ) for the purpose of obtaining a professional business address. No additional services such as phone service, co-working membership, or office access were requested, needed, or used. Despite this XXXX : Added unauthorized services, including a XXXX XXXX XXXX ( Account # XXXX ) without consent. Refused to cancel either agreement, even when cancellation was properly requested. Renewed the virtual office agreement without valid consent and is attempting to enforce automatic renewal as if it were contractually binding. Sent an unauthorized second account to collections while active payments were being drafted for the original virtual office agreement. Uses automated emails as a supposed legal notice and binding renewal which is misleading and not clearly communicated to consumers. Failed to assist when my Office Manager went in person to resolve the matter. Continues attempting to collect on services that were never agreed to, never requested, and never delivered. These actions violate multiple Texas consumer protection statutes and create significant financial harm and confusion for small businesses. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE 1. Unauthorized Services and Contract Misrepresentation XXXX XXXX XXXX signed up only for Virtual Office Agreement ( Account # XXXX ). XXXX added a second account, the Membership Agreement ( Account # XXXX ) for co-working space access, which we never agreed to, never used, and never requested. XXXX then sent this unauthorized account to collections ( Caine & Weiner ). 2. Refusal to Honor Cancellation Requests Despite multiple attempts to cancel including written notices, calls, and an in-person visit XXXX refuses to cancel either account, claiming : The Virtual Office account renewed automatically, The Membership account is locked into commitment until XXXX, And no modification is possible. 3. Automatic Renewal Without Clear Consent XXXX claims that an email sent on XX/XX/XXXX serves as a legally binding renewal notice. This violates Texas requirements for clear and conspicuous disclosure of automatic renewal terms, and constitutes deceptive auto-renewal practices. 4. Billing While Sending Account to Collections XXXX continued to charge the card ending in XXXX, and later added charges to the card ending in XXXX, for the Virtual Office services XXXX and XXXX legitimately requested ( excluding the phone service that was never agreed upon ). Despite these active payments, XXXX simultaneously sent Account # XXXX to collections, demonstrating improper billing practices and a serious lack of internal account accuracy and oversight. XXXX and XXXX added payment information solely for the Virtual Office services that were requested and used. Because the Membership Agreement ( Account # XXXX ) was never authorized, never requested, and never used, we are entitled to a full refund for any charges associated with this unauthorized account. Furthermore, had XXXX billed both accounts at the outset, it would have immediately alerted our accounting department to the error. Instead, XXXX billed only the legitimate Virtual Office account, which created significant confusion and required extensive investigation to determine why an account, one we were actively paying, had been placed in collections. It was only through the detailed review conducted by my Office Manager, XXXX XXXX, that we discovered XXXX had created and added a second, unauthorized account without any disclosure or consent. This pattern of billing irregularities, failure to disclose additional accounts, and sending an actively paid account to collections constitutes deceptive, negligent, and harmful business practices that violate Texas consumer protection laws. 5. Failure of Customer Service and Refusal to Resolve My Office Manager visited the XXXX location directly. XXXX staff refused to assist, provide clarity, or cancel the unauthorized account. Texas Auto-Renewal Law ( Texas Business & Commerce Code 35.52 ) XXXX violated automatic renewal requirements by : Failing to present auto-renewal terms in a clear and conspicuous manner Failing to obtain affirmative consent to renew Failing to provide a simple cancellation procedure Relying solely on auto-generated emails to establish renewal Not providing proper renewal disclosures at the time of contract signing Under Texas law, auto-renewal terms must be : Presented clearly, Accepted by the consumer knowingly, and Supported by a cancellation process that is simple and accessible. XXXX did none of these. Failure to Deliver Services Charging for services never received violates : Texas Business & Commerce Code 17.46 ( b ) ( 9 ) Advertising services with no intent to provide them Texas Finance Code Improper billing and collection conduct XXXX XXXX XXXX never used the co-working membership, never requested it, and yet was billed and sent to collections for it. RESOLUTION REQUESTED I am requesting the Texas Attorney General to : Investigate Regus for deceptive business practices, including unauthorized service additions and misleading renewal processes. Require XXXX to : Cancel both accounts ( Account # XXXX and Account # XXXX ) immediately. Remove all charges related to the unauthorized Membership Agreement. Instruct Caine & Weiner to cease all collection attempts and close the file. Remove all negative marks associated with this erroneous collection. Require XXXX to modify its cancellation and renewal processes to comply with Texas law. Prevent XXXX from placing XXXX XXXX XXXX into future unauthorized renewals. ATTACHMENTS AVAILABLE Emails from XXXX refusing cancellation Payment history showing active billing Collections letters from Caine & Weiner Account summaries Notes from Office Manager visit to XXXX location

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation