Being Threatened with Court and Collections, but I Am Not the Debtor
Several months ago, I was asked to order and pick up a product from a regional business by a friend. I did as asked and recently began receiving e-mails asking me to contact my friend for payment. I clearly stated both in e-mail form and through phone conversations that I was only picking up the shirts and was not affiliated with the company, nor responsible for the bookkeeping of that company. I also asked them to stop contacting me at work about the matter. They continued to contact me at work, first by e-mail and then by phone, and yesterday they threatened to take me to small claims court or send me to collections for non-payment. Doing their job for them, I looked up the company information and provided them with an address and telephone number. This morning, I received another call. It is my understanding that they have contacted the company and sent them two bills. I have never received a bill or invoice. It seems like they are just bullying me to play middle-man for them. Is this legal? Their continued harassment of me at work is putting my job in danger. I have also formally requested that they remove my name from any account they have and replace it with the company and contact information I provided them.
Their argument - my name is on the account because I placed the order and picked it up.
My argument - I was always clear that I was placing an order for a company and they have billed this company as well as contacted them by phone, effectively recognizing that they are the debtor. Also - should I be responsible for their bad business practices...this company had placed several previous orders with them - it should have been charged to that account. When I picked up the order they also clearly stated they would be billing the company. I never provided them with my personal address or phone number, only an e-mail to confirm that the order was ready.
Re: Being Threatened with Court and Collections, but I Am Not the Debtor
Picking up an order is one thing. But you also PLACED the order. That's a huge game changer. Your "friend" put you in a terrible position. If he's got his own business, then he needs to have his EMPLOYEES doing his company business. In order to evaluate any claim the company may have against you personally, versus a claim against the company you CLAIM you were placing the order for, we'd need to see any exact paperwork that constituted the original order.
What does your "friend" say about why they are keeping this issue alive by not paying? Is your friend trying to stick you with the bill too? Do you have any documentation from your friend that the company actually received the delivery from you? See where this is headed? You placed the order. You picked it up. The company in question does business frequently with your friend's company, but on this occasion, the order exchange occurred in a DIFFERENT manner. By someone who wasn't an employee of the company. Might smell a bit fraudulent to some. The biller, in dealing with you, can probably make a pretty strong arguement that since you acted as an agent for ONE type of transaction, the order/pickup, that you get to ALSO be an agent for another type of transaction, the collection portion. Not to imply that they have a collection case against you personally (although they may eventually try that), but YOU are the one who put yourself out to them as acting on behalf of the company. Call your friend and tell them to get off their duff and get the bill paid.
Re: Being Threatened with Court and Collections, but I Am Not the Debtor
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Their argument - my name is on the account because I placed the order and picked it up.
My argument - I was always clear that I was placing an order for a company and they have billed this company as well as contacted them by phone, effectively recognizing that they are the debtor.
If your "friend" has refused to pay and has not acknowledged you were an agent of their company (were authorized to make purchases for their company), you owe the money. Your best action would be to pay the bill and then sue the company you delivered the merchandise to.
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.this company had placed several previous orders with them - it should have been charged to that account.
then why would you be required to place an order?