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Our business established a contract with XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX to provide and maintain water filtration and dispensing equipment in our place of business for 3 years, on a monthly basis. We were given a verbal assurance that after 3 years, we could cancel at any time, without any fees or hassles. Initially, the equipment provided was defective and damaged the finish of our floors. The equipment was removed and replaced after a couple months and our business was given credit for the months that the equipment was not available. The technician for the company took photos of damage and gave assurance that the company would pay for repairs or provide credit towards that. In XXXX of XXXX, the office manager for our company contacted XXXX XXXX to notify them that we intended to discontinue service at the end of the year and she wanted to schedule removal of equipment. She was told that the 3-year contract would not be complete until XXXX of XXXX, because our business did not pay for the period during which the equipment was not available, so our contract was not considered activated until XXXX. She submitted an online contact in XXXX of XXXX, confirming cancellation. When I contacted XXXX XXXX in XXXX of XXXX to coordinate removal of the equipment and officially terminate the contract, I was told that they had unilaterally auto-renewed the contract for 3 years as of XXXX, and termination prior to XXXX of XXXX would incur a fee for the entire 3-year period, in addition to a removal fee. At that time, I requested a full accounting of the contract from our finance manager, who determined that no credit had ever been provided for the damage to our facility, and our business had met all obligations of the contract provided, including giving adequate notice of termination. Our business never agreed to any termination fee or removal fee, nor did we agree to renew the agreement for an additional 3 year period. In XXXX of XXXX, I submitted a request for verification of debt and received no response from XXXX XXXX. XXXX XXXX continued to make demands of payment, under threat of collections actions and threats of making adverse reports to damage our business credit. The equipment was eventually removed from the premises. Recently, our business has been receiving collections communications on behalf of XXXX XXXX from a collections firm by the name of Levy, Diamond, Bellows and Associates. This company has also threatened to take legal action without providing any verification of debt. This harassment is causing undue stress and strain on our small business.
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