Copeco, Inc.

Additional Notes

Complaint Category: Unauthorized changes to the contract or agreement

Complaint: A Copeco representative changed the contract I signed and forged my initials on the change without my knowledge
On November 16, 2011 a Copeco Representative came into my office and I purchased a copier from them. We then settled on a maintenance agreement in the amount of $45 per month. After doing so, she had gone back to her office, realizing she made a mistake and changed the agreement that I had already signed and forged my initials on it. I then began receiving bills from Copeco that were much more than what I was told they would be ($680 every 3 months). When I questioned this, they told me this was what I agreed upon. Another Copeco representative came to my office and showed me his paperwork, and after comparing his contracts with mine, we both discovered that the previous employee of Copeco (who is no longer with the company) had forged the signature. We tried to come to an agreement of an amount that would work for the both of us, however were unable to do so, and we decided to cancel the contract completely, however Copeco still expected payment of the past invoices. I finally agreed to pay the final amount due of $511.47 and mailed the payment on 9/24/2012 check #XXXXX to the address that I had mailed all previous checks (Tomahak Drive, Maumee Ohio). However they have a lawyer now contacting me, yelling and screaming stating that I did not mail the payment and it is my fault that I sent it to the wrong address - but I had sent it to the same address as always. The lawyer then stated that he did not believe that I even mailed the check nor that they forged my signature and told me that I was running my business irresponsibly.

Business Response
This email response is in regards to case# XXXXXXXX - a complaint issued by ****** ****** from ***************

In Ms. ******'s complaint, she indicated that a service agreement between Copeco, Inc. and ***************was altered. After addressing invoices that were in dispute, we concluded that, in fact, the agreement was altered after Ms. ****** originally signed it. It was an unfortunate discovery and by the time it was brought to our attention, the sales rep no longer was employed by Copeco.
In attempt to reach a compromise, our VP Sales (****** ******) discussed the account with Ms. ****** and they settled on the amount owed to Copeco, Inc. prior to terminating the agreement with ***************
Between the time an agreement was made and the time it was paid by Ms. ******, a collection agency was hired. As a standard practice, Copeco will utilize the efforts of an outside collector if an account goes unpaid for a lengthy amount of time. Unfortunately, outside collectors use strong tactics to obtain payments and since they are not employed by Copeco, it is difficult to control their collection practices. We have addressed this with the collection agency and we believe we will see better service going forward.
This is an unfortunate situation but we believe the $511.47 is a fair settlement for the time our service agreement was in place. Since the time of the complaint with your office, Ms. ****** decided not to stop payment on the check. At this point, we consider the matter settled. Please contact me if you need further information.

*************
Director Administration
Copeco, Inc.

Consumer Response
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I feel that Copeco did not fullfill their obligations to our agency. We we agreed to a specific maintenance agreement that was changed after the fact, without my approval, and provided no services for us durint the time we were billed for. I did not stop payment on the check because I was tired of being harrassed by the collection agency who was rude and disrespectful to me as well as my employees on a continual basis (Even after I paid the bill), and frankly I just wanted him to leave us alone because I didn't have time for the nonsense. So I decided to pay the bill and deal with it later. I would like a full refund of the last payment of 511.47. Our agency has paid them a total amount of $1,704.17 for the maintenance agreement, that is far above the amount that was originally agreed upon. I feel that a reimbursement of 511.47 is reasonable. ***************is a non-profit agency and we do not have the funds available to be wasting unnecessary funds. They blatantly violated the contract that I originally signed, therefore I honestly feel as though we should be entitled to a complete refund. 511.47 is all that I am asking for.

Complaint Resolution: BBB determined that while the company addressed the complaint issues, the complainant was dissatisfied and the matter was outside BBB Rules of Arbitration.