What should you do if you are sent to collections in error?

I was sent to collections by a company that I dont owe money to. Their website stated to cancel you needed to send an email %26 copy of invoice to their email at least 15 days prior to the billing date. I sent 6 emails requesting cancellation including my phone # in each mails. I never received any more product, I stopped being billed, but I also never received a confirmation of my cancellation. Now they are sending me to collections for their product. I paid for two products, and I only received two products. I really dont feel that it is fair to me, especially because I am so broke and making crappy wages, to have to pay a LOT of money for a product I didn't purchase, or agree by any means to purchase, a year ago. What leg do I have to stand on? What can I do to protect myself in this situation?
Answers:
The first thing you'll want to do is take a step back from everything, take a deep breath, and relax. Often times, if the error is on the part of the complaining company, the collection's agency can take care of it (assuming that it's nothing major). They are provided by all the info from the complaining party (or at least should be). Just go over the information you have with them in a calm manner. Most collections agents can come across as bitter/angry/etc..., but as long as you're civil with them, they should return the favor.
This second part is going off of the assumption that you're in the US (sorry if it sounds funny, but there are a lot of international users on here). First, you can go to the following site (http://lookup.bbb.org/ ) and find the Better Business Bureau site for the state this company's in. There, you can see if there's any history of this kind of behavior by this company (assuming that they are a member of the BBB). Secondly, if things escalate to a desperate point, you can contact the State's Attorney General of the state this company's in. For this, you'd want to make sure that all of your documentation is in order. That info can be looked up here (http://www.naag.org/ ).

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call them and have them do a letter of apology to you and to remove any collection notives from your files.

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If the agreement to purchase the two products included a 'membership' to purchase more, then are completely within their rights to sue you, send you to collections, etc.
Fairness is not really a legal defense. While it is a consideration in contract cases, how you feel about is not. Legal fairness only considers what each party agrees to, interest, and what you get for your money. You may feel ripped off after agreeing to a deal, but that is not a legal basis for reneging on it.
How much you earn, what you planned to do, etc, is irrelevant. If buying the first two products committed you to buying more, then you have breached the contract.

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Being sent to collections for something you don't owe is unfair and infuriating. The good news is our country's legal system protects us from most of the damage in these situations. Unfortunately, you may have to spend a little money to clear this up but you need to do it because the bigger money is in a good credit rating. Just be direct with the company about what happened and what you want them to do for you. Document everything in the event you need to sue. Obtain copies of your credit reports to verify it has been cleared. This may cost a little money but your credit rating is worth it. Just cut your losses here and do what you need to do to get this cleared up. If this company is too incompetent to fix your problem, then you sue. Of course, this will never go to court. Once the company is informed that it is going to court, your problem will magically be resolved.

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Report them to the better business bureau. You can do this online. You would be surprised at how fast companies respond to inquiries made by the BBB.
It also makes you feel better. (Smile)