7 On Your Side: East Bay couple refutes previously settled DISH Network bill

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- Once a debt has been settled you shouldn't get a bill for it years later and yet, that's exactly what happened to a retired East Bay couple.

They turned to 7 On Your Side for help.

The original bill was a mistake, but years later it was hard to prove. A couple received a demand to pay hundreds of dollars they didn't owe, or they would lose their good credit.

Margaret Hitt of Antioch saves absolutely everything, her great, great grandfather's last letter from the Civil War, her grandson's first home-run ball, even a hotel menu from 1965. Her penchant for saving may seem overboard, but it came in handy the other day.

Out of the blue, Hitt and her husband William got a collection notice from DISH Network. It said they had to pay $355, or their credit would take a hit.

"I was really stunned and kind of caught off guard," Margaret Hitt said. "And to me it's kind of scary when they say, 'We're going to report you.'"

However, the couple says the bill is a big mistake, an old, big mistake. It began four years ago when they canceled DISH service. They had to return their receivers, but DISH only wanted certain models back.

Margaret still has the instructions that DISH sent them four years ago.

"Right here it says they should only return receivers with the following model numbers,"Hitt said. "It said, 'Receivers not listed should be disposed of in a responsible manner.'"

The couple had three receivers. Only two were on that list, so they returned those two. And the third one is the one thing Magaret Hitt didn't save.

"We destroyed it," Margaret Hitt said.

Weeks later, DISH sent them a bill for that third receiver. Margaret told dish they recycled it. And she never heard from DISH again.

Until now, four years later, they received a collections notice.

7 On Your Side contacted DISH and right away, the company called Hitt and said her balance is now zero.

DISH erased the charge, but would not explain it, telling 7 On Your Side: "While we cannot disclose private details about a customer's account, we take customer satisfaction seriously and were able to resolve the situation."

"It's fixed, thanks to 7 On Your Side," Hitt said.

Hitt wishes she had simply sent all three receivers back to avoid this problem. If you have to return leased equipment for cable or satellite service, keep documents, model numbers, photos and receipts. You just might need them.