Call Kurtis: Credit Score Hit By Alarming Charge

STOCKTON (CBS13) - A Stockton mom says she cancelled her contract with her alarm company twice! When she got hounded by collection agencies, she called Kurtis.

And she's not the only one having problems with this company. Now sent to collections, her credit rating has taken a big hit!

"I was shocked and I showed my husband, look at this," says Brandy De Alba, Stockton resident.

A more than hundred-point drop to their credit score. Brandy says alarm company CastleRock Security sent her to collections for service she says she cancelled twice in writing.

"I've always played by the book and all of a sudden, I'm being punished for something I did not do," says Brandy.

Their credit score is hurting their ability to buy an investment property they hope will put their kids through college.

"This is the house we're hoping to buy," says Brandy.

But it's not just them....we've learned of this fraud lawsuit.

Cook County, Illinois is going after the Illinois based company, claiming CastleRock... "failed to honor the valid cancellations of automatic renewal contracts by customers and continued to charge customers for alarm monitoring services..."

The Better Business Bureau has nearly a thousand complaints against the company.

Brandy says she canceled by regular mail and fax but the Department of Consumer Affairs says you can do something to protect yourself even more.

"As for me, if I were going to cancel a contract, I would send it registered or certified," says Russ Heimerich, Spokesperson for California Dept. of Consumer Affairs.

We contacted CastleRock which told us they have no records of Brandy's cancellation but as a goodwill gesture, they'd buy back the debt from the collection agency. Now, she owes nothing. The company would not comment on the pending lawsuit.

Now Brandy hopes the blemish will be removed from their credit report so they can buy that home.

"I stood up for myself and I won," says Brandy.

They've written the credit bureaus asking the blemish be removed, so their score goes back up.

We'll see what happens.

We asked the company for a letter proving the couple no longer owes the debt but it refused to send one.

That letter could help clear up the credit report.