Collection Agency Problems, please help guys!

Quote from MNGuy183 : Try getting an official transcript from the school, it will be pretty clear on there whether or not you were in the class according to their records.

^^. You will probably have an F if you were registered and never took any exams

Quote from brsrkdb8er : Thanks for the replies! I will try all options and contact the school. Now, in the end, if I end up paying the debt, either at the initial or a negotiated price, will there be a black mark on my credit history?

Why the hell would you paay? You will be owning to the debt and yes it might show up up on your credit report.

Quote from daniel32 : ^^. You will probably have an F if you were registered and never took any exams Why the hell would you paay? You will be owning to the debt and yes it might show up up on your credit report.

all right. in my case, what would you do?

Quote from brsrkdb8er : all right. in my case, what would you do?

If you pay, you are admitting you are at fault.

Quote from daniel32 : If you pay, you are admitting you are at fault.

I understand that, but what if I simply refuse?

1) it would go on my record indefinitely
2) they could take me to court
3) if i go to court, i could be found guilty and then id look even worse

again, if you were in my position, what would you do?

Quote from brsrkdb8er : I understand that, but what if I simply refuse? 1) it would go on my record indefinitely 2) they could take me to court 3) if i go to court, i could be found guilty and then id look even worse again, if you were in my position, what would you do?

I see your point. Okay do this, call them up. Explain it to them that you want to pay right now but not the full amount. Maybe they will give a 20% discount if you pay right then.

Now if it were me, I would probably sue the college.

Quote from daniel32 : I see your point. Okay do this, call them up. Explain it to them that you want to pay right now but not the full amount. Maybe they will give a 20% discount if you pay right then. Now if it were me, I would probably sue the college.

LOL... Sue the college? For what?!

Quote from cccheel : LOL... Sue the college? For what?!

OP claims he dropped a class from college. Assuming that class does not show up on his transcript, it means that he was not registered for that class. In order words, the college did not have to send the collection to the collection agency.

If a phone call was the only way to drop a class, I would have recorded the phone call via some sort of cassette or SD card recorder via a landline. That way you would have had proof that you dropped the class. :-/

Quote from brsrkdb8er : I understand that, but what if I simply refuse? 1) it would go on my record indefinitely 2) they could take me to court 3) if i go to court, i could be found guilty and then id look even worse again, if you were in my position, what would you do?

I have something in collections. Something I didn't find out till many years after it was on my report. Then never contacted me via mail or phone. Paying the debt would have just brought it back into my credit report so I let it sit.

My amount was around $200 and I never was taken to court. My credit score is above 700 (not great but not bad).

I remember reading a lot about collection agencies and basically they buy the debt from the college at a much lower amount. Then try to collect for a while and sell it to another collection agency or just write it off at the end of the year and get it back in taxes. My mom owed thousands in credit card bills and was never taken to court. I bet her credit score is bad though.

Quote from daniel32 : OP claims he dropped a class from college. Assuming that class does not show up on his transcript, it means that he was not registered for that class. In order words, the college did not have to send the collection to the collection agency.

You are assuming quite a bit there. Plus, even if the college made a mistake, I hardly think a lawsuit is in order. Plus, in order to recover any damages, you'd have to prove some sort of damages, of which there are none here.

Quote from brsrkdb8er : all right. in my case, what would you do?

Have you checked your transcript or at least called the college to see if they have a record of you being enrolled in the course??

Here's what I would have done
1- Find out if the college actually had me enrolled in the course after I dropped it. Do this by asking for a transcript, most schools you can view an unofficial transcript online.

If they didn't have you enrolled, work with the school to get the debt removed, I'm not a lawyer but there has to be a way to get this taken care of.

If they did have you enrolled, talk to the school and understand what went wrong, explain to them the steps you took. Depending on how long ago it was the prof might still have his records from the course proving you never turned in a single assignment or showed up for a single exam.

My advice is work with the school, everyone makes mistakes, hopefully they are willing to help right the one here.

College should have something on your transcript if they think you owe money for it. They usually have dates when you can drop/add with no penalties financially after that your in the class. You would have a failing grade or possibly some type of mark indicated you withdrew. I know in my school you could withdraw later but still be responsible financially you would end up with "W" or something equivalent, better then a E which counted against your GPA.

Quote from cccheel : You are assuming quite a bit there. Plus, even if the college made a mistake, I hardly think a lawsuit is in order. Plus, in order to recover any damages, you'd have to prove some sort of damages, of which there are none here.

just wait till it hits his credit report.

Typically when you're enrolled in a course, you have to submit a drop form when you decide to drop a class at the Registrar. This has to be done within the first week of classes in the new semester. Typically it's within 4-7 days for 100% tuition refund. Of course you will receive a receipt when the course is dropped. If a course is dropped any later, it's usually 75% of tuition, 50%, etc...

If you just walked away from the course without letting the school know, you owe them the money. It's like opening a cell phone account and then decide not to use their services a few days later only to complain about the bill that you'll get at the end of the monthly cycle.