I attended a training school that is currently closed down and no longer exists. It has been 6 years since I attended. I am now getting calls from a collection agency that says I owe them money regarding the classes that I took at the school. The credit agency will not give me information about the classes that I took and the fees. The collection agency was very unhelpful with providing me informarion about anything. However they did have the last 4 digits of my SSN. What should I do for them to leave me alone and prove that I do not owe them any money nor do I want this to show up on my credit report?
2006-12-28 09:05:21 · 6 answers · asked by Key Key 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
Start by reading the link below about the Fair Debt Collections Act.
Once you finish reading it, you will discover that it's NOT your job to prove don't owe it...they have to prove that you do!
Therefore, what you need to do is send them a letter (see debt validation letter below). Demand that they send you copies of contracts, bills, receipts, and everything they have to prove what you owe. This is called "debt validation".
Validating a debt does NOT mean they send you a collection contract between the school and the collection agency. That is NOT proof.
By law, once they get this letter, they have 30 days to respond with this evidence. Until they do, they can NOT proceed with any collection activities. That includes posting to your credit reports.
Also include a statement in your letter telling them to "cease and desist" all further communications with you. That will stop further letter or phone calls.
But be warned....if you do owe this money this letter may prompt them to begin legal action. They still have to produce the validation evidence. I'm going to bet that they do not have it, and since the school is closed they won't be able to get it. In most cases they will send this debt back to the school (original creditor) and back off collections.
2006-12-28 12:19:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You first should have disputed the debt. To do this you have to put it in writing to the company. By law at that point once they receive your letter disputing the debt they have no more than 30 days to send proof of the debt or else you are not liable. What probably happened is somehow your old school sold the debt for pennies on the dollar to the collection agency. Becareful because some of them will go to the extreme if you don't pay a valid debt and if they win a judgement in court they can put a freeze on your bank accounts.
2006-12-28 09:13:12 · answer #2 · answered by reginadlgmirror 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It may be a scam. We got some letter from some phony collection service about some bogus bill that was supposedly not paid 10 years ago! First off there is a statute of limitations on the time limit they have to collect a debt. Our bill is bogus because first off we don' t owe the money, as well as many discrepancies. Go and put the name of the agency on google and use the word 'scam' and see if anything comes up. They could be trying to get money that you DO not owe them.
2006-12-28 09:11:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even if the school went out of business, if you owed them money the collection company has a job to recoup as much as possible to cover losses. There isn't much you can do, really. They most definitely won't have any school records or class records because they are not a school. Their job is to look at a number on a page, and try to collect that amount at all annoying costs. The only thing you can do is provide proof of payment, or pay them. You may want to get an attorney as well. You can't stop them from reporting you to the credit bureau, unfortunately.
2006-12-28 09:11:49 · answer #4 · answered by A T 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
usually regardless of in case you're in the U. S. or Canada in simple terms before signing up for the coursework at a school, there are some information you sign pointing out what the fees you're responsible for in case you drop the path. those will incredibly impact your credit status and maximum in all possibility the result looks bleak for you winning for that reason. even nonetheless, possibly you could communicate with the college and negotiate decrease costs and get the court docket case dropped? Sorry you're having a foul time, and issues get greater effectual for you!
2016-10-06 03:26:41 · answer #5 · answered by huenke 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
have yout attorney write them a letter
2006-12-28 09:12:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋