I returned library books, but they say i still owe $ and they'll withdraw from my tax return?!?

Question

i unwittingly held on to around $1750 worth of library books. about 18 months ago, i realized this and e-mailed my university library and they told me to just return them (i have that e-mail saved). i returned them before i moved out of town. i received letters saying i owed money, then it went into collections, and now the collection agency says they'll take what i owe out of my tax return.

what steps do i take to fight this? do i contact the collection agency or the university first? thing is, there's an obvious disconnect between the two, since i returned them but was still being charged by the school. what should i do, and how long should this take? i could really use my tax return!!

Answer 1

You probably still owe overdue fines. Returning the books doesn't cancel that out. They can sue you for the money, or withhold your transcripts until it's paid, but I don't think that they could take it from your tax refund. There are specific debts that can be taken from your refund, and I've never heard of library fines being one of them. Maybe someone more familiar with the concept can fill us both in on that one.

Answer 2

Print out the email you got that said to return the books, take it to the library and ask to speak to the person whos name is on the email. Find out if they still think you owe money.
IF they say no, tell them to put that in writing, and then tell them to take it out of collections.
IF they say yes, then pay the library - Collection agencies just LOVE to act like bullies and put the fear of God into people. IF you honestly cant afford to pay - then ignore them. IF you can afford to pay - then talk to the library - and make arrangements to pay the library directly - DO NOT pay the agency.

I like to think the agency wont get any commission for being so rude.

IF you honestly dont have the money and you cannot afford to pay - then just ignore them. They will not go to court over a small amount.

We have over $5000 thats in collections and they havent done anything except threaten us on the phone, threaten us with court - my spouse says I cant wait.