Question on delinquent payment

[Floops]

Hey friends. I'll try and give the simple nitty gritty.

I live in PA, and I learned only days ago from a University I attended that I am delinquent on payments. Of course, by the time I've gotten to this mail, their warning date of sending it to collections has passed, so it's now in there apparently, but my issue really is on the payment and some questions.

First, according to my record (of what I can see; we'll return to this) this delinquent payment was flagged on my account in February of last year. This immediately is of concern: I've not been in the schooling system since Fall 2014. Why am I being flagged for a payment 14 months after I've been at the school? Unless I am mistaken, if you fail to pay off your current semester's costs, you cannot register for the next semester. This means, according to the flag, I could have registered for anything in 2015 with no issue, because I was marked three semesters since my last visit.

It gets better. I look on my profile to look at the balance I owe. It's blank. I owe nothing according to the internals of this system. I look up my account history, so I can have a record of what was paid as I inquire to find out where this cost came from; this too is blank page. I look up my account and set the settings to all activity regarding payments, and once again it's blank. I have no record in their system of ever paying for anything, and considering the cost they're charging me for, I know for a fact on their end they have payments. I can only assume two possibilities here:

- There may in fact be a missed payment, but I would require where it's missing; I want proof, and the fact I have a blank history in their system, I do not feel comfortable paying a dime unless I have documentation that they have X in what I paid, and Y is indeed the missing amount they're charging me for.
- This may be an automated charge, like for example, say a graduation fee. Considering I've gotten these letters two years after I've been at the school, looking up my profile, it claims I would have graduated in December 2016, so these are automated letters. I can only assume that when graduating, there may be fees for the services that they're billing me for, but the fact I left is a sign that I have not graduated, and thus, haven't actually paid for services I don't need.

This leads me to ask many of you guys the following questions.

- Would a missing payment in one semester automatically prevent me from registering for the following semester and not be something that takes a year to click in?
- Is the school obligated to give me records on what I paid and prove to me what I owe beyond a letter with a cost on it that lacks specific context?
- What in the world do I do now knowing this is in collections?

These are the questions that come to mind, so perhaps you guys can help me out. If I've posted in the wrong place, feel free to berate me and move the thread. I just want advice and information.

 

[adjusterjack]

This is as good a place as any. We all read all the forums.

First thing you have to understand is that this is a contract issue. You had a contract with the school.

If you didn't pay for something, you were in breach of contract and PA allows 4 years for an aggrieved party to file suit for breach of contract so there was no obligation on the part of the school to hunt you down right away.

by the time I've gotten to this mail,

What does that mean? Do you just throw two years worth of mail into a drawer?

First, according to my record (of what I can see; we'll return to this) this delinquent payment was flagged on my account in February of last year. This immediately is of concern: I've not been in the schooling system since Fall 2014. Why am I being flagged for a payment 14 months after I've been at the school? Unless I am mistaken, if you fail to pay off your current semester's costs, you cannot register for the next semester. This means, according to the flag, I could have registered for anything in 2015 with no issue, because I was marked three semesters since my last visit.

I have no idea what you are trying to say there, suffice to say that it is irrelevant with regard to whether or not you owe the money.

It gets better. I look on my profile to look at the balance I owe. It's blank. I owe nothing according to the internals of this system. I look up my account history, so I can have a record of what was paid as I inquire to find out where this cost came from; this too is blank page. I look up my account and set the settings to all activity regarding payments, and once again it's blank. I have no record in their system of ever paying for anything,

It's possible that the school purges the records once the account is turned over to the collection agency.

So, what the school has or doesn't have on record is no longer an issue. It's what the collection agency has in its records that counts.

There may in fact be a missed payment, but I would require where it's missing; I want proof, and the fact I have a blank history in their system, I do not feel comfortable paying a dime unless I have documentation that they have X in what I paid, and Y is indeed the missing amount they're charging me for.

Ask the collection agency for it. You are entitled to the documentation of the debt.

- Would a missing payment in one semester automatically prevent me from registering for the following semester and not be something that takes a year to click in?

Irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

- Is the school obligated to give me records on what I paid and prove to me what I owe beyond a letter with a cost on it that lacks specific context?

No, but the collection agency would have to provide proof of the debt.

- What in the world do I do now knowing this is in collections?

Contact the collection agency (IN WRITING) and demand documentation of what you owe.

 

[Floops]

This is as good a place as any. We all read all the forums.

First thing you have to understand is that this is a contract issue. You had a contract with the school.

If you didn't pay for something, you were in breach of contract and PA allows 4 years for an aggrieved party to file suit for breach of contract so there was no obligation on the part of the school to hunt you down right away.

To my knowledge, everything was being paid for. My parents footed the bill and we had automatic payments IIRC. I cannot verify payments because I have nothing to contrast it with costs.

This is why I asked if they can prevent you from registering for a following semester if you fail to pay off the current one. Assuming that's so, if I owed money, I would have had a freeze closer to the time I was actually there.

What does that mean? Do you just throw two years worth of mail into a drawer?

The mail bit is a funny situation. My brother moved a box from near the front door to the stairs (I'm on the second floor). A few days ago, I decided to move it as it was an empty box, and there were letters under it. One was from the school, dated over 30 days ago, and gave a warning that 15 days after sending it out, it would be forwarded to collections. You can imagine this is awfully amusing to this problem.

Normally the mail I get from them I know of as it's in the house, and it's always junk mail. I got to it at a much later date than it was sent was my original point.

Ask the collection agency for it. You are entitled to the documentation of the debt.

This is a problem. All I was told was it was sent to the Office of the Attorney General of the state. What in the world am I to do there?

No, but the collection agency would have to provide proof of the debt.



Contact the collection agency (IN WRITING) and demand documentation of what you owe.

This goes back to the above point. I've not been given contact information to whom I should be calling. The first thing I wish to know is if the charge is legit: I want context. If something wasn't paid in 2014, I want proof of this. If it's something like a graduation fee, I will be challenging it, for I didn't graduate and shouldn't be paying for something that does not apply to me.

I've contacted the school at the start of this weekend, for that's all I have to really go on.

 

[adjusterjack]

One was from the school, dated over 30 days ago, and gave a warning that 15 days after sending it out, it would be forwarded to collections.

All I was told was it was sent to the Office of the Attorney General of the state. What in the world am I to do there?

Start Monday by calling whoever sent you that letter. There may be nothing helpful online available to you but that person may have access to a file that can provide you with what you need to know.

Come back to this thread after you do that and report the results.

No sense in "what ifs" until you do that.