rental lease

[Paul]

I live in MA about a year ago I went to WI for a job. While I was there I found an aparatment that I was going to live in while I was working out there. I signed a lease and the next day I decided that the job was not for me and I moved back to MA. I never moved in. The only time I was in the apartment was when they showed it.
About a week ago I got a call from a bill collector who wants $800 from me for not giving sufficient notice of moving out.
Am I obigated once I sign or do I have 3 days?
Do they have to come to MA if they want to sue me?
Can they post negative info in my credit report without a court finding?
Should I just ignore them?
Should I try to negotiate a lesser amoun?
I really don't want to give them $800
Any advice is appreciated.

Paul

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[LorettaL]

As far as I know there's no "cooling off" period for rental agreements, but WI law maybe different; I wouldn't know. If so, you are on the hook for rent up until the time they were able to find someone else to rent that apartment. As for their ability to collect against you, look at the bankruptcy section of this site, specifically the part on "collections of debt" to get a general idea of how they could go about getting you to pay even though you live in MA now. I would not ignore them; call up the bill collector or the original landlord and try and reach an agreement.