top dog
Footballguy
I owed the college I attended about $950 in tuition that I never payed. At the time we were struggling to keep our house due to the medical costs and lack of revenue stream due to my wife fighting cancer. I knew I owed the debt and always wanted to take care of it, but I put it off. I don't deny that. It was just way more important at the time to keep from losing the house in foreclosure. We have since gotten our financial situation straightened out and have been back on our feet for a while.
Fast forward to earlier this year. In I think March I receive a statement from the Ohio Attorney General's office that I owed a balance of about $1050 for this tuition. I don't have the statement in front of me for the exact amount. Shortly after that I receive a statement from a bill collector that says that they have the debt, and the balance is now $1,150.16. I assume the difference is the collection costs.
I called the bill collector and set up payment arrangements paying $150 a month to pay the balance off. September was supposed to be the final payment of $93.16. I wrote that check and mailed it to the bill collector and with "Paid in Full" written in the memo.
Saturday I get a letter from the Attorney General's office with the check attached saying that they cannot accept a restrictively endorsed check and my balance is $510.28.
Called the Attorney General's office today to try and figure this out. The rep from the state puts me on hold, contacts the debt collector and puts him on the phone with me who tells me that there is $450.25 in collection costs that were not on any of the statements I received from the State or the Debt Collector. He said he has never seen that happen before.
I want to resolve this debt as I've been working very hard for the past few years to pay off all the outstanding debts we incurred during that period of hardship. It just feels like a hose job considering there was no statement from the state or the debt collector stating these surprise collection charges of a good 47%.
Other than just grabbing my ankles and saying thank you, any advice on handing these previously unstated fees? Are they even legal considering the amount of the debt and the lack of transparency?
Fast forward to earlier this year. In I think March I receive a statement from the Ohio Attorney General's office that I owed a balance of about $1050 for this tuition. I don't have the statement in front of me for the exact amount. Shortly after that I receive a statement from a bill collector that says that they have the debt, and the balance is now $1,150.16. I assume the difference is the collection costs.
I called the bill collector and set up payment arrangements paying $150 a month to pay the balance off. September was supposed to be the final payment of $93.16. I wrote that check and mailed it to the bill collector and with "Paid in Full" written in the memo.
Saturday I get a letter from the Attorney General's office with the check attached saying that they cannot accept a restrictively endorsed check and my balance is $510.28.
Called the Attorney General's office today to try and figure this out. The rep from the state puts me on hold, contacts the debt collector and puts him on the phone with me who tells me that there is $450.25 in collection costs that were not on any of the statements I received from the State or the Debt Collector. He said he has never seen that happen before.
I want to resolve this debt as I've been working very hard for the past few years to pay off all the outstanding debts we incurred during that period of hardship. It just feels like a hose job considering there was no statement from the state or the debt collector stating these surprise collection charges of a good 47%.
Other than just grabbing my ankles and saying thank you, any advice on handing these previously unstated fees? Are they even legal considering the amount of the debt and the lack of transparency?
