New here with a question

I recently received a letter from a collection agency saying that I owed $90 (yes I know that might be considered a ridiculously small amount by some) from a membership I canceled back in late 2006. At the time I lived at a different address, so they must've been sending letters to that address over the years and now the collection agency sent a letter to my Dad's house, where I don't live.

I'm 99% sure that I don't owe this as I paid off the account through the cancellation date back in 06.

With such a small amount at stake, should I just pay it to the creditor even though I don't think I owe it, or should I fight it figuring that they'll just give up since it's such a small amount?

Would that amount screw up my credit?

I appreciate any help as I've never dealt with a CA before.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm sure I paid by check, but I don't have statements from 06 handy and I can't check them online. I ordered my statements from 06 on the phone last friday and I was told that it could take up to 7 business days for them to arrive in the mail.

The letter from the CA says that I have 30 days from the receipt of the letter to dispute the charge in writing or they will assume the debt to be valid. I only have about 2 weeks left of that 30 days. Do I really need to hurry up and send them the letter within the 30 days or does it even matter? I want to hurry up and send the letter, but I want to get the statements to make sure I have the check from 06 showing that I paid the final balance which was actually about $45, not the $90 ($10 in interest) that that they are now saying I owe.

I still have an email from 06 from an account rep who told me they put in the cancel order for me and that my total remaining balance including tax would be $44.something. I don't know where the $88.45 that they want now came from, but I'm sure I paid the $45 that I was told to pay back in 06.

 

What if it turns out that I didn't write a check for it? I may have done something stupid like getting a money order or something like that. Basically, I'm asking, what if I have no paper trail to prove that I paid the amount owed back in 06? Am I just screwed and I need to go ahead and pay them?

 

I looked in the FAQ thread but the FAQ link doesn't work, so I've been looking around the site for answers.

Should I even go through with disputing it?

They're saying I owe $90. Is it really worth it to fight this and go through the trouble for $90?

Is it worth it to go through the first few steps (response letter) and then if they don't work to just go ahead and pay it?

At this point what I have is an email correspondence from back in 2006 with someone that worked for the OC where I requested the cancellation of my account with them and asked for the amount I would owe. She stated that they have a 1 month cancellation policy where they'll charge you for one additional month after you request cancellation. She then told me that my account was paid up to the current date, so the only thing I would owe would be the charge for the final month. She stated that the total amount I would owe through the cancellation date (including tax) would be $44.something. I'm 99% sure I paid it, but I'm not sure if I paid it by check or if I sent in a money order. If I didn't pay by check, then I have no paper trail to show that I actually paid the $44.whatever.

I moved from the address I lived at a month before I requested that they cancel my acct. They may have tried sending notices to me at that address requesting whatever it is they think I owe.

Now I get this letter 2 and a half years later sent to my Dad's house from a collection agency saying I owe $90 ($9 in interest). I haven't lived at my Dad's house since 2000 by the way.

I'm waiting for requested copies of bank acct statements for 2006 that should arrive in about a week or so. Once I get those, I'll know whether I have proof of paying that final $45.

I'm not sure where they get the $81 ($90 - the interest) from? There was never a time where I even owed that and the person who I corresponded with through email even told me that I was all paid up to the current date (at the time) and I would only owe for 1 month. I could see if they were trying to charge me the $45 plus interest, because then it would mean that they didn't receive my payment or at least thought they didn't but this $81 is kind of out of nowhere. That makes me think I should go ahead and dispute it so that the CA has to send me written proof of what I owe.