I know this isn't much compared to a lot of other people out there. But I hope after telling my story I'll be able to benefit from whatever advice anyone here can give me. I'm a college student and, before I managed to land a real job, I resorted to tutoring through a company called The Academic Advantage. I didn't realize until after I'd committed to pay $88 for my own background check that I wasn't actually an employee of the company. I told them to **** off repeatedly in response to every email they sent me and eventually they invalidated my contract. I'm basically not going to pay this debt on principal. The company wasted my time and wastes both federal funding and Los Angeles Unified School District funds through their shitty No Child Left Behind program. Yes, I know it's immature, but it's what I've decided to do. Disagree all you like but I'm not going to pay it. However, they turned the case of the $88 background check over to a collection agency called AmerAssist. I ignored their original letter from about a month ago and made no reply whatsoever. I've started receiving calls from them. I accidentally answered one call, but I did not reveal who I was and they did not reveal to me that they are a collection agency. I have a cease and desist/validation letter on my shelf that I was about to send off to the collection agency through certified mail. I'm curious if this is the right step for a case this small. All the research I've done indicates that simply not answering my phone might be the correct way to go about this. The agency always uses an ID blocker so it's very, very easy to screen their calls. And since, according to California law, the only thing they can do is take me to superior court. Which I doubt they will do. Even if I were forced to pay for court costs and attorney fees I'm sure the effort required to do so would far outweigh their potential profits. So what should I do? I'd also like to stress that I am not a rapist.
Welcome to the forum! Have you pulled your credit reports to see how this is showing up? I understand you didn't want to pay this on principal, but it's a shame to have 88 bucks leave such a black mark on your credit reports/scores. I'm guessing this is already showing up as a collection/charge-off, so the damage has been done. Definitely DV the collection agency, and I think it's a smart idea to not talk with them and keep everything in writing. Have you disputed through the CRAs as well?
