Hello all, I am a newbie here trying to settle some debts with my former university and transfer to another institution. I had a horrible injury, and like many others experienced hardship as the economy took a dive, so I was unable to complete my degree due to rising costs. I have a balance to settle on my student account to get my transcripts released, which isn't on my credit report. However, I had a personal loan through my school, not a federal loan, that was sold to a CA. I am now able to pay both the loan and the balance on my student account in full. From lurking here, I know that I should deal directly with the original creditor, my school, to settle the debt. So, should I send them a letter detailing I want to pay both balances, the personal loan and the student account balance, or call them to make an agreement? Or should I send a cease and desist letter to the CA first? I'm a bit confused as to the exact order I should take in resolving this problem, so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm very eager to get this done by the end of Nov. so I can get my transcripts and transfer another Univ. for the spring term of 2011.
I came to add, after looking at all 3 credit reports, the CA does not appear for the personal loan, my university still appears for that amount. So, is the CA just some company the Univ. hired, not necessarily sold the debt to?
I would personally call the school first to just get a feel for the situation you're in. Are you 100% sure the debt for the personal loan was sold to the CA, or was it just assigned to them for collection? If you call the school and find out it was sold, you won't be able to work directly with the school for that debt. Of course, you could still take care of paying the student account balance, but you would need to deal directly with the collection agency for the debt that was sold. Have you received any correspondence from the CA yet?
Thanks of your reply Joshua! I have only received two or so letters from the CA since they were given the account, which was a about 2 years ago. I have not sent them any letters either. I will call the school and ask them about my options. Hopefully, I'll be able to update with some progress soon!
