I recv'd a letter from a collections agency for my son's old private school (He hasn't been a student there since 1999) stating I owed an amount. Well of course I disputed the amount because I don't owe anything and if I do this is the first I have hear of it. Well I just recv'd another letter saying the records show the balance to be correct. I don't know what to do. I don't know my right. But I know I don't owe this school any money. Please help!!!
What state are you in? If they sent a statement like that, it is NOT validation. Send them another one, asking for the original document that created the debt. Do LOTS of homework: read the newbies section over and over and then look for other resources.
School debts are a different kind of animal. I know public school debts have crazy, ugly rules of their own, but private is usually easier to deal with. Since it's a CA that's collecting, FDCPA rules still apply. In Maryland, open and written contract debts have a 3 year statute of limitations, where TX is 4 years. Either way, if the debt claims delinquencies from 1999, it's hell and gone from the SOL. Most states have statutes applying to school finances in their state laws, so dig through those. In the meantime, I would keep pushing the CA for validation. If you don't think you owe this debt, then you can demand that they prove that you do. Keep the paper trail tight and don't talk on the phone to these nuts.
