Is there a way to resolve my situation?

[Petor]

My situation is as follows:

I moved out of campus housing after completing a cancellation of lease form and payed the cancellation fee on the apartment. A few months later i received a statment of charges stating that i owed rent fees (as if i did not move out) for the remainder of the school year (4 months of fees). I dusputed the charges and i was told they had a statement from someone saying that i was living in the apartment, even though someone had moved into my old room after i moved out. My appeal was denied by the housing office and sent to a debt collector. I wrote them a letter stating that it was not a valid claim. It has been almost 2 years since this began.

I checked 3 different credit reports, but nothing is showing. Recently i have been contacted by and attorney attepting to collect the debt (he called me at work, even though i verbally stated it was not okay to call me at work). I just received a letter stating that i need to respond within 30 days.

What can I do? Can they legally collect this "alleged" debt? This is the second agency attempting to collect this debt; does that mean anything? Should i just tell them to take me to court? Do i try explaining things to the attorney attempting to collect? The debt is close to 2500 USD if that helps. The charges i received from the housing just show monthly rent fees, do they need to show how the amount owed was calculated? The person that said i was living in the apartment did not even attend school until 2 months after i moved out, yet they charged me for those prior months.

I know it's quite a bit to handle because it's just so damn rediculous. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[ShortBus]

After they called you, they had 5 days to send you that letter (it's called a "dunning letter"). The clock is now ticking. You need to send them a Debt Validation (DV) letter within 30 days. Definitely do not allow those 30 days to elapse; send it out on Tuesday (post office is closed on Monday) if at all possible. Make sure that you send it out certified mail, return receipt requested (CMRRR). It'll cost you $5.21 in postage, but it's well worth it.

Once they receive your letter, they cannot continue collection activities until they provide you proof that you actually owe them money. I'd recommend that you read the stickies in the "Debt Validation" forum for more information.

Take a deep breath and don't worry though! If this isn't a legit debt, you will not have to pay and it will not ruin your credit. Just follow the rules. And if the collection agency doesn't follow the rules, you could make a few thousand dollars for your troubles.

[flacorps]

Did you sign a lease anyplace else, or is there someone elsewhere who can verify that you lived elsewhere?

Do you know who claimed you still lived there (I hope they weren't an RA) and why they did that? Are there others who can give you affidavits that say you didn't live there? Did anyboy help you move who can give you an affidavit?

Have you got proof you paid the cancellation fee and/or a copy of your cancellation documents?

Is there anything contractually that says if you cancel the residency, then pay the fee ... you can somehow be deemed a holdover tenant rather than a trespasser?

Most importantly, are you still at that school (or trying to use credits from there at your new school) where this dispute could disrupt your further education or availability of needed transcripts?