2002 Tuition Bill

[ms. j]

I last attended the university June 2002.

I was under the impression that I paid ALL debts to the university before transferring. As they had to be paid before my official transcripts would be sent to the new university. During 2002/2003 the univ sent official transcipts to my "new" university.

Recently, I requested another "official" copy and was informed that there was an outstanding balance that's six years old which prevented my records from being releasesd.

-I asked for proof of this claim!

-I asked why I was NEVER billed. ...Accounts Receivable does not know.

-I asked to be sent a detailed bill. Their reply was, "we don't have the old itemized bill because it's been so long....we only have the recent bill showing it's been written off."

-If I owed this amount, why wasn't it sent to a collection agency...I should have know or been informed in some way shape or from prior to six years that was an amount owed..... per Accounts Receivable ..."we don't know why you were not billed or why it was not sent to collections".

-I asked, "If it's been written off...why is it necessary to still pay it?" ....Accounts Receivable replied, "it has been written off, but it's still owed.."

-I AM CONFUSED!

-This was not a student loan.

-I was informed that "it looked like" I had a grant, FA changed the grant after awarding $$$$...and this left a balance.

This is suspect and thorougly incompetent on their part. I don't trust that I owe the amount, because I have ALWAYS paid my bills with the university. Because it's been so long, I don't have the privilege of checking my financial statements or school records to see if there were any discrepancies on my part.

It's been six years-can the university still collect?

Can the university legally hold my transcripts for a bill that past the MI statute of limitations that they never billed or even attempted to collect on?

Thanks

Ms. J

[Robert Nashville/Savannah]

A debt being charged-off has absolutely ZERO to do with whether the debt is owed or not; “charge-off” is simply an accounting term and a bookkeeping entry that is required by law once an unpaid account reaches a certain age and/or is unlikely to be collected (so that assets on the financial statements aren’t overstated).

Yes, as long as the debt is unpaid, the creditor (except in two states) has the right to ask you to pay it…you are free to refuse to pay it. If you refuse to pay and the debt is out of statute then there is very little (actually nothing) they can do to force you to pay.

However, they are under no obligation to release transcripts as long as the debt remains unpaid.

Now, clearly this school bears some of the blame here…that may provide some leverage and allow you to work something out if you get past their AR department.

You could sue and you might be able to prevail in court (getting them to release your transcripts) but that’s difficult to say what would happen - might be risky.

I guess your next step is going to depend on just how badly and how soon you need your transcripts.

[Ravenous Wolf]

I think your best bet for right now is to set an appointment with the bursar's office to see the bursar himself or the second in charge.

You are not going to get anywhere with the bozos who only look at a computer and tell you crap. They got their heads stuck up their [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. You need to talk to the person in charge and firmly insist that you need to personally see a bill or some kind of valid document instead of a computer printout or some screenshot.

And if it doesn't exist, then the debt doesn't exist. You will then make that head honcho squirm because he or she doesn't have anything to back this up.

Unlike a creditor who hides behind an office, this is one of the rare times where you can actually get face time with a person who claims to hold a debt of yours. You just cannot do that with a credit card company or bank; but you can do it with a university.

So this might be your best shot to get some results. And if you do get an appointment, let us know what happens...