Student Loans are paid off. Now the university is saying I owe more.

Submitted by Negative5025 t3_10q9xgd in personalfinance

Like the title says, I have paid off my student loans. I graduated college back in 2007. I am now getting numerous calls a day from a collections agency saying that I owe the university past tuition and fees still. When I ask for a statement they sent me a PDF that says I owe them money, not a statement of what the chargers are. I don't have a clue if I actually owe anything and even if I do, is this debt not too old to act on? Will paying anything hurt my credit? I'm trying to deal with the university directly but their offices are closed due to bad weather. I'd rather pay them if I do in fact owe something and not some angry dude calling from some supposed law office.

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The_Istrix t1_j6ordni wrote

I'd check your credit report to see if anything from them or the university appears. If the school can't give you direct info and the agency can't give you more information than "you owe us money" I'd assume its fraudulent and dispute the charge with the credit agency if it appears at all. Does the guy on the phone have an accent? Sounds scammy to me.

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Negative5025 OP t1_j6osdv8 wrote

So it is not on my credit report and I had pointed that out to the man on the phone. He said it is up to the university's discretion if they want to go after me like that. He did not have an accent, just an attitude. When I called the bursar's office they told me that the account is too old to find anything and gave me the number to the university collections department (they were closed today due to weather).

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Liquidretro t1_j6ov9in wrote

Ya I would wait to talk to the university directly on this and see. I find it odd this would pop up 16 years later which is over the statute of limitations in most places if it was back from 2007 or earlier.

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Negative5025 OP t1_j6oxv7v wrote

I mentioned on the phone that the debt itself is 15+ years old and I'd figure that it would be past the statute of limitations. He claims that university debt is not subject to the limitations. I just looked up the limitations in the state where I graduated, it is 5 years. I limitations where I live currently is 3 years. So both are well past the 15+ years.

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Liquidretro t1_j6p1klr wrote

Not sure what to tell you but you need to find more info on what the debt is from and then validate it that it's genuine.

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can_math t1_j6orgoo wrote

My thought is that they would have not let you graduate if you owed the university money. Did you receive a Diploma? Have you run your credit report on a regular basis? As long as you have your degree, this debt (if legit) is way too old to even worry about. Also, they are required to give you a statement of what you actually owe so something shady is going on.

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Negative5025 OP t1_j6osrkv wrote

I walked and received transcripts, proof of graduation, etc after I graduated. I opted to not get the diploma as it was an additional $2k or something like that. Money that I definitely didn't have at the time.

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lilithONE t1_j6p9p84 wrote

Call the university directly. This could be a scam.

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CookieAdventure t1_j6pi56r wrote

Refuse to talk to this person. Tell them that from now on all communication must be in writing.

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nails_for_breakfast t1_j6pjrzp wrote

It's probably worth following up with the university, but I would assume it's just a scam. If they call you again tell them they should make all communications by mail and then see what happens

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SheepImitation t1_j6ovm0z wrote

Did you get a letter in 2007 stating you loan(s) was Paid in Full?

Sometimes, you pay what you THINK is the correct amount (on the bill) but you need to always get a payoff amount and pay THAT. The payoff amt takes into consideration the Interest and such paid up to THAT DAY. Otherwise, you may have paid the last full bill, but still owe for the accumulating interest and fees and such from the day the bill was calculated up until the time you paid it.

If you got the Paid in Full letter, explain this and hang up.

If you DO NOT HAVE THIS, ask for proof that you owe the money IN WRITING. Full stop. no negotiating no nothing. You get the paper/proof and will review it. Do not give them access to any accounts and do not send them any money until you get this.

You do also want to check with the Uni as to if you still owe as they ought to have records of this. While this is sounding scammy, it MAY be legit if you never paid the entire debt off and received the Paid in Full letter.

PSA: If/when you pay off your debt, you will receive a letter stating such. THIS IS WORTH GOLD. This is your PROOF that you paid them fully. KEEP IT SAFE. Since this type of situation (rightfully or wrongfully) happens all the time. If you have proof you paid them, the collections ppl can go suck on lemons.

source: I've paid off numerous college/car debts.

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Negative5025 OP t1_j6ox1y5 wrote

Thanks for the reply. I do not remember if I ever received a Paid in Full letter from the University. I did receive one for my student loans, but this debt is apparently separate from my loans according to the angry guy on the phone. I have asked for proof and have said as long as I do not have an itemized statement of what I owe I will not be paying anything. The guy says "nobody gives itemized statements." Ha, I explained that my electricity company tells me exactly how much energy I used and that my student loans came with a monthly statement with a breakdown of all of the fees. Dude just won't take no for an answer.

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can_math t1_j6p7qxe wrote

I paid off my college loans and never received a Paid in Full letter. I did take a screen shot of the account showing a zero balance. I had all Direct loans (government). When I graduated in 2006, we weren’t able to receive a diploma without having a zero balance with the University Registrar. That is crazy that it was going to cost you extra for a diploma! To me that’s a package deal with a college degree.

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