My bills WERE all paid 4 years ago, but now they want more?
September 19, 2013 3:37 PM Subscribe
So imagine you attended a private Pennsylvania University. You received your diploma and all the certified transcripts you needed for your job search. Now, 4 years later, you ask for another transcript but are told there is a hold on your account because they think you owe over $1,000 due to a mistake they apparently made six years ago. Phone calls, emails, certified mail have all failed to get action, and you NEED the transcript, but you don't have that kind of money.
What are your rights in this case? Can they just hold your transcript hostage?
Ideas? Anyone? this is extremely frustrating!
Response by poster: Yes, it must be official, it's for a certification. No one has even verified what the course is I supposedly owe for, and there are going to start being late fees added on if I don't pay.
posted by mmf at 4:39 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by mmf at 4:39 PM on September 19, 2013
I would try an academic version of Consumerist's Executive Email Carpet Bomb. So instead of the company's top executives, figure out the institution's top executives. Chancellor, Deans, Provost, Vice-Provost, Bursar, etc. -- whatever your institution has. The key is to craft a very concise, factual letter. You can include the institution's newspaper, too.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
Did you ask if a payment plan is available? I say that because if you agree to pay a small amount of the total bill up front in exchange for your transcripts, you get the cert and everything is good. If you actually owe the money, you're on a payment plan, and if it ends up you don't, you get a refund.
posted by Annika Cicada at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
I also agree that the ombudsman is the place to go. Also the EECB couldn't hurt.
posted by radioamy at 5:04 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by radioamy at 5:04 PM on September 19, 2013
Are you residing in PA still? Contact your rep in your state government if you are. They have people who can sometimes be helpful about such things. And research what the longevity of debts being owed can be, too.
posted by zizzle at 6:12 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zizzle at 6:12 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
IANAL but it's been my experience that holding the transcript hostage is a universal approach to debt collection in institutions of higher learning. So I think, yes, they can do that, and they will ,until the debt is paid or cleared.
It sounds like your problem is that you were incorrectly registered and billed for a class. To fix that involves clarifying with two offices, the Registrar's (which you need to persuade that you never registered for the class, that this is their error, and that it is important that they eliminate the need to collect from their end) and the Bursar or Business Office (which you need to persuade that the debt is cleared, so they can release the lock on transcript release.) It is important to understand that you cannot get traction with either of these offices by talking to them about the transcript, even if that's all that matters to you. Your approach needs to be all about the debt - that it isn't your debt, that it was their error, and that it is their responsibility to rectify the error.
I would start over with the Registrar's office, and I would handle this by phone, keeping a record of the calls and people I spoke to. Leave the transcript out of it completely, except if you want to underscore the fact you have just discovered their error of six years ago. Make the point that you don't owe this money and that they need to make it right with the Business Office. There is a mechanism to address this. You just need to keep your cool and force it out of them.
I have great sympathy for you. Some universities not only hold transcripts but send debts on to collection agencies - I've known people who've discovered their credit records were hurt for low-dollar library fines they didn't know they'd incurred because they moved right after leaving school. Good luck.
posted by gingerest at 6:35 PM on September 19, 2013 [4 favorites]
It sounds like your problem is that you were incorrectly registered and billed for a class. To fix that involves clarifying with two offices, the Registrar's (which you need to persuade that you never registered for the class, that this is their error, and that it is important that they eliminate the need to collect from their end) and the Bursar or Business Office (which you need to persuade that the debt is cleared, so they can release the lock on transcript release.) It is important to understand that you cannot get traction with either of these offices by talking to them about the transcript, even if that's all that matters to you. Your approach needs to be all about the debt - that it isn't your debt, that it was their error, and that it is their responsibility to rectify the error.
I would start over with the Registrar's office, and I would handle this by phone, keeping a record of the calls and people I spoke to. Leave the transcript out of it completely, except if you want to underscore the fact you have just discovered their error of six years ago. Make the point that you don't owe this money and that they need to make it right with the Business Office. There is a mechanism to address this. You just need to keep your cool and force it out of them.
I have great sympathy for you. Some universities not only hold transcripts but send debts on to collection agencies - I've known people who've discovered their credit records were hurt for low-dollar library fines they didn't know they'd incurred because they moved right after leaving school. Good luck.
posted by gingerest at 6:35 PM on September 19, 2013 [4 favorites]
No one has even verified what the course is I supposedly owe for, and there are going to start being late fees added on if I don't pay.
I find it very odd that a supposed six year old debt is just now going to start accruing late fees. It strongly implies that something has gone badly wrong on their end. I would insist that they send an actual billing statement detailing what class the bill is for, and when exactly they think you incurred it. I also agree that going through the ombudsman is a good idea. Also, is it possible to get an unofficial transcript to see if there's a class on there that you didn't take (and that isn't on your old certified transcripts)?
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:58 PM on September 19, 2013
I find it very odd that a supposed six year old debt is just now going to start accruing late fees. It strongly implies that something has gone badly wrong on their end. I would insist that they send an actual billing statement detailing what class the bill is for, and when exactly they think you incurred it. I also agree that going through the ombudsman is a good idea. Also, is it possible to get an unofficial transcript to see if there's a class on there that you didn't take (and that isn't on your old certified transcripts)?
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:58 PM on September 19, 2013
I say that because if you agree to pay a small amount of the total bill up front in exchange for your transcripts
Be very careful doing this. A typical debt-collector's tactic is to get you on a payment plan or otherwise get you to pay a trivial amount of the alleged debt. In doing so, you basically agree that the debt is valid, and lose substantial rights to dispute it later.
Do not pay a cent if the debt is in dispute.
I'd contact whatever agency is doing the certification and explain that you cannot obtain an official transcript at the current time owing to problems on the university's end, and see if they will flex. I've had professional agencies be ... unexpectedly accommodating ... to me in the past, presumably because they wanted my $$. Keep in mind that you may well be the customer in that particular transaction. I wouldn't reveal that it's a collection / financial dispute, but instead frame it as more of a ridiculous bureaucratic problem that's not your fault, and see what they can do for you.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:56 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
Be very careful doing this. A typical debt-collector's tactic is to get you on a payment plan or otherwise get you to pay a trivial amount of the alleged debt. In doing so, you basically agree that the debt is valid, and lose substantial rights to dispute it later.
Do not pay a cent if the debt is in dispute.
I'd contact whatever agency is doing the certification and explain that you cannot obtain an official transcript at the current time owing to problems on the university's end, and see if they will flex. I've had professional agencies be ... unexpectedly accommodating ... to me in the past, presumably because they wanted my $$. Keep in mind that you may well be the customer in that particular transaction. I wouldn't reveal that it's a collection / financial dispute, but instead frame it as more of a ridiculous bureaucratic problem that's not your fault, and see what they can do for you.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:56 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
Tell them you do not acknowledge the debt and that you do not believe that you owe it. Just adding that to the above. IANAL.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 9:18 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 9:18 PM on September 19, 2013
If it's a private university, particularly if it's small (e.g., Bryn Mawr, Hanover, Swarthmore, etc), you could try reaching out directly to whoever is in charge of alumni relations. Many small private universities are constantly trying to increase the percentage of alums donating and to increase alumni investment in the college, so people in that office are going to have a lot more incentive to try to help you figure out what is going on and resolve it (because they care about you being happy) than are people in the burser's or registrar's office.
As with most things of this nature, it's all about being really polite to the person you're talking to or writing to but expressing frustration about an administrative problem that no one seems to want to help you with. Let them know exactly what you would like from them, e.g. "I love College X and have always been proud of my time there. However, I've lately hit a very puzzling administrative road-block in my dealings with the college and it's been very frustrating to feel like no one can help me or even give me a straight answer about what is going on. Since I no longer live in the area, I can't simply come in and sit down with someone to try to resolve this. I suspect there's been some sort of data error, but I've had no luck getting anyone in the registrar's office to help me unravel and resolve this issue. Is there anyone in your office that can help me?"
Worth a try, anyway.
posted by iminurmefi at 9:12 AM on September 20, 2013 [4 favorites]
As with most things of this nature, it's all about being really polite to the person you're talking to or writing to but expressing frustration about an administrative problem that no one seems to want to help you with. Let them know exactly what you would like from them, e.g. "I love College X and have always been proud of my time there. However, I've lately hit a very puzzling administrative road-block in my dealings with the college and it's been very frustrating to feel like no one can help me or even give me a straight answer about what is going on. Since I no longer live in the area, I can't simply come in and sit down with someone to try to resolve this. I suspect there's been some sort of data error, but I've had no luck getting anyone in the registrar's office to help me unravel and resolve this issue. Is there anyone in your office that can help me?"
Worth a try, anyway.
posted by iminurmefi at 9:12 AM on September 20, 2013 [4 favorites]
I've been in a very similar situation. I got screwed.
I withdrew from an amateurish program. They either lost the record of my withdrawal or chose to charge me anyway. I found out four years later.
It's horrid, but hiring a lawyer would've been much more expensive. I will never look at educational institutions in a good light again.
This one has you. Unless you can open a political back door, I'd suggest entering into a payment plan. They will deny any financial records you hold (it's not their job to care) and insist purely on your payment of the false debt. They will also deny you access to any financial records they hold. Fuck them. Move on without the transcript and with the knowledge.
It will hit your credit, though, so consider that.
posted by converge at 3:26 AM on September 23, 2013
I withdrew from an amateurish program. They either lost the record of my withdrawal or chose to charge me anyway. I found out four years later.
It's horrid, but hiring a lawyer would've been much more expensive. I will never look at educational institutions in a good light again.
This one has you. Unless you can open a political back door, I'd suggest entering into a payment plan. They will deny any financial records you hold (it's not their job to care) and insist purely on your payment of the false debt. They will also deny you access to any financial records they hold. Fuck them. Move on without the transcript and with the knowledge.
It will hit your credit, though, so consider that.
posted by converge at 3:26 AM on September 23, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by exogenous at 3:53 PM on September 19, 2013 [4 favorites]