Tuition Debt sent to Attorney (Collections)

[cinammonkisses]

I will spare everyone the long drawn out drama of what got me into this mess. I'm looking for help.

 

About 6 years ago, my financial aid was taken away. I wrote an appeals letter and won! Since the quarter had already ended, I was told by the school that it was my responsibility to pay the debt. This is not a student loan debt fyi.

 

So, here I am. My tuition debt comes from Univ of Cincinnati. After non-payment for so long, it went to OAG (Ohio Attorney General) and it's now in the hands of a law firm.

 

As of a year ago:

 

Current Principal: $2,868

Current Interest: $252.68

Collection Balance: $1401

 

What should my next step be? I called OAG about a moonth ago to see if they could take the debt back, and was told it's out of their hands now, that all payments need to paid to the law firm. (I haven't received anything in over a year)

 

Should I write and ask about settling the debt? I've tried searching online for similar letters but to no avail. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

[snowpuppy]

The Atty General's office in OH got fussy back a few years ago realizing they were getting cut out of collections activity by the universities. They stepped up their collection efforts and are now the usually the CA for state & community colleges in OH.

 

If you "appealed and won" it sounds like you had a Satisfactory Progress issue (SAP).

 

See if you can strike a deal with the Univ of Cincinnati rather than the AG's office. Tell them you would like to return to school, blah blah and you want a clean slate. The school has the power to call this back from AG and cut out the CA. It's a state debt so you may not be able to have much room for negotiation, if any.

 

Univ of Cin has students answer their phones. Avoid THEM at all costs. Write the Bursar (business office) CMRR.