Debt collection agency

davo10

I think there is a wider issue here. You probably recieved a grant and the tax payer pays for that Uni course to have a certain number of students per year, so yes it did cost something even though you did not attend. Also consider that some other student may have been very glad of your place. Even if you did not hand in your project or sit the exams, the Uni still had to foot the bill for providing that service. You may not want to talk about morals but there are people reading your posts wondering why tthe Uni/taxpayer should have to pay instead of you.

sandin

Tonight i threw out a packet of ham. it cost 2.99. It was unopened but it was 2 weeks past its use by date. I didn;t eat it because I didn't feel like eating ham at the time.

I want Tesco to refund it because I didn't eat it.



Look OP - you're 20, you are an adult and you must accept a little bit of this thing called RESPONSIBILITY. I know that as a kid of the noughties, you were wrapped in cotton wool and decisions were always made for you. But its tiem to wake up to yourself and accept that decisions you amke have consequences.

If you agree to do somethign, then deceide not to do it then it is YOUR responsibility to sort it out.

If you want to take a risk of having a 6 year black mark on your credit record for the sake of €700 or the sake of even ATTEMPTING to negotiate with the college on, then go ahead. But don't start crying when you are refused a car loan.

mysteries1984

Night_Shade wrote: »

Ok, but I really don't want to pay this debt, or all of it anyway.

Would they actually set a debt collector on a former student for €700 and bring me to court, or is it just an empty threat?

Do you think it could be possible that they could accept half the debt in a one off payment or something?

I want to be careful how I play this.

Night_Shade wrote: »

I haven't rang MABS yet, will do in the next hour.

The main thing I would like to know now if there is any way of finding out what track record the university has of using the agencies and people being brought to court for circa €700.

If I found out they don't use an agency or people don't get brought to court for that amount, I wouldn't pay or entertain the thought of paying.



That is exactly why I don't want to pay. I didn't get what I payed for and caused no loss of resources to the college. I think the least that should be done is to have a large portion of the debt written off.

I appreciate that I was an idiot for not informing them at the time, but I was undergoing serious mental health issues. I suffered two losses of loved ones in a 12 month period which affected me badly (they have a record of this, as I was exempt from some course work because of it) and have suffered from depression and a body image disorder at the time and am only coming to terms with it now. (I haven't seen anyone over this yet and have no proof, but have told a family member and there are plans for me to get help in the next couple of months) I don't think any of that will matter to them though.

If you were undergoing mental health issues you might need a doctor's note (although is the body image and depression self diagnosed??). I deferred a year with a doctor's note and managed to avoid paying fees for the few months I went. But I did talk to them about it immediately.

As for court, I don't see why they wouldn't bring you. I got contacted by the debt collectors for a €35 library book I lost so they might go to that length. You're looking for the odds on you being brought to court - nobody here is likely to have them. I doubt colleges/universities broadcast them.

keithclancy

Anyone wrote: »

My Point was the OP doesnt want to pay, not that he cant. Sending him to MABS is a waste of their time, time that they can use to assist people with genuine financial issues.

My point was that MABS are a professional service and would be much better qualified to make the op aware of the consequences of non payment.


IMO Theres a thin line between can't pay and won't pay, sometimes if a debt looks impossible to sort out people just get it in their head that they shouldn't have to pay.

That is all.

CaliforniaDream

I really hope the university takes you to court and wins.
You signed up for the repeat exams, knew the cost, accepted the cost and never told anyone when you decided not to sit them.
You are 100% at fault. People have personal issues all the time and it's not an excuse to ignore debts or obligations.
You don't deserve anyone's pity and I hope people don't continue to try and help you.

cookie1977

The uni is highly unlikely to go to court over 700euro. Most (not all) organisations dont go to court unless the debt is over 1000euro as it may not be worth the cost and risk. I think in this case as soon as the OP explains everything to the university (admittedly they should have done this a long time ago) they will simply draw a line under it.

keithclancy

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

I really hope the university takes you to court and wins.
You signed up for the repeat exams, knew the cost, accepted the cost and never told anyone when you decided not to sit them.
You are 100% at fault. People have personal issues all the time and it's not an excuse to ignore debts or obligations.
You don't deserve anyone's pity and I hope people don't continue to try and help you.

Schadenfreude i/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/ (German: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏdə]) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.[1] This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages.

Cabaal

keithclancy wrote: »

Schadenfreude i/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/ (German: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏdə]) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.[1] This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages.

Perhaps, but this applys to the op at the very least

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty
   [ri-spon-suh-bil-i-tee] Show IPA
noun, plural re·spon·si·bil·i·ties.
1.
the state or fact of being responsible.
2.
an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!
3.
a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.
4.
a person or thing for which one is responsible: A child is a responsibility to its parents.
5.
reliability or dependability, especially in meeting debts or payments.

Dudess

I rented a DVD, didn't watch it and forgot about it - now I owe Xtra Vision fines. They should have known I didn't watch it/forgot about it, because every service provider is psychic! How do I get out of paying this? I really don't want to pay it, unlike everyone else, who just loves paying for services they willingly use.

Africa

I would be interested to know what happens. Personally I wouldnt pay for it but I would have let them know more by now. The truth is you need to call the college and explain it and see what they say. Dont worry about wasting MABS time and such, you need financial advice, thats part of what they are there for. Ultimately these two calls will tell you so much more than we can.

A lot of trolls in here. Come on mods, get the hammer out...

keithclancy

Cabaal wrote: »

Perhaps, but this applys to the op at the very least

Of course it does.

But telling the OP to 'do it or burn in hell' is not very constructive, they need someone to tell them 'how' to do it and what are the consequences of not doing it.

Tell a child to clean their room and they'll walk in a push everything into the corner, this eventually becomes 'will not do it'

Show a child how to clean their room and they'll know how to do it and then continue to do it each time.

Dudess

Africa wrote: »

I would be interested to know what happens. Personally I wouldnt pay for it but I would have let them know more by now. The truth is you need to call the college and explain it and see what they say. Dont worry about wasting MABS time and such, you need financial advice, thats part of what they are there for. Ultimately these two calls will tell you so much more than we can.

A lot of trolls in here. Come on mods, get the hammer out...

"Trolls" meaning people who loathe the "I'm not paying it because I don't want to!" attitude I take it.
There is not one trollish post - there's some pretty crap advice from people who obviously have no concept of personal responsibility all right though.

Faolchu

Night_Shade wrote: »

But it's a ridiculous debt.

So is my mortgage but i still have to pay it, ridiculous in that the amount owen is mor ethan the present value of the asset. but life sucks and i get on with it.

Night_Shade wrote: »

It's for repeat exams that I didn't even do. €240 of it was me just to hand up a project, which wasn't done.

whose fault is that? the uni's? no its yours I assume you registered to do the repeats, if thats the cas ethen you should have told them you would not attend and maybe you wouldnt owe them money.

Night_Shade wrote: »

I really don't want to be tied down with it even though I accept that I'm responsible for it.

LOL we all feel that way about our debts but we are obliged to pay them anyway, get off your arse and pay your deby. get a job and pay 70 a month and it'll be cleared in no time. €70 a month is what 1 maybe 2 nights on the lash every month? think of the additional health benifits ot not drinking those two nights

EDIT: YAY I'm a troll

Dudess

zenno wrote: »

Pay them back 2 euro a week that's good enough for them.

How is it "good enough for them"? Oh you're assuming because it's a big bad company it has plenty of money? Whether that's the case (and you don't know) is immaterial - the money is owed.

Tom Cruise wrote: »

Change ur phone number and tell them you have moved to the UK.
Ignore the threats and have no contact with them.

Don't follow this nonsense OP. Oh these great "crusaders for the little guy" who don't give a hoot that most other people just pay their way. If a company overcharges a person, the company is in the wrong and should be challenged and certainly not paid (rarely happens though). If a person agrees to pay for something, this is provided and then they don't pay, the person is in the wrong, not the company - some folks are just anti-company though and STILL think the company is at fault in those instances.

Africa wrote: »

I wouldnt pay this either if I were you. You didnt get what you paid for in the end, and therefore shouldnt have to.

Didn't get what they paid for? How exactly is the college responsible for this? Oh yeah, it isn't.
 
OP, cop on and talk to the college. Get as much documentation as you can. Your difficult personal circumstances played a huge role in this, to be fair to you, so therefore, advise them - they are not psychic (despite the consensus among some that organisations are - the very same people who no doubt would be whingeing about anything that's too "big brother"). Ignoring debt letters is utterly ridiculous. Say you feel you should not be liable for the full debt (and in fairness circumstances do change but it's not a guarantee they'll accommodate this - however from what I know, third-level institutions are usually pretty accommodating about stuff like this) and see if you can set up an installment plan.

Don't be surprised of your neglect of the correspondence goes against you though.

the_syco

Night_Shade wrote: »

Ok, but I really don't want to pay this debt

When I read this, I stopped reading the thread, and stopped caring about your reasons.

You borrow, you pay it back. With an attitude like yours, I hope they bring you to court, and I hope you admit that you have no intent on paying it so you can be thrown into jail. And then fine you.

Oh, and if you ever need a loan again, I can see you not getting it, as there'll hopefully be a history somewhere of you not repaying your loans.

Africa

yeah... the overall feel of this thread is awful, Ive never seen such disdain from Consumer Issues posters.

At least I have managed to provide some advice. There is a good chance of not having to pay this but I would say that chance has run out as it has been left so long and may be required now for the administrative costs of setting this up. Either way, I think you should call MABS and your college asap.

With the costs of education these days, I feel that it is necessary to fight back against bills like this, plus the fact that its the college you owe the money so I wouldnt worry about the debt collectors too much. Just call the college and get it sorted, and state that you didnt sit them due to medical and personal reasons which could be backed up with medical records, therefore probably should not be paying all of it. Perhaps some of it.

Posters comparing it to their other bills like mortgage and such; get a clue. Its nothing like that.

Dudess

Others have also provided advice, not sure what you're implying there. Oh it's because it's advice you don't like eh? The OP's attitude stinks, but no... it's the other posters who have the bad attitude.
If the OP had just posted "I owe money to my college but I dropped out due to difficult circumstances and didn't sit my exams and now I've a debt and no money, can anyone offer advice?" people wouldn't be so hostile. It's the ignoring of the notices and the "I don't want to pay, the college should be psychic" stuff that winds people up.

As for the "fight costs of education" stuff - translation: "I will try to figure out a way to benefit myself but let everyone else pay no prob."

Where should the money paying for education come from if you feel it is so high? I dropped out back in the late 90s and faced a similar issue. Didn't occur to me to have a sense of entitlement about it though, but I spoke to the college which helped me out.

Linoge

I would absolutely always say to pay your debts, but in this instance, do you realistically have one?



You applied for a service ie. repeat exams, which you did not take. What service have you received for your EUR 700? You did not use their hall to take them, have someone correct them or receive a cert on completion. What extra cost has it come to?

Some people may think that its reasonable that you signed a piece of paper wanting to repeat the exams therefore you owe. Does an application constitute a contract now? The contract is only fulfilled when the services are rendered. In this case, you did not give them an oppurtunity to render their services.

@Dudess This is not money for education, it is repeat fees for exams. Extortionate fees at that. This is not a crusade for the little man at all, its what would be equitable and fair. The OP was immatture and a bit wreckless and should have told the college he was dropping out yes, but I dont think that should just mean pay over what anyone demands of you without giving it a thought. You are looking it at like "the rule is that if you apply and don't cancel you have to pay anyway". The advise should be based on whether they are legally entitled to receive this money from the OP.

Dudess

Linoge wrote: »

I would absolutely always say to pay your debts, but in this instance, do you realistically have one?



You applied for a service ie. repeat exams, which you did not take. What service have you received for your EUR 700? You did not use their hall to take them, have someone correct them or receive a cert on completion. What extra cost has it come to?

Some people may think that its reasonable that you signed a piece of paper wanting to repeat the exams therefore you owe. Does an application constitute a contract now? The contract is only fulfilled when the services are rendered. In this case, you did not give them an oppurtunity to render their services.

@Dudess This is not money for education, it is repeat fees for exams. Extortionate fees at that. This is not a crusade for the little man at all, its what would be equitable and fair. The OP was immatture and a bit wreckless and should have told the college he was dropping out yes, but I dont think that should just mean pay over what anyone demands of you without giving it a thought. You are looking it at like "the rule is that if you apply and don't cancel you have to pay anyway". The advise should be based on whether they are legally entitled to receive this money from the OP.

No I agree Linoge, however it was just the attitude etc as I said to Africa that resulted in the negative feedback to the OP.

noodler

Africa wrote: »

With the costs of education these days, I feel that it is necessary to fight back against bills like this, plus the fact that its the college you owe the money so I wouldnt worry about the debt collectors too much.

What?

The cost of education? The heavily subsidised cost you mean?

There are perfectly good reasons why repeat exams are so expensive.

OP, call the ****ing university and stop hoping that a majority of people will tell you what you want to hear i.e:keep burying your head in the sand.

keithclancy

noodler wrote: »

What?

OP, call the ****ing university and stop hoping that a majority of people will tell you what you want to hear i.e:keep burying your head in the sand.

Think the majority of people said the exact opposite of that.

noodler

keithclancy wrote: »

Think the majority of people said the exact opposite of that.

? What he "wants" to hear.

Africa

noodler wrote: »

What?

The cost of education? The heavily subsidised cost you mean?

There are perfectly good reasons why repeat exams are so expensive.

OP, call the ****ing university and stop hoping that a majority of people will tell you what you want to hear i.e:keep burying your head in the sand.

Pffft. Subsidised my arse. Ive been a student long enough to see the rises over the years for so called 'registration fees', its a sector that once again needs reform, but that is nowhere near what we are talking about here.

I dont think head in the sand will do anything except make it worse. Hopefully by now the OP has contacted them.

noodler

Africa wrote: »

Pffft. Subsidised my arse. Ive been a student long enough to see the rises over the years for so called 'registration fees', its a sector that once again needs reform, but that is nowhere near what we are talking about here.

How long have you been a student?

The average cost of university here is over 5,000e per year yet students only pay a fraction of this.

The current registration fee has risen to 2,250....still quite a ways from 5,000 wouldn't you say?

So yes, heavily subsidised.

keithclancy

Africa wrote: »

Pffft. Subsidised my arse. Ive been a student long enough to see the rises over the years for so called 'registration fees', its a sector that once again needs reform, but that is nowhere near what we are talking about here.

I dont think head in the sand will do anything except make it worse. Hopefully by now the OP has contacted them.

Yeah right !
Try telling a non EU student doing a course that ! :rolleyes:

Think you were looking at about 19k for a Degree in European Studies at UCC and that was 6 years ago.

Excluding ancillary costs of course (Registration fee etc)

noodler

keithclancy wrote: »

Yeah right !
Try telling a non EU student doing a course that ! :rolleyes:

Think you were looking at about 19k for a Degree in European Studies at UCC and that was 6 years ago.

Excluding ancillary costs of course (Registration fee etc)

Jesus, really? I read medical courses cost 20K a year but how on earth is European Studies so expensive?

Anyway, yes Africa, I am afraid a couple of annual 250e increases to the registration charge does not mean that university course in Ireland are not heavily subsidised.

cookie1977

I remember to study science in 1995 when there was fees cost 1500 irish punts per annum in UCD. I suspect some inflation over the intervening years so even with the registration fee currently being a fairly high cost of 2250euro (approx 1700 irish punts), this is still a heavily subsidised cost. No?

davo10

It was £4000 per year when I started in 1991, had to take out a loan for fees and living expenses last three years of Uni. In the Uk I think it is £9k per year, there is a student loan scheme where graduates start paying off student loan when they gain full time employment.

dudara

Posters - the cost of university fees & courses is NOT the point here, and discussion of them is only dragging the thread off-topic.

OP - the simplest thing to do is contact the university. They are surprisingly human places and you might be able to get the fees waived. But you won't know until you contact them.

CaliforniaDream

keithclancy wrote: »

Schadenfreude i/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/ (German: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏdə]) is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.[1] This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages.

Thanks for the German lesson. Not sure what it had to do with my post.

As another poster pointed out, the OP brought this on themselves. If the OP had come on here and mentioned his debt and the collection agency and said he was unable to pay the full amount right now but was willing to try work something out with the college, people would be much more understanding and willing to help.
He would have acknowledged his debt and his fault in it and be willing to right it, albeit at a slow pace, if the college agreed. Instead, he simply says he doesn't want to pay and how can he ignore this.
At 20 years of age people should really have an understanding on money and debt and definitely should have an understanding of personal responsibility.

The college maybe willing to write off the debt if the OP would talk to them. They may demand full payment, partial payment or the chance to take the exams so he at least didn't feel 'cheated'.
It's hard to give advice to someone so clearly unworthy of it, but the only advice to give here is to call the college.