Utah Guns Forum banner

Legal question about a strange, really late letter

10K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  bagpiper 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My wife received a letter today from the UofU saying that she owes them money. It doesn't say that it was for. She has never received any invoices, bills, or whatever saying that she owes this until today. The date of the money owed? 2004. I think this is bogus, but I want to see what you guys/gals think. She tried to call the number on the letter, but they didn't answer. She will call again tomorrow and see what the crap is going on.

It seems like there would be some sort of statute of limitations or something regarding this. Especially since they have never tried to contact her about it, either in letter or phone call. She's had the same phone number for fifteen or so years. This just seems fishy to me.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1429838296.220137.jpg


Sent from iSnurd
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#3 ·
UtahJarhead said:
The number is legit. Strange that there's no included account number.

Gut feeling says the office believes it's legit.
There is an ID number at the top of the letter, I cropped the letter to take out personal info.

I talked to a friend that works in a similar office. She says it may be legit as well. From what she said, since they are a state run place, if they find debt, they can still pin it on you, no matter how long ago it was. So that's pretty lame. It ruffles my feathers that they have taken so long to find this, if in fact, it is her debt.
 
#4 ·
No matter what, they have a statute of limitations of 7 years on debt, unless you've paid on it which restarts that 7 year clock.
 
#5 ·
UtahJarhead said:
No matter what, they have a statute of limitations of 7 years on debt, unless you've paid on it which restarts that 7 year clock.
I'm hoping that's true. This is the first thing we have heard about it, so there hasn't been a payment. It's hard to pay on something that you don't know exists.

Sent from iSnurd
 
#6 ·
From an online "fair collection" website:
Utah Statutes of Limitation
  • Any signed, written contract, obligation or liability: 6 years.[/*]
  • Unwritten contract, obligation or liability: 4 years.[/*]
  • Open account for goods, wares, merchandise, and services rendered or for the price of any article charged on a store account: 4 years.
    NOTE: A written acknowledgement signed by the debtor revives the SoL.[/*]
  • Judgment or decree of any court or State of the United States: 8 years.[/*]
 
#8 ·
A quick look shows the person who signed the letter does work for the University in that capacity.

I find it funny that they want you to request a hearing to prove that you don't owe it, and not to request one if you don't have proof. What proof are you supposed to provide when they don't even tell you what it is for? In my mind, it should be them who: 1) verifies the debt before sending a letter 2) should provide said verification with the notice 3) should have realized it's past stat.
 
#9 ·
I've always been of the opinion that the best response to any debt collection calls or letters is "Show me the papers."
IOW - prove that I owe the debt and that you are the right agency to pay.

Side note:
I once got a parking ticket at Ohio State University while driving my DuPont owned company car on a service call.
I was parked in an off street courtyard used for deliveries to a U shaped building so that I could unload and have access to my tools and parts.
The car was registered to Dupont in Ohio with my address since it was in my care.
My customer told me he would take care of the ticket and not to worry about it.
About 6 months later a letter arrived at my home from OSU addressed to E. I. du Pont de Nemours, the registered owner of the vehicle.
Obviously OSU had gotten my address through the Ohio BMV.
the letter stated that E. I. du Pont de Nemours owed the university a parking fine of $10 and if E. I. du Pont de Nemours didn't pay it before a certain date then his record would be held and he wouldn't be able to graduate in May.
I called my supervisor in Deleware and asked if E. I. du Pont de Nemours was worried about not graduating.
He sighed and said just pay the $10 and put it on your expense report as a parking fee.
 
#10 ·
I would make sure to get a letter in the mail disputing the validity of the debt and requesting documentation that a- the debt is owed, b- they have previously attempted collection and c- the proof that they can still collect. Specify that you do not believe that you owe the debt and that you do not believe that they can collect due to the statute of limitations. Then save a copy and send the letter certified mail, reciept requested. That way if they do not back down you have extra ammo to fight with and take to court, if it goes that far.
There are lots of places online with sample letters so you don't have to write one from scratch. Good luck. I know from dealing with the U for medical bills that they are tenacious and not afraid to sick the attorney general's office on you, place tax liens or attempt to garnish wages, even when the debt is not valid. I have learned the hard way that extra documentation that I tried to resolve the issue only helps my case.
 
#11 ·
justBeth is correct. You are legally able to demand an itemized receipt. If the debt goes to a third party (it does not sound like it has), then they must provide 30 days notice before they can actively start collecting on it. Again, that's likely a moot point.

At this point, get all of the documentation you can. I know of nothing that can force them to prove that they have previously attempted collection and there's no requirement that they must prove that they can still collect. So long as the statute of limitations has not passed, they can attempt to collect any legitimate debt.
 
#12 ·
I think it's pretty simple.
1. Find out what it is for.
2. If you owe it, pay it.
3. If you don't, fight it.

It shouldn't be too hard to figure out what the bill is for. A few phone calls and some documentation and you will know pretty quick if it's legit.
Statute of limitations and all that crap doesn't matter much to me. If your wife got something she didn't pay for, she should pay for it, regardless of how long ago it was.
If it's bogus, fight it.
 
#14 ·
Dispute this asap. Request a complete record of any supposed transaction/service including date, time and what the service was for. Don't do anything until a response is received. If the matter is legitimate then pay asap. If you do not and it rolls around to tax time they will obtain a default judgement and steal any return you would otherwise receive from the state - even if you are on a payment plan with them and have been up to date on it. I know this from personal experience and from having worked in the billing office for the U. Normally they are not open for business until after 9am. If necessary, because you discover you/your wife is not the person owing money, or that she never did incur the debt, I would encourage legal assistance. Usually a call or letter from an attorney can stifle an issue like this. IANAL but this is what I am familiar with and what I have experienced 1st hand from them.
 
#16 ·
Well, I agree with Charles that it's the moral thing to pay that which you legitimately owe.

That being said, if I had a debt that was 6 years, 9 months old... you're doggone right I would drag my feet until that 7 year mark hit.

It actually did happen to me. A few months ago, Ohio State tried threatening to force me to pay for a few hundred dollars worth of parking tickets from 2005 time frame. I told them to pound sand. (A few hundred dollars worth is about 3 parking tickets.)
 
#17 ·
We would pay it if the debt is really owed. However, I feel as though it's a BS debt since it's been 11 years. Not one single notice or phone call until now. It seems really fishy to me.

Mrs. Snurd sent a letter today via certified mail. She used a sample letter she found online and customized it for her situation. It was awesome, so we will see how they respond. It asks for a lot of detailed info, that if the debt is legit, they should have.

Sent from iSnurd
 
#19 ·
It seems like the U and its outlying facilities are pretty bad about this. We had something similar happen, not quite as long but a long while after a visit we got a bill that we know we went in and paid. took several calls in and we couldn't even go to the office where we paid to give them the proof of payment, the same place where the visit happened. Finally got the manager of that facility to say he was just going to mark it as being paid but it took a lot of time and a lot of calling and harassing to get them to do what they said they would do (ie call back, get details etc)
 
#22 ·
Paul and CarKnocker are correct. If you have an unpaid bill, pay it. If not, fight it.

That said, this is one more reason (along with Obamacare, etc) to avoid giving the State or Feds interest free loans in the form of having too much withholding taken out of paychecks. It is just too easy for government not to give you your money back once they have it.

Ideally, you want to write a small check to the feds and the State each year in April to cover whatever small portion of income taxes your withholding hasn't covered. But, IMO, better to write a moderate or even large check than it is to get a refund.

To make sure you can write the check, put some money into a special savings account every pay day (most banks and CUs will do an auto-allocation if you ask them to so you don't have to do it manually). Then, come April, your "refund" is already in your bank account and you can use a portion of it to write the checks to cover what you owe the Governor and Uncle Sam.

If you have to write too large of a check you can get hit for not having had enough withholding taken out. But with a little care you can keep below that without ending up with a refund.

Charles
 
#23 ·
Just remember that some scammers are getting very sophisticated and can now easily obtain information about you...because we post so much on social media. If a scammer can access your wife's Facebook account (and a lot of people ad "friends" not really knowing who they are) They are probably going to be able to find out where and when she went to school, as well as a ton of other information they can use to make a custom made scam seam (Money owed) very legitimate.

Maybe it is not the best idea to brag and list all of your education accomplishments, as well as other information on these social media websites.
This is why I only fill out government forms and forums using the Name "Rusty Shackleford"...As well as for ordering pizza....
 
#24 ·
UtahJarhead said:
It actually did happen to me. A few months ago, Ohio State tried threatening to force me to pay for a few hundred dollars worth of parking tickets from 2005 time frame. I told them to pound sand. (A few hundred dollars worth is about 3 parking tickets.)
To be clear, I too would draw a distinction between a bill for some good and service I had received (including books, education, student fees, etc) and a fine for some infraction I had supposedly committed. Statute of limitations exists for a reason; I can't possibly mount an effective defense years after some parking violation supposedly occurred.

Colleges are terrible for providing parking and tend to be hyper aggressive in assessing fines. I'm convinced that in many cases the fines have more to do with revenue raising than with parking enforcement. I've never had a parking ticket (knock on wood) and believe the best way to avoid them is to strictly observe parking rules/laws. (I do this partly by avoiding downtown SLC and the UoU whenever possible.) So no sour grapes here.

Also, is it just me, or did my prior post to this forum disappear?
Weird.

Charles
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top