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I'm a college student in the United States, and for an Economics class I was taking I needed a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, so during the first class we filled out a subscription form with information like name, address, email, but no payment information.

I had to switch to another class, so I no longer needed the subscription, so I never sent them my payment information. For approximately 4 months they kept sending me email and snail mail about having to pay them, but I never received an actual newspaper from them. I just ignored all of their requests to pay them, but today I received a letter from a debt collection agency asking for $29.95. The collection agency is North Shore Agency, if that matters.

I figure if they're sending these goons after me, I shouldn't just ignore this. AFAIK, you can be taken to court for as little as $20, but I doubt they'd do that, but I don't want to take chances.

I don't intend to pay the bill, but is there anything I should know or do to protect myself?

jonescb
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3 Answers3

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Don't ignore them. They'll trash your credit ratings and you'll have problems getting credit cards and mortgages for years, just because of some stupid $30. That's much worse than being dragged to courts, and there's no-one you can prove your innocence to.

Either pay them (and ask, in writing, to remove any note on your credit record), or call WSJ and have them call the collection agency off.

What you should have done was contact WSJ first time you received their payment demand, explain them the situation, and have them cancel the subscription.

Lesson learned: never ignore bills.

JoeTaxpayer
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littleadv
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I suggest you do two things:

  1. What littleadv said.

  2. Also open up some organizer software on your cellphone or your computer. Set up a repeating to-do or calendar item to request a free copy of your credit report. Go to www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm or www.annualcreditreport.com . You can get up to three free reports per year: that equals one free report every four months. It's a good idea for everyone to check their credit report for mistakes every so often, even if they don't have collection agencies pursuing them.

You can request your first report today if you like.

jasonspiro
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Ask them to send you a copy of your order and proof of delivery of the newspaper. Agree (orally) to pay them as soon as they get you that. Of course, since you didn't receive any copies of the paper, they won't be able to provide proof.

xpda
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