Am I still liable for an account if I believe that it should have been paid off?
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Am I still liable for an account if I believe that it should have been paid off?
I have an account which shows that the balance has never decreased. Now it is in collections but I think that the original creditor and the collection agency is one in the same. I have payment history showing that the account should have been paid off but the balance has increased. I will not send them no more money.
Asked on October 19, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Maryland
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Legally, if the account was paid off, you are no longer liable for it. The issue then is a factual one: was it paid off, and can you prove that? If you do send the creditor or its collection agency any payments, they may choose to sue you if they believe that you owe them the money. If they do so you, you will need to defend yourself by providing evidence of payment. Therefore, becore deciding what to do, you should collect your evidence showing payment, so you can assure yourself you are on good footing. If the evidence does show payment of the debt, you might wish to make copies of it and forward a copy to the collections agency to try to convince them the debt has already been paid. If you do this, send the materials some way you can provide delivery (e.g. fax with receipt; fed ex with tracking; etc.), so you could later prove you tried to resolve this matter with them. Good luck.
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