Consumer complaint received 2015-03-25
Company: AR Resources, Inc.
State: NJ
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.)
Issue: Communication tactics
Sub-issue: Frequent or repeated calls

Complaint:
My complaint is n't about phone calls, but I believe " communication tactics '' was the closest to my complaint. My main problem is with the Debt Collection Company, the lesser complaint is with the school. 

I 'm currently in a dispute with my local community college regarding a small debt, either {$49.00} or {$79.00}, depending who I speak to. In XX/XX/XXXX I took XXXX XXXX XXXX classes and paid upfront with my credit card. One of the classes was canceled, and I was refunded the money for it. XX/XX/XXXX I received in the mail a small slip of paper saying in part : " Dear XXXX, Please be advised you have a past due balance with XXXX for a XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ... Pay by XX/XX/XXXX '' It did not look like a bill or invoice and my name was not on the slip or the amount owed. I called the college that day and spoke to someone who could n't tell me what class I owed for or provide any of the normal information that one would find on a bill or invoice. The woman I spoke to promised she would do research and get back to me, which never happened. 

I must point out, that I 've never been a matriculated student at this college or had a student loan. I registered and paid for XXXX XXXX classes in XX/XX/XXXX, attended XXXX, the XXXX was canceled, and the money for that class refunded. Also, the paperwork seems to indicate this " debt '' was for something in XX/XX/XXXX, and I never registered for or attended ANY classes in XXXX. When I got the notice from the debt collector, I called the contact for the college on that notice and failed to receive any meaningful information that would indicate I owed them money. The woman was " too busy '' to explain it other than to say that XXXX people in her department looked at the paperwork and agreed I owed them money. I responded that they should send me a proper invoice if they have such paperwork. 

At any rate, they sent this alleged debt to AR Resources Inc., and their first contact with me by mail, they sent the notice to an old address. The address is from at least 25 years ago or more. The XXXX college does not have this address on their records, so I believe AR Resources Inc deliberately used an absurdly old address so I would n't get the notice. The reason I got the notice, despite the old address, is because I still live in my home town and people in the Post Office know me and where I live currently. 

I can not stress strongly enough that AR Resources Inc had to deliberately do EXTENSIVE research to find this address. It 's not a simple clerical error. The house number they used was from the pre-XX/XX/XXXX era. Not before XX/XX/XXXX, but literally before my town had XXXX service, you know? When this address was valid, if you needed the police or ambulance, you would have had to dial the XXXX DIGIT PHONE NUMBER ON A ROTARY PHONE.

Company public response: Company believes it acted appropriately as authorized by contract or law
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation