Penn Foster Education Direct Billed Me For Entire Course When I Cancelled Account. Then Changed Their Name And Billed Me Again!! MELVILLE New York

I thought Thompson Education Direct (2003) would be a good way for me to receive professional credentials while being a stay-at-home mother. I paid for and completed about half of the course. When I started going through hard times, I wanted to hold off on ordering any more material due to not being able to pay for it. I then get a bill in the mail for $871! (2004) I called the office to find out what it was for, and the woman told me it was for the remainder of the course that I didn't complete. I then asked, "Why do I have to pay for the rest of the course when I never received the material. I thought this was a 'pay-as-you-go' type at home collage? Shouldn't there just be a cancellation fee?" She began to argue with me, and tell me I should have read the contract, and I didn't know what I was talking about. When I said again, "It still doesn't make since that I should owe that much." She then told me (and I quote)"Maybe you should have pulled out your little calculator and figured it out." I told her I didn't think I should pay for material I never received., and hung up. I then started getting harassed (literally) by a man named Ron Martin. Whom I am assuming was from the company and not a collectors agency, because he later (after weeks of numerous daily calls) offered to bill me only for the $200 cancellation fee. I agreed, and sent him what I could, which was $75. I told him that I could pay the rest in 1-2 paychecks (bi-weekly). It didn't stop him from calling repeatedly. I asked him not to call in the mornings, because I was staying with my mom, and she worked 3rd shift. But he kept doing it anyway. When my mom told him to stop calling in the morning, he told her "I can call anytime I want!" Later that week, I received a bill for $796. He had told me that is was because I didn't pay the $125 in enough time. So I told him I wouldn't pay it. We soon had to move and change our phone number to get away from Ron Martin.

Years later (2007) after multiple attempts to obtain credit cards, I decide to check my credit report. I then discover that not only did Thompson Education Direct change their name to Penn Foster Education Direct; but they billed me again through a different collection agency with their new name on it (2006). I have two bills on my credit report now: EDUCATION DIRECT A THOMSON CO in 2004 for $796 (COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL S) and PENN FOSTER EDUCATION DIRECT in 2006 for $796 (OXFORD COLLECTION SERVIC). I disputed it through Experian, and they reported that it was legitimate. I do not have the phone number to Penn Foster Education Direct, and found it something they do not like to share openly. As I cannot find it on the internet. Now the second bill (Penn Foster) has this note attached "This account is scheduled to continue on record until Mar 2010." Why should it stay on my report twice until 2010?! Especially when I should only owe $125, and it shows that I owe a total of $1592?!

Angymom
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.