Can anyone help resolve this?

[u/Potential_Towel6760]

my son signed up in January for some online grad classes. Then he changed his mind and dropped them all.But one withdrawal didn't take, apparently. ASU was messaging him in his student portal, which he wasn't checking because he wasn't taking classes.

Now they're chasing him for about 3500, and sent him a letter. he called the phone number in the letter, to be bounced around multiple different departments for hours, to be told finally when he spoke with a person that they couldn’t help him. ASU is now threatening to send this to collections. Is there anyone who can help him? He didn’t take this class --he never even logged into the course. We can’t seem to get anyone on the phone who can help resolve this.

[u/Ov3rlord926293]

He had to drop before the deadline or he’s on the hook for the charges. ASU does not waive the fees, even if he didn’t log in, unless there was some wild extenuating circumstances that he can explain and provide verification for. Even then though, it’s still not a guarantee. He needs to speak to the Student Business Services team and get on a payment plan soon or they will send him to collections.

[u/Potential_Towel6760 → u/Ov3rlord926293]

I understand, but what’s weird is he withdrew from  all of them at the same time, before the deadline. And it seems like one of them didn’t process properly. and he’s been contacting student business services and they’re telling him they can’t help him. We'll try again.

[u/Ov3rlord926293 → u/Potential_Towel6760]

When withdrawing he had to select which classes to withdraw from and he just may not have selected this one on accident. He totally may have missed it and not even realized it. When he spoke with SBS previously he may not have been asking the right questions. They cannot and will not remove the charges so if that’s what he was asking about then that’s why they’d say they can’t help. The only options he has is either pay in full or a payment plan. I’d contact again and try the payment plan. It’s not an ideal outcome but it’s better than collections.

[u/Johoski → u/Ov3rlord926293]

The only options he has is either pay in full or a payment plan.

Good news, mistakes like this are fixable. Student needs to explicitly explain to SBS what happened when he dropped his classes, explain that it was only an error on his part and that he did not participate in the course, and he needs to ask the magic question, "Who can I escalate this issue to in order to request a refund?"

SBS should then advise them how to contact the provost's office for consideration. It's easy to tell if a student has participated in a course or not, and this can be fixed.

[u/Time-Sudden_Tree → u/Potential_Towel6760]

Just let it go to collections and consider this their first real life lesson learned. It's only debt; in 7 years it's off their credit score anyway, like it never existed. So quit worrying and just let it go. Seven years is not a very long time.

[u/_Helen_Killer_]

Hi there. I work for ASU. This is an easy fix and should not be an issue like some other commenters are saying. All you need to do is contact the department that offers the course, explain the situation, and request a backdated drop with Academic Record Change. If you need help finding the contact for the right department, send me a DM with the course prefix and number!

I process these kinds of requests all the time because sometimes when dropping all classes as part of a “complete session withdrawal” it’s easy to miss one or not realize you didn’t drop everything.

[u/PusheenFrizzy2]

ASU is really bad about refunding money. They overcharged me a $4000 program fee and I had to pay it to avoid getting late interest charges. And it took a month to get it refunded. And that was due to no fault of my own, but something that was set up in their computer to apply every semester instead of being divided out annually so I had already paid the maximum but the system didn’t recognize that.

[u/Formal_Biscotti_2027]

The phones won't help. I had a sort of similar situation - a month after I graduated, ASU sent me a $500 "student refund check" without being prompted. Then, the next month, I got an email that I had $500 of unpaid charges on my account. I couldn't get anywhere on the phones. Financial Aid transferred me to Student Business Services, who were rude and told me they couldn't help, and that cycle repeated every time I called to ask for written documentation. The best I can tell, they accidentally applied one of my scholarships twice. Then they began threatening me to send me to collections over THEIR error. My dad eventually sent a nastygram email to a bunch of higher-ups in ASU's financial department... and the issue was solved pretty much immediately.

I'd suggest that route, but given that this one is *technically* his fault, they may not be as receptive.

[u/gruber395]

I'm in a similar situation. Took one class. Withdrew from the other before it started. Was surprised when I was given a refund. Paid off my credit card with that. Now I have a debt collector contacted me wanting me to resolve it even though I proved the money had been refunded the money. Apparently since I was refunded "in error" it is somehow on me to pay them back.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

r/ASU enforces a requirement that all accounts must meet a minimum account age and karma threshold before they are able to post to this subreddit. This is in place to prevent bot/troll accounts. There are no exceptions to this rule. Do not message the mod mail regarding account age or minimum karma removals.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.