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I had a debt I owed my old school. it was 5022.85. I recieved a letter from the collection agency that stated I now owed them 7,930.33 (5022.85 debt 444.21 interest, and 2456.22 for collections cost 7.05 penalty) is the legal for them to charge so much in fees?
Read the contract you signed with your school and look up your state laws on collections.
Look up your state laws on what a collection agency can charge.
How would I know what your state says is legal for a CA to charge?
If you can't find the information, ask, give the state you are in, and it can be answered.
A CA can charge fees, how much depends on your state laws.
They can only charge you fees if the creditor allows it. In this case it would be the school and what they allow.
I would start with the school. Find out when it was turned over to collections and what they allow to be charged for fees. Find out if the school still owns the debt or if they sold it to the CA.
$2000 + for $5000 is over half of the original amount and is excessive. I wouldn't think that would be legal.
You can also get a free consult with a consumer attorney in your area and ask.
They can't garnish your wages without a court order, which if they decide to go that route, you would need to be served first.
You would sue who is trying to collect the debt.