Well no matter what, you have to return the cooler because it is "not your property." Lesson to be learned is don't ever take a collectors word. If you do, it is a BIG gamble and involves a lot of trust. Always have everything in writing before any action is taken.
But what I do recommend is call back the collector that you spoke with and demand him/ her to remove it in pursuant to verbal agreement. If that does not work, speak with the floor manager. If that does not work, speak with the operations manager and so on until you get the issue resolved. But also keep in mind, a CA is NOT obligated to do anything unless they specified it In writing. You might be out of luck or the reporting could have been automated without the concessions the collector made.
If your out of luck, then I would recommend contacting the water company and explaining your situation. Tell them that you had every intention of paying, you gave them the new forwarding address, be sincere, etc and request them to call the collections manager to delete. Heck, if your still interested in renting the cooler and clarify the misunderstanding, that might give you some leverage for them to send out the request to delete. Other than that, hope that helps!
