Lakeland Community College student Matthew Williams thought he had done everything needed to drop all classes for the Fall 2017 semester, instead he found himself turned over to the Ohio Attorney General for collection.
Williams said he was told by college office staff all classes were dropped, but several weeks later he was sent a bill of $2,100, two notices from the Attorney General explained if he didn't start paying in two weeks his wages would be garnished.
"When I got the notification letter I was in shock and awe," said Williams.
"I was very scared and very fearful. I couldn't sleep at night, thinking that I might not be able to pay this."
Matthew's Uncle, Scott Shaltunuk, was concerned the case would hurt his nephew's credit rating.
Shaltunuk told News 5 he contact Lakeland Community College several times, and was assured the incorrect bill would be eliminated, but he said each time nothing happened.
"He was told that everything was OK, and yet the system failed," said Shaltunuk.
"He went through the process and he did it the right, legal way, but somebody botched it by not paying attention to what they were doing."
News 5 contacted Lakeland Community College, and it responded quickly, erasing the incorrect tuition charge, and contacting the Ohio Attorney General's office to stop the collection process.
The college said it never received an official drop notice from Williams, and issued the following statement about its collection process:
"Lakeland provides students with many opportunities to withdraw from classes at no charge. Students receive multiple email reminders and a final notice letter before accounts are sent to collections.
The college is required by state law to submit unpaid accounts to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office 45 days after the final semester payment due date.
Students who feel they received a collections notice in error should contact the college to complete a Petition for Reversal of Fees."
Still, Williams believes state law needs to be changed, that students turned over to collections just 45 days after the end of a semester, isn't enough time for the average student, especially when the student's credit rating could be on the line.
"It should be a minimum three to six months," said Williams.
That's a good amount of time for people to comprehend, and be able to work to get all that money ready, because 45 days really isn't a lot of time."
Meanwhile the Ohio Attorney General's collection program does give students a wide variety of options to make payments, including administrative reviews and offer compromises.
