aaargh - being chased for fee payments by uni even though I withdrew...

[geekgrrl]

Help please.
In 2005 in enrolled on a course at Leeds Met, starting in September, and paid for half of it. The course was pants so before Christmas I withdrew from it - on the phone, and also in writing.
They kept sending me letters so I reminded them (in writing) that I'd withdrawn. I didn't hear back from them for about 9 months (apart from a letter in the meantime telling me I'd failed!) and have today received a letter from a debt collection agency asking for the outstanding £500.
I rang the university and the man at the other end said that they'd not received anything from me and to send in the letters I'd written but they might just decide to make me pay up anyway, because as far as they're concerned they never received them.
What do I do?! To top it off I can only find the first letter I sent on my PC - I think the second one must have gone under in a PC crash we had last year.
I'll send this one by recorded delivery but am very anxious that they'll decide to make me pay.
I'll be away over Easter as well so am worried about getting more nasty letters and not being able to respond in time.

Ok, give them rough dates of when you sent the letters and when you telephoned.

Tell them they have plenty of evidence that you had withdrawn, you had not turned up for classes for a start! And unless they desist from harrassing you for payment you shall contact a solicitor.

that's what I said to him (not the bit about harrassing me ) - I pointed out to him that they could see I'd not entered the library or attended classes - but he said that it was irrelevant and that my 'fee status' is based on my 'student status' and not whether I'm there or not.
He was a right w@nker, too.

Then stop talking to him and talk to his seniors.

Send a letter by registered post with rough dates of when you telephoned and informed them in writing. Send a copy of the letter you do have. Say you are keeping copies of all correspondance to send to your solicitor.

ok, thank you. appreciate the pep-talk, I have a tendency to just want to run & hide...

aaargh, have to revive this thread because the feckers are still hounding me.
Back in March I sent them a copy of my withdrawal letter by 'signed for' delivery, it was signed for and I never heard from them again so thought it had all been resolved.

Well, all of a bloody sudden they write to me again today saying that as they never received anything from me they're assuming that I didn't actually withdraw and to pay up now.

I've rung the bloke dealing with it and he said to send them again, this time both by recorded mail and email.
I'm really pissed off. We have changed computers in the meantime, the old one died and to get onto the harddrive to get the documents will take forever now - I have better things to do with my time.

Also haven't kept the recorded delivery slip as I thought it had all been sorted.