Schneider lied to me

If everything you claim in your post is accurate, you don't owe them anything.
First off, you were only there four days. You didn't even get far enough into it, to take the CDL test.
Orientation is not employment. you never went out with a trainer, never were assigned a truck.
Send them a certified letter, explaining all this. Offer to come back and try it again, to show you tried to hold up your end of the bargain.
Schnieder would have to sue you, to try to collect anything. That would cost them money. If you were there only four days, you never got far enough into it. Don't give into them. They might threaten to sue you, but you have a good arguement, too. Schneider did not hold up their end of the contract,by failing to employ you.

 

I would be interested to see the contract and what they promised you. You would think that it would be bullet proof but... What does it say about your performance requirements and how you can be dismissed from the program? If it doesn't then they didn't provide the 3 weeks training.

If this is the case, I am curious if you could file a small claims case against them for travel fees, living expenses, lost wages, anything else you can come up with to equal $3000. Then send em their own check back to pay off the training.

If nothing else may be some fun reverse harassment. They would have to pay for a lawyer and you could represent yourself.

I am curious how the $1000 became $3000. How long have you owed them. What is the interest rate on the loan.

Just some thoughts. Don't know if they are all plausable but it sounds fun.

 

You could take them to Judge Judy's court. I'd like to see her rip em a new butt hole.
On a serious note, maybe a letter from a lawyer on his letter head outlining your plan of attack would make them back off.
If you have to pay the full amount you should still have the opportunity to complete the school.
Appears to be some missing pieces to this puzzle.

 

I can tell you that to expect to collect a 3,000 bill from a 1,000 debt is considered an unresonable charge and would be difficult, if not impossible to collect in almost any civil court in the land. That's why they give it to a collection agent rather then a small claims court. A collection agent does just that, tries to collect. After I got divorced I had a long experiance with collection agencies and if you stick to your guns you can win that fight. My wife has about twenty years exp. as a legal secratery and is currantly a notary public. Try this, file a formal complaint with the company by mail, have it notarized and send it registered. ( proof of delivery) This is rather inexpensive. Send an appeal to the president of the company, try to word it as a plea rather then a complaint, explain to him you would not mind paying a resonable bill for services rendered. I went to a truck driving orietation for two weeks with a reputable company and that bill was only about six hundred dollars. Get a CDL from a private school with your own funding! Failing that, there is always ripoffs.com drive55cat

 

To this I would add: NEVER pay any money to a collection agency.

Once the bill has gone to collections, it is already on your credit report. If a collection agency calls you, tell them, "Sorry pal, you just bought an uncollectable debt. Don't waste your time calling me anymore because you won't get one thin dime. Try some other sucker."

If you feel that you owe the money, pay it BEFORE it goes to collection. Make any deals on payments, BEFORE it goes to collection. Once the company sells the debt to a collection agency, they WON'T accept your payment anymore--they've already taken a loss and written it off.

I've been on the inside of the business... most of the time it's someone with one phone line in a little hole in the wall office, making phone call after phone call all day long in hopes of getting someone to pay up. Chances are, if you give them money, they ain't gonna call Equifax and tell them the bill has been paid.

 

I like this post

 

Actually the collection agency can be paid off at a fraction of the original debt amount if they know they will not make anything at all trying to collect on it.

Though you might have a negative on your credit rating even that can be positively affected by paying on a debt rather then ignoring it.

Even when you have a debt that you contest as being wholly valid you should make a minimum payment on it until a final determination is made whether you owe the money or not. You can make all the challenges to the debt that is owed while making a nominal payment and still protect your credit score and even increase it.

Unless your credit is already trashed beyond repair, paying even a little amount on a debt is better then ignoring it.

Since many business now use credit scores in determining a persons worthiness for hire and to buy goods and services. Ignoring debt is bad advise since it will cost you more in the long run most likely, then the original debt.

Get it taken care off one way or the other as fast as possible since only the rich can thumb their noses at the credit system because they don't need it. The rest of us have to deal with a system that is designed to take advantage of the consumer unless you learn how to play the game.

 

You can deal with these people, one of the more persitant ones turned out to be representing Nextel. They had stupid rules of stopping the service and had no less then four different agents calling me for four almost ten years, that in itself is illegal. When the last one called I told them right out just go ahead and do what you do, I am not paying this bill. This was all brought on by rip off write ups by Nextel, it went on until Nextel was purchased by whoever owns it now. I received a mail offer to settle the account for a fraction of what they were asking for, I took the offer but it was still about forty dollars more than they desevred to get. The point is, if and when you get to talk to a resonable person, they will negotiate.
I ask them to send me a copy of the agreement we talked about on the phone and they complied, after I got it, I sent the check. The key is to be as persistant as the guy on the other end of the phone, the collection agent does not get paid until he collects something. drive55cat

 

I recently went through Schneider Training. You're right about signing a contract after 2 days. Fortunately I had my CDL before going and didn't have to sign a contract. Other people would be wise to get their CDL first too. Another benefit of having a CDL is that you'll get paid while going through training. $350/wk isn't much but it's better than nothing. And be prepared to continue at $350/wk for a couple additional weeks while on the road with a trainer. Sounds like you are getting screwed by Schneider. In their defense, my recruiter didn't sugarcoat anything or lie to me. Schneider appears honest.

 

bigblue said it best