Southern Virginia University Bookstore

Review: When I was 17 and attending SVU, the bookstore got me to rent some textbooks. There is a balance due but the bookstore did not charge my parents credit card- instead sent my account to collections. They did this without ever notifying me or my parents of any bill due.They claim to not enter into contracts with students under the age of 18 but they surely sent my name to a collection agency.My parent's credit card is on file in the system and they are supposed to charge the card. SVU bookstore is refusing to take payment.Desired Settlement: For SVU to contact stop collection efforts.

Business

Response:

Sorry for the delay. Here's my response:The rental program that is offered here at the Southern Virginia University bookstore really is a great program, but sometimes miscommunications about the terms of the agreement occur. These are largely our fault. Let me see if I can clear this up. When a student approaches the register at our store with a textbook that he / she would like to purchase we often offer the student the option to “rent” the textbook (if the textbook is eligible) to save the most money. They pay less for the book up front and agree to return the rental at the end of the semester. Renting books is not mandatory, but is almost always the most cost-effective way of procuring course materials, so we do recommend it. If the student chooses to rent a textbook then there are a few procedures that must be followed. We need the patron’s contact information, we need him / her to sign a rental agreement, and we need a credit card on file. Explaining these three points will shed light on what went wrong with the above complaint.First we need the individual’s contact information. When the student chooses to rent a book we take his / her e-mail address so that our automated system can send automatic “reminder” e-mails towards the end of the semester to remind the student to return the rented materials. Occasionally these e-mails are sent to the spam folder, so we advise patrons to look there and “unspam” e-mails from this sender. The e-mail address we have on file from the initial transaction is how we communicate both reminder e-mails and warning e-mails, such as the possibility of an account being sent to collections. Bottom line, we did try to contact her, but the e-mails were either missed or ignored.Second we need the patron to sign a “rental agreement”. At the point of sale we have our patrons that chose to rent books sign a rental agreement agreeing that they both read and agree to its terms. After the transaction is finalized we also send the agreement and additional information to the e-mail address provided. Here are a few points from the agreement to consider.From the agreement’s (online version) header By clicking "I Agree", "I Accept" or by using the Website you agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, our privacy policy, our terms of use, the receipt, and any other documents incorporated into the website. You agree that this User Agreement is legally binding between you and the Company.And the very first point on the agreement1. I am at least 18 years of age or the age of majority in the state in which I am conducting this transaction.We do not enter in to contractual agreements with minors; however it can be tricky to identify minors if they sign contracts saying that they aren’t minors.Lastly at the point of sale we require a credit card to be put on file as collateral which will be charged in the case of a rental non-return. As the complaint above states a credit card was given at the point of sale, however a problem occurred when our automated system attempted to charge the card for the rental non-returns. Common reasons for card rejection include the card being over its credit limit, or the card being past its expiration date.The patron above did attempt to contact me at the bookstore and give me a new credit card to charge the debt to, but this was only after they had been sent to collections. Once an account is sent to collections its debt is no longer owned by us and I am unable to accept payment. We are “refusing to take payment” because we no longer own the account in question and have no way of wiping out the debt with a new payment type. I am happy to assist in any way possible as I want the college experience to be an enjoyable one, but there are some requests which unfortunately I am unable to accommodate.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. While the merchant's response was lenghtly, it did not address the core issues. First being an attempt to enter into a contract with a minor child. Once the merchant learned of this appropriate action should have been taken. These could have been contact the minor's parents since the contract is voided under state law. Second, the merchant did not deny lack of contact with the minor child and the parents- no notice was sent. And then lastly, the merchant claims to no longer own the account; however, the Federal Trade Commission claims they are and forever will be the Original Creditor and they alone can choose to take action. So they can recall an account they rented/leased/or sold. The merchant has failed to take any action, at all. Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

I escalated the situation and the debt has now been forgiven.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.Regards,[redacted]