As a state agency, the University of Virginia is obligated to take all actions required by law to collect outstanding debts. After exhausting normal collection efforts, Accounts Receivable will submit debts to external collection agencies for further collection efforts. Accounts Receivable makes several attempt to contact customers prior to submitting their debt to a collection agency.
Once assigned to a collection agency, Accounts Receivable is no longer permitted to accept payments on the debt. All payments must be made to the collection agency responsible for the account.
Debts assigned to collection agencies are assessed an additional collection fee by the agency in the range of 33-40% of the debt. Customers are therefore encouraged to contact Accounts Receivable before debt is assigned for collections to avoid additional collection fees.
Collection agencies will report outstanding customer debt to the various credit reporting agencies where it will be noted on the customer's credit history for seven years, even after the debt is paid.