Promissory note signed because I was told they would kick me out of college my freshman fall semester how legal is this?

I was a freshman at arkansas state university at jonesboro. When I registered in august 2006.My parents ask if they owed any more money because they would need to make payment arrangements. They were told no they did not owe any more.

In nov. Of 2006 the financial office sent for me and told me I owed 2,000 dollars more or they would kick me out so I signed a promissory note. I did not return to school in the spring of 2007 due to appendicites surgery in jan.

Of 2007 and missed registration. I did not remeber the promissory note. Now they have given it to a collection agency.

Should I pay this because I feel it was done under duress? Asked by newuser11251310 42 months ago similar questions: promissory note signed told kick college freshman fall semester legal business > financial services.

Similar questions: PROMISSORY NOTE SIGNED TOLD KICK COLLEGE FRESHMAN FALL SEMESTER LEGAL.

You have an argument, but the practicalities are against you. First of all, let me express my sympathies to you. You were treated badly by the school.

Sadly, colleges and universities are notorious for abusing their students in this way and others. At some point in your life, you are going to need credit to borrow money for a motor vehicle or a house. The unpaid promissory note is going to be a black mark against you until you get it resolved--and for a number of years after that.

You have a case, arguably, for duress in the abstract. (I haven't a clue what the law in Arkansas is. If you want real legal advice, contact an Arkansas lawyer.) Duress in the context of contract law is a common law defense, and if one is successful in proving that the contract is vitiated by duress, the contract may be rescinded, since it is then voidable.

Duress has been defined as a "threat of harm made to compel a person to do something against his or her will or judgment; esp. , a wrongful threat made by one person to compel a manifestation of seeming assent by another person to a transaction without real volition." - Black's Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004) Duress in contract law falls into two broad categories: Physical duress, and Economic duress Physical duress Duress to the person Professor Ronald Griffin, Washburn University School of Law, Topeka, KS, puts physical duress simply: "Ya money o yo life.

" In Barton v. Armstrong 1976 AC 104, a decision of the Privy Council, Armstrong threatened to kill Barton if he did not sign a contract, which was set aside due to duress to the person. An innocent party wishing to set aside a contract for duress to the person need to prove only that the threat was made and that it was a reason for entry into the contract; the onus of proof then shifts to the other party to prove that the threat had no effect in causing the party to enter into the contract.

Duress can be made also by social influence. Duress to goods In such cases, one party refuses to release the goods belonging to the other party until the other party enters into a contract with them. For example, in Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd v Helicopter Charter Pty Ltd (1991) 22 NSWLR 298, the contract was set aside after Hawker Pacific's threats to withhold the helicopter from the plaintiff unless further payments were made for repairing a botched paint job.

Economic duress Although hard bargaining occurs legitimately in commercial contracts, duress may be in the form of breaching an existing contract between the two parties unless the innocent party agrees to enter into another contract. Austin v. Loral.

The contract is voidable if the innocent party can prove that it had no other practical choice (as opposed to legal choice) but to agree to the contract. The Elements of Economic Duress (breakdown): 1. Wrongful or improper threat: No precise definition of what is wrongful or improper.

Examples include: morally wrong, criminal, or tortuous conduct; one that is a threat to breach a contract "in bad faith" or threaten to withhold an admitted debt "in bad faith." 2. Lack of reasonable alternative (but to accept the other party's terms). If there is an available legal remedy, an available market substitute (in the form of funds, goods, or services), or any other sources of funds this element is not met.3.

The threat actually induces the making of the contract. This is a subjective standard, and takes into account the victim's age, their background (especially their education), relationship of the parties, and the ability to receive advice.4. The other party caused the financial distress.

The majority opinion is that the other party must have caused the distress, while the minority opinion allows them to merely take advantage of the distress. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duress_(contract_law) Duress as a defense might work if you were being sued. You aren't being sued.

Instead, you've got a bill collector after you. Bill collectors don't care what your reason is or was for not paying. They just want their money.

If you don't pay them, they'll peddle the note to someone else. Now, theoretically you could sue whoever who is holding the note and seek some sort of declaratory relief. But, there are major problems with that idea: You'll have a heck of a time finding out who exactly owns the note.

If you do find out who is holding the note, they'll sell the paper to someone else if you sue them. Then you will have to start all over again with your suit. Even if you can find out who the holder of the note is and successfully sue them, your legal fees will probably be much more than what you owe on the note.

You'd be better off negotiating a complete settlement of your obligation. Make sure that you get the note in your hand the same time that you give them their check. Otherwise, they will peddle the paper to someone else and the game will begin again.

As we go through life, we all have what older people euphemistically call "learning experiences." You just had one. Act to minimize the harm to yourself and move on.

That's all that you can do--realistically. Sources: personal opinion and cited above Snow_Leopard's Recommendations The author of this book was mistreated by her college. The only way that she could afford to complete college before she was old and gray was to become a stripper.

She has a number of rather interesting observations about her school and colleges in general. If you are expecting sex, look for another book. If you want to learn by looking at the world through someone else's eyes, you'll enjoy the book.

It is very well written. Ivy League Stripper Amazon List Price: $13.95 Used from: $4.00 Average Customer Rating: 2.5 out of 5 (based on 30 reviews) .

OK, this is the way of it. First, take off your caps lock. Second, how old were you when you signed the note?

If you were under the age of 18, it might not be legal. That being said, I do not see where you were "under duress". You could have simply said - "I need to talk to my parents first".

If you were under such duress when you signed it, how could you simply forget about the note? I can tell you this - if you do not pay this debt, your credit rating will be in the toilet - not a good way to start your adult life. Collection agencies will, most of the time, take a lesser amount than the total, simply to clear the debt.It sounds to me like you are trying to avoid this entire situation, in the blind hope it will just go away, and that is NOT going to happen.

Somehow I think there is more to this story, however, bottom line is this. You owe a debt. The fact that your parents were told you didn't owe anything, or that you signed "under duress" mean nothing to this story, it is WAY too late to drag up excuses now.

You need to pay this and move on. The next time the collection agency calls , answer the phone, and take careof this, it's time to become an adult..

If you owe it, you need to pay it The promissory note means you promised to pay that money. Therefore you should make arrangements to pay for it. It is LONG past your surgery and the fact that you forgot you owed the money does not mean you do not owe it.

I'm sorry that it got sent to a collection agency, but if you did not notify the university about what had happened and why you did not register for the 2007 spring semester, how were they to know? On their records, you are simply a bad debt. And that is something you need to make good on.

Yes, you owe. You admitted that when you signed the note.

1 No need to SHOUT. This user has been banned from Askville.

2 Also, collections agencies are the final step. Did you also ignore the sschool contacting you, thinking it would just go away? .

Also, collections agencies are the final step. Did you also ignore the sschool contacting you, thinking it would just go away?

I will be taking A&P next semester. Was told I could buy note cards already made up. Haven't been able to find them.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.