Colo. Man to Go to Trial in May Over $42 Girl Scout Cookie Purchase

[question everything]

A Colorado man's purchase of $42 of Girl Scout cookies has led to a court date and more than $700 in debt for what he says was an error by a Girl Scout troop's bank. Tad Osborn, an IT professional in Fort Collins, Colo., bought about a dozen boxes last year from a scout from his neighborhood. He wrote a check for $42 and enjoyed the cookies with his family. Then last summer, he received a notice from a collection agency, informing him that his check had bounced and nearly doubled his bill to $82, as first reported by CBS4.

He called the local Girl Scout troop who directed him to an office in Denver.

"When someone called me back, they said my account was marked as closed. That was the first sign that we had a problem here, because my account was not closed," he told ABCNews.com. He explained to the Girl Scouts that his account was not closed, even asking his bank manager to send a letter that his account had remained opened. Osborn said he believes the Girl Scouts' bank had an issue processing his check.

(snip)

"The problem is I was never notified," Osborn said, claiming he never received a phone call, letter or knock on the door notifying the check had bounced. "Because they never contacted me, I never had the chance to set this straight."

The debt collection agency, AAA Collectors Inc., sued Osborn for $739.85, the bulk of which is $450 in attorney fees, followed by court and principal costs.

(snip)

Osborn had to pay $100 to file a legal response just so the agency doesn't win a judgment by default. The attorney for the agency, Randall Purvis, has asked Osborn if he wants to settle, Osborn said, but he declined. Purvis did not respond to a request for comment. Today Osborn received a notice for a trial date of May 8, and he feels he will likely need to hire an attorney. He has filed a complaint with the state attorney general's office on Monday.

http://news.yahoo.com/colo-man-trial-may-over-42-girl-scout-213852513.html

[dlwickham]

1. didn't he look at his bank statement and see something was wrong?