<prompt> Human: Hey everyone!So I just received a call today from a debt collector stating I owed 160 dollars in unpaid gym fees. I canceled my old credit card months ago and forgot to notify my gym. I also never received any calls or texts from my gym and havent had the time to go there and get notified in person due to starting a new job.I went to the gym today, explained the situation and offered to pay the amount to them. they waved the late fees as well and only charged me for the unpaid months, which I received a receipt for. They stated since its within a valid time frame since reporting to the debt collectors it will be taken off and they will not contact me anymore.I called the debt collectors to clarify the situation and received a nasty attitude stating I still had to pay them the money. I tried searching online but could not find anything specific which may resemble my situation. Can anyone help me out?  <response>: When your debt goes into collections, a collection agency has bought the debt from the original creditor. You no longer owe the original creditor, you owe the collection agency. Of course the original creditor is going to take your money if you offer it, but it doesnt relieve the debt to the collector. You can send the creditor a debt verification letter and hope that they fucked up and didnt get the proper documentation to prove the debt is yours, but if they did, youll have to pay them. Im not sure about your recourse with the gym, if there is any. You can ask rlegaladvice about if you have any way to get that money back or force the gym to give the money to the collection agency. 