<prompt> Human: I was at my community college last year for one semester. I was dealing with anxietydepression issues that rendered me basically nonfunctional, and had to drop out. I quit after the deadline for withdrawing, so I basically failed out of three classes.I called the school about this, since Id received financial aid for that semester. I asked whether I owed anything, and whether Id have to repay the financial aid since I failed the classes. The guy I spoke with said no, I didnt owe anything, and you dont have to pay back aid unless you drop out early enough to get a refund.After I confirmed that, I basically ignored everything they sent my way. I couldnt bring myself to talk to anyone there or read the emails anxiety being a pain in the ass, and since I didnt owe them anything, I didnt think I had to. From the email titles, it all seemed to be schoolwide updates, newsletters, etc.About six months later, I get a call from a collection agency saying theyre collecting a debt from a college. I figure its a scam or something, since I had been assured I didnt owe any money, and tell them politely to piss off. I ignore any further calls from blockedprivate numbers, and the mail that comes from some collection company, again claiming to be working on behalf of the college.I opened one up the other day, just to see what they were harassing me about, and it had the name of the school and my student ID on it. Now Im freaking out a little bit, since they obviously would have had to get it from the college. It says the original debt was about 500, but with collection fees its now 800. I think to myself, what if the guy I talked to didnt know what he was talking about, or there were fees applied for something after I talked to him? What if I actually do owe them eight hundred bucks? Shitshitshitshitshit.Im kind of in a panic. Still dealing with mental BS, which makes it a hundred times worse to try and deal with this - Im a shut-down-and-hide-under-stress kind of person, but I know I have to get this mess cleaned up before it gets any worse. I lost my job two months ago, and dont have any income at all while I search. Fortunately I had a solid emergency funds and a few thousand in savings, so Im not destitute, but I also owe my lawyer 2k for some work he did right before I was fired. I have to pay for daycare whether Im working or not, or my son will lose his spot, so thats 160wk, plus groceries and phone and whatever else. It all boils down to I dont have 800.What do I do?? Call the college? The collection agency? If I call the agency, will I end up owing them all the money RIGHT NOW, or can I notify them when I get a job, or what? Im stuck, broke, and freaking out.  <response>: Call the college and get the exact amount from them. I know I had a debt collection agency on my ass for months over a dental bill that, when I called the dental office, did not exist. 