Owing a balance at my former College, while already attending the college I transferred to; VETERAN

Hey everybody, I just wanted to include first that I am a U.S. Armed Services Veteran and I use the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill to attend school.

So I attended a Community College in the Fall of 2017, receiving the Pell grant at a total of $2960.00. Apparently the school had an issue with my Pell Grant and sent me a message right before classes had begun, but I do not remember this message.

My school received my VA Contract fee covering the whole Fall semester, and the Pell Grant, being a surplus of $2960.00, was sent to me via a check. I passed all my courses, transferred to a 4 year University which I am about to enter my second semester at, and now I am hit with a bill of $2284.91 by my previous school because my Pell Grant was taken away a month after I completed my studies in January of 2018; There was no hold placed on my community college account until a month before I started at my new University, and I did not find out until I was almost done my first semester there.

My questions concerning this are:
-What are the penalties of me not paying this money back to the school?

-Will I have issues with FAFSA in the future such as being refused or having it taken back again, even though I have had no issues since last Fall?

I do understand that I should pay this money back based on principle, but I do not have that kind of money laying around currently, and I am frustrated with the school which should have placed a hold on my account if there was any discrepancy BEFORE they gave me my final grades and transcripts.

I really appreciate the help as I am trying to do the right thing as well what is best for me and my family. If anyone needs more information or clarification, other than personal, I will be happy to give it!

Thanks and I look forward to hearing back.

Call the college. You owe them money and need to work out a payment plan.

Why did you lose your Pell Grant? You can’t get it and the GI Bill money too?

Does your former (or even current) school have a veteran’s services office or staff member? You may want to enlist this person to assist you in working through this.

I am wondering what happened that caused the school to remove your Pell Grant. That is the thing you’ll want to find out. It’s important to know what happened, because you never know - maybe the school made a mistake. Maybe not, though, and you can learn from what happened so it doesn’t happen in the future.

What did the school tell you they said in the message they sent that you didn’t see?