How could they do this to me? Oxford Management?

Never pay over the phone. You give collection agencies access to your checking account and they have been known to drain them.

If the account has been turned over to collections, this is on your credit report and the damage is done. If you pay, your credit will not look better nor will your score go up. A collection is a collection.

The only way I would pay is if they agreed (in writing) to remove the negative entry from my credit reports. If they are not willing to remove the entry or say they will, but will not put it in writing, leave the debt alone. The negative effects will start going away.

Well credit agencies are a ***** - good luck... but you do need to go back over your bank statements and print it out to show that the bill has been paid and write a written acct of how it was paid and that you do not owe anything. With this, you need to send the copy of where it was paid. You can cross out your bank numbers and such and just leave the part where it was paid. It takes a while - because at that point they still may not take it off at which point you would need to dispute it with the credit report agencies like experian and so forth.

You answered your own question. The money was never taken from your account so obviously the debt was never paid.

whered the money go, who cashed the check? that person or agency is the one who would have to notify the credit bureaus that the entry was in error.