Can I just ignore a collection agency?

Do not ignore this! In your position, I think I'd start by demanding validation of this debt. If you were led to believe that you had resolved this two years ago, then there had to have been a slip-up somewhere along the line.

I don't recommend that you ignore this bill. Did you save any documentattion from when you were told that you could cancel the contract? Hopefully you did............otherwise I think the best thing to do would be to work with the CA to settle the account, otherwise it will definitely affect your credit. Someone else may come along and have better advice for you but I really recommend not ignoring the CA. They will not go away.

Assuming that the CA bothers to validate properly, that should turn up a copy of the contract he signed. That's a starting place. It would allow him to review the terms for early cancelation, to see if that jibes with his memory of his actions at the time.

As I mentioned in my original post, all of my documentation regarding the cancellation of the agreement was lost when I moved out of the country. I recently spoke with Verizon Wireless and they have no record of my fax letter to cancel the account. So I don't doubt the validity of the debt. It's my fault that I didn't confirm with Verizon after I faxed in the cancellation letter. So basically, the original person I spoke with at Verizon screwed up and never processed my cancellation. Now 2 years later, Verizon has written off the debt as not collectable and tell me there is nothing they can do now... it is out of their hands. Thus the letters from the CA. I really hate paying them any money... and as I said, the odds of me living back in the US are slim. But I'll probably go ahead and do it. Lesson learned.