http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/ Issues with debt arising from student loans and education expenses. en Fri, 24 May 2013 05:08:09 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/ http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158882&goto=newpost Thu, 23 May 2013 18:02:54 GMT My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: California I took out a federal PLUS loan in November 2012. Then in March 2013 my... My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: California

I took out a federal PLUS loan in November 2012. Then in March 2013 my campus accounts receivable bill showed a charge of $4,406, the amount of the loan. I contacted my loan handler and they said the government never disbursed the loan money to my school. There's a record of the loan, but it was cancelled, so the amount listed for the loan is $0. I think what happened is they made a mistake by offering me a loan I wasn't eligible for, disbursed the money to my checking account, then got burned when the gov't didn't provide the loan. I can't know though, because I've gotten no explanation for this charge, other than a 1-line description of the charge as "Grad PLUS loan." I e-mailed my financial aid office to ask about it but they didn't reply. So basically they're just saying "pay up and don't ask any questions." This makes me wonder whether they even have any legal grounds for what they're doing. I graduated in December 2012 and currently am still looking for work, so all my student loans are on unemployment deferment. I really can't afford to just pay them this money, which I've already spent and was planning to pay back over 25 years! Furthermore, I'm planning on a career in public service, which will qualify me for a student loan cancellation after keeping up payments for 10 years.

For these reasons, I'm planning to officially dispute this charge. I could use some advice on what to include in the letter of dispute, and how I can keep them from using a collection agency to shred my credit rating. One concern I have is that the bill is dated March 16, which means that over 60 days have passed at this point. However, because I graduated I wasn't checking my campus accounts bills and did not expect to have any charges to pay off. I never received a paper bill, and only discovered the charge last week when I logged in to make sure I was in good standing.

So I'm planning on sending an official dispute letter and would appreciate some advice on what to include in the letter and what other steps I should take. ]]> Student Loans darp http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158882 http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158228&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 21:11:19 GMT We made the mistake of cosigning multiple student loans for our twins over the years. They never graduated but have still accumulated about $100,000... We made the mistake of cosigning multiple student loans for our twins over the years. They never graduated but have still accumulated about $100,000 of debt each. I have painfully been paying over $1000 a month just in interest to satisfy the loans until they completed school. The payback period begins in 1 month & so far the notices we've received are over $1200 a month per student. We are panicked to say the least. There are both federal & private loans & every different type imaginable. The Art Institute had a way of keeping the year round schooling & funding so seemingly random & confusing that we became totally lost & just assumed it would all work out as they said.

The twins will try to make payments, but don't have the incomes to pay much on the debt & we certainly can't pay $2400 a month. We are close to retirement age, but are working lots of overtime just to cover these bills.

Wondering if any of the pay per income options could work for the twins or is it based on our income as well? We are really lost on where to start & the differences will all the loans.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. ]]> Student Loans Nelda http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158228