[rileym3]

Hello! I was wondering what I can do for my situation:
I attended a tech/trade school in 1999/2000 and within 3 months of graduation the following occurred:

1: My certification became obsolete and had no value.
2: The school closed its doors and was unable to provide job
placement assistance as promised.
3: All the jobs that were promised were shipped overseas.

I vividly remember all of my fellow studentts being unhappy with the school, and I had no understanding as to why. They also failed to cover essential material that was in the curriculum.

After paying $12,000+ of the loan while attending, I stopped paying because I believe that I was scammed by my school.

Upon closure, the school sold all the accounts to a colletcion agency, who has ruined my credit. If it were not for this sole entry, I could purchase a home, acquire a much needed line of credit for my business (I'm a freelance computer consultant), and would have been able to aquire employment during the years I was seeking it.

Keep in mind that employers check your credit to qualify you. I applied at several places, checking the box which stated 'send my a copy of my credit report' Those reports never came, and I was never contacted by these employers.

The balance on the account is $3,254, and I disputed the entry online, stating that my school breached their contract. The account has already been charged off.

I would take this to small claims court to have the entry removed, but the collection agency and the closed school headquarters are in another state (on the east coast). I'm on the west coast, and I need to know if I'd need to travel across the US to dispute this entry on my credit, or if I can file in the local city where the papers were signed (I have no copies of these papers).

I'd sue the collection agency if I could for defamation of credit, lost wages, and request that the entry be removed, plus financial damages for my medical issues that I couldn't fix when they were new (because I could get a job - even minimum wage which is less than enough to pay the bills - thanks to my damaged credit) and now these medical problems are much larger and I still cannot afford to get treatment for them ( I have no insurance) - I can barely pay my rent, etc. as it is. I wold hope to send them reeling and get a phone call offering an out of court settlement offer, but that's just me. The real world may be and probably will be different.

The school was screaming about guys making $75 an hour at home, programming in their underwear, but I was never told I'd have to move halfway across the world to get the job and lower my salary to $2 an hour. My entire future is on hold until 2008 when this entry expires, and I cannot wait that long to get my financial future in gear. I'm 28 years old, and would be sitting pretty right now if it weren't for this one entry on my credit. Since a minimum wage job does not provide enough to pay the bills, my only option is to run my business with absolutely no capital whatsoever, and wind up with no more than $50 to my name at the end of the month after all my bills are paid. My car is my job, and given the fact that it's 11 years old, when it goes, I'll need at least $5,000 cash to buy another used vehicle, which will be paid in full (I do not qualify for any loans, even for a $10,000 one!) If not, I'll have to start taking the bus to see my clients...

Any advice on legal action/strategies to get this entry legitimately removed, with or without pay, would be greatly apprediated. It's my understanding that collection agencies break the law regularly, but it is also my understanding that a lawsuit could take years to get my day in court (beyond 2008 when the entry expires). Thanks in advance!

Riley

[helpme99]

I had a simliar situation happen to me in California about October 2003. Tech school closed while I was in the middle of an aggressive training program. School closed because of bad management and they took all my money. Also, I stayed in a nearby hotel to attend the school, and they were supposed to pay the hotel, but guess what? They only paid about 15% (minimum) and then they filed bankrupcy. So that tiny paper I signed at the beginning to stay there came back to haunt me cause it said it the school didn't pay, I had to pay, and I paid the school to pay them cause it was part of the package. So the only way I was reimbursed, or hope to be, is thru the State of California thru the STRF, student tuition recovery fund, which is like an insurance program for schools that participate in it to refund student's money for California residents only, and does not reimburse membership fees or housing fees. So as of today, I hope the state will reimburse me cause I was a resident of California at that time. I hope this helps.

[ktorgovnick]

Hey there. I saw your posting through the miracle of Google. I am a writer at JANE Magazine, who is working on an article about this very thing—tech and career schools closing, leaving students in the lurch and scamming them out of money. I'd love to interview you both. If you're down, write me at kate.torgovnick@fairchildpub.com. Thanks,

Kate Torgovnick
JANE Magazine

[zuckafree]

If your student loan is private then I would say contact an attorney. If your loan is being held by a State Guarantor or the US Dept of Education then I would say call them and request a loan discharge app, based on either Ability to Benefit or Closed School.