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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    4

    Question High Origination Fees and Interest Rate on a Private Student Loan

    My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: PA, but the loan moves my legal proceedings to Ohio.

    I recently ran into an issue with one of my private loans that I took out for school. Let's start from the beginning. I went to ITT Tech in Dunmore, PA, a for-profit school. My issue isn't with the school, but rather the private loaner. I recently received my 1098-t from the school, and on the 1098-t they claimed I got a $20k scholarship. But that $20k scholarship didn't look like it was being applied to my loans, so I went to the school to do further investigating. It turns out, they applied it to my one private loan, Peaks. The financial rep gave me my ledger card which cased all of my transactions the school got. The kicker is my Peaks loan was a total of $24,648. Now logically, I assumed that $24,648 - $20,000 was the left sum of $4,648, even the schools paper work shows this as my final payment for said private loan. But the loaner was showing me a balance of $12,00 and change that I needed to pay back. Last Saturday (2/2/13), I had the company print out my promissory note for my loan and any paper work they could that showed my balance and the amounts applied. Low and behold my promissory note also showed an amount of $24,648 (which I signed for) but something still didn't add up. Yesterday, (2/4/13:Monday) I went back to my school with my father and presented all of the information and he was stumped as much as we were. We called the loaner and they mentioned a "origination fee" of 10%! They also mentioned that with the accrued interest (14.25%, mind-blowing, but I have no credit score) which totaled to $3,512 and change that my total loan if $24,648 shot up to a massive $30,624 (which still doesn't equate to the $12k amount they're saying I owe them, but I'm sure on the call later today they will pull more fees out of their ass, even though the only extra fee listed is the origination fee which they don't say how much will be). I read through my promissory note, at least 10 times, and while they do mention and have me sign stating that I understand that the amount I'm signing for isn't the amount I'm actually signing for, they don't offer any type amount of percentage that this "origination fee" is. They just say that there is one.

    I guess my question is; is it legal for them to have me sign for a loan of a defined and clear amount and then attach all of these undefined amount fees to my total and then not make me aware of what my final loan amount would be at signing? It almost seems like they can make up any amount for this origination fee and then apply it to my loan and not let me know what the amount would be and what my totaling loan would come out to.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Is It Legal

    The private student loan lending for private (especially trade) schools is one of the scummiest, yet legal, rackets out there. ITT's incestuous relationship with Peaks is well documented and full of peril.

    Schools typically don't send scholarship money to lenders. What was the nature of the scholarship? Why on earth do you think it would work like it did? The issue isn't so much Peaks but the scoundrels at ITT. You agreed to have all your unpaid ITT charges routed into that loan shark loan. You should start there with why the tuition billed was not credited with whatever scholarship you think you were entitled to.

    You most likely did get the appropriate Truth In Lending Act disclosures at the time you took out the loan. It was in that sheet of fine print you got when you signed up.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Is It Legal

    Let me answer some of your questions:

    1. They wouldn`t tell me the nature of the scholarship, the financial aid rep at the school was very adamant in telling me that he is unaware of how they pick their candidates and that it`s a corporate choice.
    2. I`m not entirely sure how to answer this question, I guess my best answer would be because I don`t know how these things are normally handled.

    My biggest gripe is how a lender can have you sign for one amount and then not let you know the charge of the other fees and yet still maintain a strong legal point. Granted I may be mildly naive in this field, but I just don`t understand how that`s possible. As far as ITT, I would like to make note that the financial rep helping me is flabbergasted as much as myself and is actually interested in why my loans were so high, and still believes I can get money taking off of my principal. But, the more we delve into that, the more it looks like a dream rather than a reality.

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