Hello all, I'm currently dealing with 40K in private student loans[Sallie Mae] and I let them go into default. I thought my loan consolidation had consolidated ALL of my school loans and was not aware of this debt that I had until recently... I'm current on my federal school loan debts and pay them on time every month but it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I started receiving letters and phone calls about this 'other' debt.

I moved around a lot after leaving school and after applying for a car loan in October[for which I was turned down] I guess they found my current address and phone number and started trying to contact me. Unfortunately I let the situation get worse because I was confused, scared, and shocked about this debt and didn't call the CA until today. I spoke with a nice man who told me I had a couple of options. Pay the loan in full[I'm unable to otherwise I would] or pay a substantial percentage of the loan and get on a payment plan... After telling the man that I couldn't afford to pay 25% of the loan he agreed to see if his manager would allow me to pay 5% of the loan now[about $2000] and then put me back on a payment plan of $250/month aferwards...I agreed to this but when he came back on the line after speaking with his manager[don't know if he really did, maybe it was just a tactic?] he said that the information had already been sent to an attorney and that I should contact them.

I have a couple of questions:

What am I facing here...is there anyway I can convince the attorney to not sue and put me back on a payment plan if I can pay a decent amount now and show that I can rehabilitate this loan?

If I do get sued, what will happen to me? I know wage garnishment up to 25% is a possibility...can they also seize my assets? I don't have any 'assets' per se except for a $3000 car and a computer...and I kind of need a car to keep my job.

Lastly, am I exempt from wage garnishment since I'm a Pennsylvania resident? I've done a bit of research and I read that one cannot have their wages garnished in PA for unsecured debts. Is this true?


I'm going to be calling the attorney and hopefully I can work something out.