I have about 17050 in student loan debt. Like I said, they take a percentage out of my paycheck and I was wondering where I would go for help with this, or who to talk to so that I could start making payments or something, or is it too late?
2007-04-06 05:12:08 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Financial Aid
Talk to the people you used for your student loan. Its more of a legal issue at this point. Usually they try adn contact you to set up a payment schedule. If you ignored them, they have the right to attach wages. Gotta pay your bills, WELCOME to the REAL world!!!!
2007-04-06 05:17:36 · answer #1 · answered by ♠♣♥Rogue♣♥♠ 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your paycheck is being garnished, that means the lender or their agent (collection agent, lawyer, whatever) has likely already brought you to court (sued you), received a legal judgement, then received an order of garnishment. Honestly, at this point in time, I would suggest biting the bullet and just let the garnishment continue, so that you will have this paid off and off your back. However, you might still have some options. One of them would be to take out a "consolidation" loan, pay the loan off with the consolidation loan, then pay the consolidation loan off with regular payments. However, you will likely have difficulty getting a consolidation loan since your credit is shot (because of the defaulted student loan and subsequent judgement order). You do have some rights as a defaultee, and you can learn about them at the Department of Education's website http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/index.html click on the link for "default" along the top.
In most states, garnishments are limited to 25% of your wages, some states they can only garnish for a few months then have to go to court and get another garnishment order (in Colorado, they have to get a new garnishment order every six months). If that is so in your state, you can go to court and request a lower amount of garnishment, although the judge isn't obligated to order so. Sometimes you can negotiate with the company to garnish less.
Like I said before, at this point in time, I think your best bet is to bite the bullet and get the garnishment over. Take a second job, even, and pay more to them to get the payments over. I also suggest talking to a lawyer - most will give you a free consultation - and have him review all of the legal documents to make sure that the debt collection laws of your state are being followed. Even though you owe the money and likely are legally being garnished, there is no reason for NOT double-checking that everything was done legally correctly!
2007-04-06 06:55:19 · answer #2 · answered by reisa2 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your wages, and most likely any tax refund you might be expecting, is being garnished, your loan has probably been referred to the Department of Education by the guarantor and it's now owned by the government. This does not mean you cannot begin to make payments on the loan or work out some repayment arrangements, but until you can show good faith in making these payments you will probably also continue to be garnished. Contact the lender or the guarantee agency of the state where your loans are from and ask for a referral number to call and talk to someone about this.
Please be aware that it sounds as if this loan is in default, and as such it appears against your credit rating. Many borrowers are not aware that defaulted loans, like bankruptcies, remain on your credit report for several years after the loan is paid in full. You can be prepared for difficulty in borrowing for some time to come. However, it is not hopeless if you can bring yourself to make regular payments. The Department is not adverse to making payment arrangements that you can afford.
2007-04-06 06:18:40 · answer #3 · answered by mickiinpodunk 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You need to talk directly to the bank that you borrowed from. Usually they only garnish your wages if you are in default. If you are tight on money most lenders will work out a deal with you. And, if I remember correctly, if you pay at least $10/month (no matter what your minimum is) they can't garnish your wages. The key is communication. Also, if you have more than one lender, get a consolidation loan. This will reduce your monthly payment (and should lock in your interest rate so it doesn't raise). Good luck!
2007-04-06 05:18:34 · answer #4 · answered by Chris 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am amazed that the financial aid professionsls here did not mention a consolidation loan. If the penalties and fees such as court costs are not too large a percentage of the loan principal, you may be able to get a federal direct consolidation loan to pay off your defaulted loan(s). Several of my students have resolved defaulted loans this way. First, contact the holder of your loans to find out the numbers. Then visit www.ed.gov and work your way through till you get to the federal consolidation area. They probably will have a phone number you can call to talk it over with a real person.
2007-04-06 08:37:51 · answer #5 · answered by Bear B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why don't make an arrangement with the bank that loan you the money, they can deduct eanch payment from your paycheck, that will help you a lot with your credit history, since the record you will stablish is ON TIME PAYMENT, that is that nobody, even EQUIFAX...will not know that the bank is collecting the money directly from your paycheck.
But you have to arrange it with the bank first, not let it the way it is right now, because it was an action that the bank took, you have to make the moves.
2007-04-06 07:13:28 · answer #6 · answered by MARIA 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can't get away from student loans, they demand this money back and will take your tax return also one day if you get one. People should be so careful when making student loans. :(
Call the bank that gave you a loan to make the payments...did you not read the fine print when taking the loan?
Good luck!
2007-04-06 05:18:33 · answer #7 · answered by sarah2282005 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At this point you may need to speak to a lawyer who specializes in collections law. They're not going to stop garnishing your wages even if you start making payments, because they had to get a ruling to be able to do that in the first place. You can try talking to the collections center that is garnishing your wages, but don't expect them to be very communicative unless you have legal counsel.
2007-04-06 05:19:20 · answer #8 · answered by Jas 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call the lender. Explain your situation and that you would like to start making payments. They will probably still garnish until it is paid but you might be able to reduce the garnishment, or arrange something else.
2007-04-06 05:19:03 · answer #9 · answered by Compurednek 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pay off the student loan
2007-04-06 05:19:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋