After years of not even being billed, today we received a very harsh collection notice from the US Department of Education, Greenville, TX, threatening garnishment and demanding full payment. Here are the details. My wife took out 2 student loans in about 1985 or 1986 and used them to attend a technical collegeâ?¦this was about 4 years before we met. One loan was for roughly $1200, and the other was for $3800. She divorced her then-husband in 1988. There was an oral agreement for him to pay the $3800 loan at the time of the divorce, nothing in writing. We got married in 1991, and have been paying $60 per month since around 1993, at least, for the $1200 loan. I canâ??t honestly say that we never missed a payment or anything like that, but they kept sending statements, and we kept paying. Both of us thought it was odd that the balance on the statement never changed, but we never followed up as to why. We did a bk13 in 7/99, discharged in 1/02. The loan was not included. Payments were made throughout the duration of the bk. When I got interested in cleaning up our credit histories about a month ago, I noticed this tl was reporting paid as agreed on her EQ and EX, and positive but with a past due of roughly $1250 on her TU. I thought this was just a simple mistake, so I asked her to call USDofE and ask them to fix the mistake. My wife said during this conversation, the person she talked to said she had another account. (This is the $3800 account for which we have never received a statement, notice, phone call, or any other type of communication about.) According to this person, the reason the balance never decreased on the account we were paying on was because some portion of the $60 per month we have been paying all this time has been being credited to this other account. Last week we received a letter confirming acceptance into some rehab program pursuant to the sale of the loan to SLMA. We did not return it. Todayâ??s letter states it is a â??notice of accelerationâ?, â??you have failed to meet a scheduled repayment of installments due, as specified in the promissory note(s) which you signed. The entire amount of your delinquent student loan(s) is due and payable now!â? The letter further states that they can garnish 10% of wages, and divert any IRS refunds. â??Also, this agency is empowered to add to your account balance any costs incurred to collect on your account.â? And we can avoid such costs by paying in full. This really sucks considering we had NO communication regarding this account for 10 years or more, and apparently at least some of our regular payment was being credited to this account. Are they legally allowed to do this, and do I have any recourse? Please help.
Immediately contact the Student Loan Ombudsman http://sfahelp.ed.gov/ombudsman/index.html explain the situation and ask for assistance. They'll straighten it out for you.
Thank you for your help, too much. I reviewed their website last night and will be contacting them shortly.
and divert any IRS refunds. â?? RatRay ============ Then cease getting refunds. THE END ** *** ** LB 59 """""""""```~~~```'""""""
1*There was an oral agreement for him to pay the $3800 loan at the time of the divorce, nothing in writing. 2*. Both of us thought it was odd that the balance on the statement never changed, but we never followed up as to why. 3*According to this person, the reason the balance never decreased on the account we were paying on was because some portion of the $60 per month we have been paying all this time has been being credited to this other account. 4*The letter further states that they can garnish 10% of wages, and divert any IRS refunds. 5*This really sucks considering we had NO communication regarding this account for 10 years or more, and apparently at least some of our regular payment was being credited to this account. Are they legally allowed to do this, and do I have any recourse? RatRay ===================== 1*Creditors aren't obligated to divorce agreements 2*Why? 3*They have to apply the payment to the account you say it's for. 4*Don't over pay your taxes. """""""""```~~~```'""""""""" THE END ** *** ** LB 59
