I'm new to the forum but very grateful to all the good info I've gathered already. I have a kind of complicated student loan situation that I don't want to go into right now, but one question I would like to have answered is how garnishments are begun. Some posts I read say that they have to give you some notice before garnishing -- others say that they can do it without notice. I've only been working at my job for two months. The collection agency doesn't even have my correct name -- they have my maiden name still. So I don't know how they could garnish but from reading posts it seems like these agencies have unlimited powers!! I'm working to resolve the issues I have with my students loans but in the meantime do not want them to start taking money from me! (and of course would be embarrassed to have my employer know about any of this) Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
I would get some sort of repayment program ASAP. They can and will start garnishing your wages and believe me, the amount they'll take will be A LOT more than the minimum amount they'd require. I owe abut $6000 in student loans- my minimum payments between the two lenders is about $100.
Thanks for the advice. I'm aware of what they're capable of, however, part of the problem is about six years ago I rec'd an insurance settlement and wanted to pay off all my old debts. I called my university and asked them how to do this. They told me to call Ed Fund which gave me an amount to pay off which I did. Unfortunately, I did not get them to give me any kind of paperwork to back this up. Now they're coming back saying I owe more money. While I'm trying to get this resolved ( and I KNOW it's not going to be easy), I don't want them to start garnishing my wages. I don't want to get into a repayment plan for a loan I might not even owe. So how do I know when they're going to start garnishment? Does the CA do this or the guarantor? How do they know who you work for?
are you in contact with the ombudsman with the Dept. of Ed.? If not, I would recommend you write or call about your situation ASAP. They can help you out with this situation and perhaps ease your mind a bit.
yssimom, Student loan problems - never a pretty site. Just an AKA...... Here in california, they can't garnish you're wages unless you worked at your job for atleast a year, and they cant garnish you if another entity is already garnishing your wages. With that said....whatever you do, don't let it get to that point, they will work with you on payment options. Also, if you can afford a little higher payments, you should rehab the loan to remove all negative marks on your credit reports (after 12 months) -Sal
student loangarnishment - new regs I've done some more research on the net - did a "google" on "administrative wage garnishment" and found that new regulations were adopted March 21, 2003 -- they actually have the pertinent federal register excerpts on the FSA website but from what I can tell they do have to notify you before they start garnishment, you have a right to inspect or copy any records they have related to the debt and to enter into a repayment agreement before they begin garnishing. You also have a right to have a hearing before garnishment and it says that they have the burden of proof. You also cannot be garnished if you were involuntarily separated from prior employment and have been employed in your new job for less than 12 months. I do not know how individual state law affects this but I make the assumption that federal law supersedes in this issue.
