I have an issue with student loans (which may or may not belong to me) on my credit reports which have basically ruined my name forever. After pulling my credit reports I discovered to my horror that there are four defaulted student loans from citybank placed on all my reports. These loans were apparently sold twice to two differerent collection agencies and thus 12 different negative entries from the original 4. Additionally the "end of life on these entries was pushed back 18 months from the original default period on the original citybank loan. IS THIS ILLEGAL?????? IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO ABOUT THIS? Thanks for you're help, Sal
sal, i kmow what you are feeling. first of all, are your loans being repayed now? are they still in default? You should search the threads here under student loans. there is a lot of helpful information. Yes, they can report it that way, but you can also change it.
First off I want to thank you for responding to me. To answer you're question, I first would like to get a little more indepth in how this all came about. In 1998 I decided to enter a trade school (Masters Institute) and believed they're garbage about how they would find me a great postion with a great compant within the first few month of school there. Well of couse they didnt do a thing to help me find a job (nor any of my classmates) at graduation I found my self out of money trying to live on tips from a pizza delivery job. I basically had no money and could barely feed myself let alone pay a school loan. The school has long since closed, so I have no evidence of my degree or credentials of my hard work from attending this school. I cannot see myself paying on this loan for services I really did not receive, so I basically refused to pay hence I'm now in this fix. Am I screwed???
Do a search on the board under "student loans" and READ! You will have to pay for these loans eventually. Your best bet is to rehabilitate the loans, that will bring all your loans current and that will remove all the negative information. Then you will probably want to consolidate them into one loan under the income contingent program.
sal, 1). call 1-800-4FEDAID to find out who is currently servicing your student loans. 2). visit http://www.nslds.ed.gov/ and go to "financial aid review" to apply for a PIN and then get access to your records. This will be your record of what loans actually belong to you, when they were opened (disbursed), how much you owe on them, and who is currently servicing them. 3). visit http://osfaombudsman.ed.gov/ and call the Ombusdman's Office if you truly believe that the school defrauded you of an education. 4). get an attorney as well, if you believe that you've been defrauded. I suggest for starters you contact "Mozilla" on this board (he is not an attorney but knows a LOT about legal wranglings wrt student loans) and drop him an e-mail. You just may have a legitimate case...
All of a sudden, I'm not so sure that all negatives come off! I just got off the phone with PHEAA. After requesting my balance, I asked them about rehab. The woman told me that the only thing that comes off is the I9 rating (default). She said that all other entries remain! Now, I have been led to believe during other conversations with them that once it's rehabbed, all entries, including those made by old servicers, would come off. Now I am confused. Has anyone actually been through a rehab? If so, were entries made by all past servicers of the loan removed? TOm
Tom, PHEAA has been a major thorn in my side too. I didn't rehab, because PHEAA's collection agency that they contracted (NCO) lied to me and told me I couldn't. As I result, I consolidated through the Direct Loans program. It is my understanding that once rehabbed, all negative info goes away. BTW, I'm still battling this one with NCO and PHEAA...
This is a lie. The HEA clearly states differently. This lady either doesn't know what she is talking about or PHEAA is breaking the law. The ENTIRE tradeline is deleted or ALL negative entries in the tradeline are deleted. This is a promise by the HEA. ASA deleted all of my tradelines. As far as original servicers, DOE director of Perkin's Loans Pamela Moran (do a search for her info on this board along with "marci") told me that the "spirit of the HEA" dictated that these tradelines should be deleted, too. I had to fight for it, though, using the Ombudsman's office, ASA, and yelling at the original servicer. Eventually, all of the original tradelines were deleted.
Marci, Thanks so much for you're input - I'm so glad I found this discussion board - you people are awesome. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person who is being jerked around by these loan sharks.
Mozilla - are you out there? I understand you have had you're own battle with the Student Loan Association - could you possibly help me as well. Thanks again, Sal
Sal, read the HEA. You may be able to get the loans discharged if the school closed. I remember reading something about this, not sure if it referred to FFEL or Perkins loans, but check it out.
sal, a lot of these propietary schools jammed people with promises of training and great job placement and then basically stuck up the gov't by financing the whole thing through student loans. I know , i used to work for one step one: get all the information you can on how your loans are reporting. call but make sure you get hard copies of everything. step two: contact you state commissionof higher ed or whover governs these types of schools. ask them for information on the school. was it accredited, licensed, do they know why they went out of business..... again ask for stuff in writing. step three; when you have all the info from steps one and two, you are ready to roll. contact the ombudsman about your situation. be armed with as much information as possible. if this school was scamming the government on loans their may have been a lawsuit or something filed against them. check google.com to see if they are still in business (maybe operating in another state). I would still dispute each tradeline (not mine, incorrect amount etc, a) with the cra's to set them up for a possible lawsuit.
All I can say is that ALLof you are really great. Until I joined this BB I felt like a dirty bum, who was only whinning and trying to get out of paying something - but I truely feel I was taken (you know that deep down feeling that you were made an ass of and you're not even really sure how you managed to allow yourself to be duped like that in the first place??????) I went to that school, studied, and attended faithfully with the idea that I would make a good living (AND OF COURSE PAY THE LOAN BACK) Now I have NOTHING to prove I did anything EXCEPT THIS DEBT!!! Until now, I honestly thought I was the only person that this had happened to (dumb eh??) - now I know better. I'm not going to hide from this anymore, and I'm not going to let this worry me sick like I've done before - NOW I'M GOING TO FIGHT AND KICK SOME BUTT My first move is to see EXACTLY what they say I owe then have a chat with someone from the department of education - am I correct here, or should I go straight to a lawyer????? Again, I want to thank each and everyone of you for all you're help. Sal [used to be in the 800 club ]
Hi Everyone, I did some digging for info about that school of mine that closed and came up with the following from the BUREAU FOR PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: News Release March 9th Informational Meeting for Masters Institute Students Representatives of Consumer Affairs' Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office will be on hand to meet with students at the informational meeting, scheduled for Friday, March 9, at the County Government Center in San Jose. The meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Board Chambers (East Wing), First Floor, 70 West Hedding St. in San Jose. Bureau representatives will inform students about their rights and protections under the law, in cases of unexpected school closures. Does anyone have an idea what this should mean to me? Is this good or bad for me? Thanks again, Sal
what it means is that someone else has been complaining (district attorney's office will be there) and there is at least the possibility of criminal fraud regarding this school. was this last year? contact da's office and office of consumer affairs, and find out what happened!! they probably have some records of complaints, etc. They may be able to give you documents so you can forward to govt to have your student loan debt erased!!!!! so it is good for you..... see i told you!!!
Hi Everyone, I did a search on the California Website and came up with some more news pertaining to that wonderful school: News Release State Offers Help for Students Locked Out of Masters Institute in the South Bay FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 7, 2001 The California Department of Consumer Affairs has joined forces with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Education to help approximately 2,000 students who were locked out of classes at Masters Institute in San Jose. Masters Institute closed its doors without notice midnight Monday, giving students a bitter lesson about continuing their education at Masters Institute. Representatives of Consumer Affairs' Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE), the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Education will meet with students on Friday, March 9th, at the County Government Center in San Jose. The informational meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Board Chambers (East Wing), First Floor, 70 West Hedding St. in San Jose. Representatives will advise students about their rights and protections in cases of unexpected school closures. BPPVE representatives are now engaged in ongoing discussions with Masters Institute to ensure the school keeps students informed of their rights and educational options. Bureau Chief Michael Abbott said: "Student rights and protections are our primary concern. We're moving quickly to resolve this matter in the best interest of students. This informational meeting is a good first step. Additionally we are working closely with the U.S. Department of Education to make sure the students are protected." On Tuesday, March 6, 2001, students were shut out of Masters Institute classrooms and found a notice posted on the Web site stating, "Unforeseen operational circumstances have necessitated that the Masters Institute temporarily cease operations as of midnight, March 5, 2001. â?¦" Masters Institute is a private educational institution offering classroom and long-distance learning programs in computer sciences. The State Department of Education first licensed Masters Institute in April 1973. BPPVE granted re-approval from January 2000 through December 2004. The Bureau regulates private postsecondary and vocational schools in California. I wonder if I should go to this meeting or just contact the District Attorney directly on my own? hmmmmmm -Sal
Personally, I think that you should contact the District Attorneys Office on your own seeing how the date of the meeting was 09 MARCH 2001. If you read the article that you posted and look at a 2002 calendar you will see that March 9, 2002 is on a Saturday. Dont get Discouraged
Reshod, I feel really stupid here - until you mentioned the date discrepancy I assumed it was THIS year!!! Why havn't I heard a word from anyone accept the collection agencies? (dumb question I know). I really hope I havn't messed things up for myself now Reshod, thanks for being sharp and pointing this out to me!!!!! -Sal
