How a student loan can ruin your life

STUDENT LOAN NEWS:

UPDATE: March 31, 2013, It's been over 4 years since my last update, and since people are still contacting me with similar stories, I thought I'd post an update. I'm still trying to complete my GED and working at minimum wage jobs. I am 54 years old and have less than $1000 in my bank account. If it wasn't for the support of friends and family, I would still be in debt to the Dept. of Education. I still believe that there needs to be student loan reform in this country. The situation is only getting worse, with the number of people who are defaulting on their student loans. With all of the other problems in this country, this problem doesn't get the attention it deserves. I am just one insignificant victim of the student loan debt monster that is eating away at the core of our children's future.

UPDATE: Oct 13, 2008, If you have read my student loan story and have student loan problems of your own, I encourage you to visit this site. It has some great information about student loans. It's too late to help me, but you may find it valuable. If you've been reluctant to make a donation to my student loan fund, I now have something to offer in return. I have written a novel about a young girl who travels from Texas to New York to find her birthmother. The story took me and my boyfriend four years to write and it was while all this student loan stuff was going on, so you know it's good. So if you would like to help me recover some of the money that was lost, please go here to check it out.

UPDATE: Sep 13, 2008, For those of you who have been following my student loan story, I want to say thanks for visiting this web site and for your words of encouragement. For the other 40 percent of you who thought that I was responsible for the loan and not my husband, you will be pleased to read the following statement from the U. S. Department of Education: THIS NOTICE SERVES AS WRITTEN VERIFICATION THAT THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPARTMENT) HAS AGREED TO A SETTLEMENT OF YOUR DEFAULTED STUDENT LOAN(S) AND/OR GRANT OVERPAYMENT(S) IN THE AMOUNT OF 11,300.00 AND CONSIDERS THIS DEBT SETTLED-IN-FULL. NO FURTHER PAYMENTS ARE DUE.

UPDATE: Aug 23, 2008, The deadline to pay my student loan has now past. My boyfriend sent a cashier's check to the US Dept. of Ed. three weeks ago, so now we are just waiting to hear back from them. I'm going to leave the donation link here because there still might be some generous lottery winner out there who can help me financially, so that I can someday go back to school and finish my education. When I think of the mistake I made in getting a student loan, it makes me want to cry.

UPDATE: July 27, 2008, With less than three weeks before the payment deadline, there is still no word back from the US Dept. of Ed. on my discharge request. We are planning on selling most of our stuff over the next few weeks so that we have enough money to live on after my boyfriend and I emptying our bank accounts to make the final payment on this bogus twenty year old loan. I am still working only part-time and have no health insurance. Whatever you do, don't get a student loan!

UPDATE: June 30, 2008, With six weeks to go before the payment deadline, a visitor to this web site has informed me that they were recently able to get their loan discharged by filing a False Certification form! Last week I filled out that form and submitted it to the US Dept. of Ed. I did this a few years ago, but had submitted the form to my original loan holder. I do not have a GED and should not have been allowed to receive a student loan. This is my last, best hope to get this loan discharged

UPDATE: June 16, 2008, I am back from my trip to Texas. It looks like no one from my family is going to help me pay off this student loan. You start to realize how senseless the whole situation is when you are asking your family for help to pay off a bogus twenty year old student loan. I did receive an economic stimulus check, which will go right back to the government to pay off the loan. I also closed out my 401K, but I'm still $10,000 short with Aug. 15th fast approaching.

UPDATE: On May 22, 2008 I received a reply from the collection agency addressing several concerns that I had. I basically asked for a letter from the Dept of Ed stating that they are in agreement with the terms of the settlement. A deadline of August 15, 2008 has been set for a check to reach their payment center. My boyfriend has offered to loan me half of the amount needed and I must come up with the remaining $5650. So far, my family in Texas has not offered any financial support. My boyfriend is very disappointed that no one has stepped forward to make a donation.

UPDATE: On May 12, 2008 I received a response from the collection agency regarding my settlement request. They are willing to accept $11,300 to end this madness. That's still a lot of money, but it is less than $17,250. Now I have to either find a way to come up with eleven grand or hire a lawyer to see if this loan can be discharged. Something tells me that I would be better off paying the money and then suing the school and my ex-husband for the settlement amount.

UPDATE: On April 26, 2008 I moved back to Texas to find out if anyone in my family can help with my student loan. My boyfriend is on the verge of leaving me because he is afraid they will sue and that he will end up paying my student loan. Last year he paid over four thousand dollars when I was sued for unpaid medical bills. We just sent a letter to the collection agency asking for a lump sum settlement and documented several problems with the loan application.

UPDATE: As of April 10, 2008 the US Department of Education now claims that I owe them over $17,250. I previously thought the original principal amount was $1500, but a recent collection notice says that the original loan amount was over eight thousand. I did not receive the amount they claim and in the past three years, I have had more than six thousand dollars garnished from my pay and tax refunds. I had to quit my job at Walmart, so now I have no health insurance. The wage garnishments took so much out of my paycheck that it was not worth it for me to work there anymore. Please read my student loan story.

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