BILL'S ANSWER
To clarify your situation: You attained a student loan for an undisclosed amount and the school you were going to attend closed two months prior to classes starting. You do not indicate the type of student loan you received (federal or private) and whether you have a co-signer to the loan. You also do not indicate whether you used the full amount as payment for your tuition and have any residual funds that could go to repaying the loan.
You indicate “it is posted that we were not responsible to repay” but you do not indicate the specifics of who stated this. Was this statement posted by the school or a conversation from a representative from the lending institution? This is important in formulating your defense for not making payments that eventually resulted in the garnishment.
Student Loans & Federal Student Aid
Student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy unless the debtor can prove a hardship.
There is a provision for discharge of federal student loans if the school closes. The Dept. of Education Federal Student Aid Closed School Information Web page indicates how you can discover if your school qualifies for this provision.
Background on Student Loans and Garnishment
A student loan is in default if the student has not made payments for 270 days. One primary consequence of a defaulted student loan is loss of eligibility for future student loans or any type of state or federal student aid. The default is reported to all national credit bureaus, which generally eliminates the option of credit-based alternative loans. Another possible consequence of a default would be wage garnishment.
If you are having trouble meeting your student loan payments, contact your loan servicer. You may qualify for a deferment, forbearance, or repayment alternative that is more affordable. Consolidation can help by extending your loan’s repayment term beyond the standard ten years. While this will increase the total interest charges, the monthly payments will become more manageable.
Visit the Bills.com student loan savings center to find a new student loan or refinance an existing student loan.
Previously, Bills.com has addressed student loans and garnishments (see Advice on How to Stop Garnishment on Student Loans). The recourse for ceasing or limiting the garnishment will be based on the type of student loan you have (see Everything You Need to Know About Student Loans). Both these resources indicate the differences between federal and private student loans and contain information that will help you understand and resolve your student loans.
Recommendation
First, check the Dept. of Education Federal Student Aid Web site and verify that your school qualifies for non-repayment. Second, you need to contact the representative who said you did not have to repay the loan. If it was the school, you may have legal recourse with the school. However, the school is no longer in business and probably filed bankruptcy. If the school accepted your funds, then you may qualify as a creditor in its bankruptcy. You may recover some of your funds, which you could use in repaying the loan.
Since your wages are being garnished, the lending agency must know that you are not in school, thus, the repayment of the loan. If the lending agency stated you did not need to repay the loan, then you need to get that in writing and determine the legal reason for the garnishment.
It is always advisable to have all correspondence in writing to provide a paper trail that could be used in a court. You may want to contact an attorney in your state that handles debt and bankruptcy to file a claim against the school.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.
Best,
Bill
Salt Lake City, UT | December 04, 2010
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