Chapter 7 Bankruptcy / Sallie Mae Student Loans

[CPimp]

I've got a question for some of you who may have been in a similar situation. I believe I have a couple outstanding loans from Sallie Mae, from when I went to college for a semester then dropped out with a quickness because it was way too expensive (and I got scared of the $80k debt I would have accumulated in 2-4 years).

I'm about to finalize my bankruptcy soon, and I was wondering if anyone here has had success in getting those loans wiped off your credit, or how you have arranged to pay them off post-bankruptcy. I figure, worst case scenario, I contact Sallie Mae, set up a payment plan, have the loans paid off in 1-2 years, and by the time the bankruptcy is no longer a big thing on my credit report (7 years duration), I figured the PAID loans would no longer be a negative contributing factor.

Are there any credit gurus here, or anyone in the same situation I am in, that can give me some input? Trying to get my life back in line, and would love if you could give advice. Thanks in advance.

Also, considering the circumstances and need for proper income, if anyone is hiring, please email me. I'm trying to get my life on the road it belongs so I can provide better, and need some more stable work. Thanks.

[wehateporn]

Possibly Rochard can help

[RubyGoodnight]

From what I've looked into it, the Salle Mae loans survive a bankruptcy, unless there are some kind of circumstances where there is little chance you will ever pay them off. You may have a bit of luck if Salle Mae has sold on the debt to a third party and is no longer a debt owned by them. If it's been sold to a private firm, it would be able to fall under the BKR.

More than likely, you'll be doing your plan B - get in touch with Salle Mae, get a payment plan set up, make said payments, and wait for the time to go by for your report to drop it altogether (six years, I think?).

[L-Pink]

Student loans are not dismisable in bankruptcy.

[CPimp]

Originally Posted by RubyGoodnight

From what I've looked into it, the Salle Mae loans survive a bankruptcy, unless there are some kind of circumstances where there is little chance you will ever pay them off. You may have a bit of luck if Salle Mae has sold on the debt to a third party and is no longer a debt owned by them. If it's been sold to a private firm, it would be able to fall under the BKR.

More than likely, you'll be doing your plan B - get in touch with Salle Mae, get a payment plan set up, make said payments, and wait for the time to go by for your report to drop it altogether (six years, I think?).

I'm pretty sure they have been sold to a third party. Whether it was simply a transfer to another government collector or a private collection firm is beyond me, but the loans were taken back in 2005/early 2006 and have been put in forbearance for a couple years and I have been unable to pay on them at all since I took them... hence the reason I finally went thru with the Chapter 7 so I could finally start getting things back in line. Things have not been working out the way I want them to, especially with trying to secure stable work with anyone in this industry. I had a good run for almost 2 years with an individual I won't name, but he chose to go a different route and could no longer use me. I've tried doing my own affiliate sites and with the need to have income "right now" I cannot pay the attention that is required for my sites so they end up making me a lot less money than they should. I've also cut out every unnecessary expense possible, so even with that done, I am still barely making it each month.

I also read that there's a very small possibility to contact the ombudsman of (somewhere??) to see what they can do for me, but that's as far as I could get with that research.

Thank you for your input so far. Much appreciated.

[RubyGoodnight]

Originally Posted by CPimp

I'm pretty sure they have been sold to a third party. Whether it was simply a transfer to another government collector or a private collection firm is beyond me, but the loans were taken back in 2005/early 2006 and have been put in forbearance for a couple years and I have been unable to pay on them at all since I took them...

Their usual path is to keep them in-house, but pass the debt to a collector to manage - usually General Revenue. They're still actually owned by Salle Mae, but you rarely hear from them. Probably best off getting in touch with the last company who contacted you about the debt, and finding out from them...

You may have a bit of luck with an ombudsmen. I've heard stories about getting the loans wiped because the original paperwork was lost - but that could just be an urban legend gone a bit wild.

[scuba steve]

L pink said it. I don't know how flexible sallie Mae will be either

If you have a co signer I'm pretty sure they go after them. Student loans aren't transferable on death like other loans kind of what makes them different since you can't bankrupt them

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Student loans are not dismisable in bankruptcy.

Tax Refund Offsets
The IRS can intercept any income tax refund you may be entitled to until your student loans are paid in full. This is one of the most popular methods of collecting on defaulted loans, and the Department of Education annually collects hundreds of millions of dollars this way. In some cases, you can challenge a tax refund offset. You can learn how at www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org. You may need the assistance of an attorney. (You can find a legal expert near you on Nolo's Lawyer Directory.)

Your Paycheck Garnished
The government can take ("garnish") a limited portion of the wages of a student loan debtor who is in default. It can take up to 15% of your disposable income. However, it cannot take more than the equivalent of 30 times the current federal minimum wage.

Your Federal Benefits Taken
The government can take some federal benefit payments (including Social Security retirement benefits and Social Security disability benefits, but not Supplemental Security Income) as reimbursement for student loans.

You Get Sued
The government and private lenders can sue you to collect defaulted student loans. Unlike other debts, there is no time limit on suing to collect student loans -- you can be sued indefinitely.

In short, they are not dismiss-able by law.

[signupdamnit]

Originally Posted by Barefootsies

In short, they are not dismiss-able by law.

This is usually the case but he should check with a bankruptcy attorney to be sure. It might depend on the circumstances such as when the loan was taken out and the exact type of loan. The laws changed over the past few decades to heavily favor the banks against the consumer (be sure to vote for Mitt on November 6!) but if the loans are old maybe they are grandfathered in?

[epitome]

I know of a few people that switched to an income based payment plan with a deferral while unemployed but I think that is as flexible as they get.

[signupdamnit]

Originally Posted by epitome

I know of a few people that switched to an income based payment plan with a deferral while unemployed but I think that is as flexible as he get.

More info.

http://www.ibrinfo.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income-Based_Repayment

[mromro]

I had student loans and never paid them. What they do when you file your income tax is take what you would get back from your return. Took a few years and it was paid off.

[xXXtesy10]

You cannot BK student loans or your court ordered restitution. You are stuck with both.

[BIGTYMER]

Til death do us part.

[Rochard]

Originally Posted by wehateporn

Possibly Rochard can help

Not sure why my name is being tossed in....

I had a school loan, Sallie Mae... I was under the impression that no matter what or who the loan was sold to, it's still run by Sallie Mae, still a government loan, and you have to pay it off unless you die.

I might be wrong, dunno.

[ErectMedia]

I heard Obama was talking about trying to change student loans so you could bankrupt them. As far as I know at this time you can't. If they do change that in the future I think there will be a hell of a lot of new bankruptcy filings.

[arock10]

Of course you can get rid of everything else through bankruptcy

[Spudstr]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

Student loans are not dismisable in bankruptcy.

Just like federal taxes

[xXXtesy10]

Originally Posted by ErectMedia

I heard Obama was talking about trying to change student loans so you could bankrupt them. As far as I know at this time you can't. If they do change that in the future I think there will be a hell of a lot of new bankruptcy filings.

That guy is insane though.

[Sunny Day]

Sallie Maes survive bankruptcy.
You have 3 options

1. Pay Sallie until you finally get it paid off. I'm betting you die first.

2. Never own anything in your own name again. Hopefully your lover or some family member is someone you can trust with your money.

3. If Sallie Mae did indeed hire a collection agency, best bet is they want a quick settlement. ANY settlement. I had a friend, who the IRS claimed he owned about $350,000 in back taxes from his years as a drug dealer, (Money he never made). He was working for $10 an hour and said if the went after his wages, he'd quit working. After several phone calls, he got them down to $5,000.
A- They just want some cash from you &
B- They need to show a positive report on their worksheet.
If you have any money or can get some from friends or family, offer them 1 cent on the dollar negotiate up from there. The collector has probably a thousand cases on his desk. Any case he clears saves him from being fired.

[RubyGoodnight]

Contrary to popular belief, there are ways you can get a Salle Mae loan written off in a bankruptcy. You have to be completely destitute, and basically prove that you'll never be able to ever pay it off.

Coincidentally, NBC News ran a story on this very thing a few days ago: When the price of shedding student debt is hopelessness

But his $89,000 in student loans were another story. Federal bankruptcy law requires those who wish to erase that debt to prove that repaying it will cause an ?undue hardship.? And one component of that test is often convincing a federal judge that there is a ?certainty of hopelessness? to their financial lives for much of the repayment period.

[shimmy2]

you're stuck with them. just flee to a coconut country where there is no equifax/tu/exp

[mce]

You can consolidate them but you can't write them off via bankruptcy

[Boozer]

Keep going to school until you die..

[rock-reed]

Originally Posted by Sunny Day

Sallie Maes survive bankruptcy.
You have 3 options

1. Pay Sallie until you finally get it paid off. I'm betting you die first.

2. Never own anything in your own name again. Hopefully your lover or some family member is someone you can trust with your money.

3. If Sallie Mae did indeed hire a collection agency, best bet is they want a quick settlement. ANY settlement. I had a friend, who the IRS claimed he owned about $350,000 in back taxes from his years as a drug dealer, (Money he never made). He was working for $10 an hour and said if the went after his wages, he'd quit working. After several phone calls, he got them down to $5,000.
A- They just want some cash from you &
B- They need to show a positive report on their worksheet.
If you have any money or can get some from friends or family, offer them 1 cent on the dollar negotiate up from there. The collector has probably a thousand cases on his desk. Any case he clears saves him from being fired.

Great information, thanks for sharing.

[Sunny Day]

People come up with crap, you work hard, you WILL succeed. That's BS, I've known too many that tried and never got there. Don't feel bad.

1st off, was your school a public school or a private school? Despite all the congressmen they have bribed, there's a growing roar over private schools and they don't care if anybody learns anything as long as they get their money.
Did Sallie Mae pay the school directly or did you get a check and spend some on pizza & beer? Time to be honest, I'm trying to help.

In the meantime.
On your computer create a file called SALLIEMAE and create subfolders 2012, 2013, 2014 and it may go that long, 2015.
Anytime you get a document scan it and call it something like "2012 08 01 SM Letter to take everything I own".
Every time you write Sallie Mae a letter, put a copy in this folder such as "2012 09 02 What assets? I'm busted."
I helps if you you a use a program like Open Office so everything can be converted to PDF files. When you go to court, PDF files work best, either on CD or flash drives.
Next in the SM folder, created a document file called Sallie Mae Journal. Every time they send you a letter or you send them one, document it. Like this.. "2012 08 01 Letter to take everything I own" letter says this will take everything I own including the shirt off my back.
Next
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER,NEVER,NEVER, talk to anyone one the phone. They may claim the conversations are being recorded, but they always seem to be lost on court date. If you do talk to them on the phone write down date, exact time, the conversation and their name. Most of the time they will refuse to give you their full name or phone extension.


#2 Write the school and ask for a complete record of all charges and if they went to Sallie Mae or you paid for them.
#3 Write Sallie Mae and ask for a complete statement of what they claim you owe.
Go over both. The school probably billed you for fake pencils or some nonsense. SM probably padded your loan with accounting fees or some such.

#4 after you get them to back off the BS fees then tell them you are broke, "I can get my parents to give me $X" or "I can make $X for Z months."
Make them the lowest offer. They might take it or give you a crappy deal. At this point, it's a poker game and the first to blink loses. Hopefully you also get a sympathetic judge.