Student Loan Important Websites

 

 

 

 Links to important informational sites pertaining to federal student loans.

  FAFSA   

Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is where it all starts!!

Direct Loan Consolidation Loan Program 

Federal consolidation loan program for all federal loans. 

Student Loan Calculator

Federal Student Loan Ombudsman

Sample Master Promissory Notes & Communications

Since most students fail to read the prom note, this is a good link to review it. 

National Student Loan Data System

The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) is the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) central database for student aid. NSLDS receives data from schools, guaranty agencies, the Direct Loan program, and other Department of ED programs. NSLDS Student Access provides a centralized, integrated view of Title IV loans and grants so that recipients of Title IV Aid can access and inquire about their Title IV loans and/or grant data.

Student Loan Common Forms

Student Loan Collections and the FDCPA (part 1)

Student Loan collectors working for any of the contracted collection agencies must follow the FDCPA.  The FDCPA is the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and is the federal law that ALL collectors must follow.

§ 804.  Acquisition of location information  [15 USC 1692b]

This section deals with locating the borrower.  Let's face it...students move often and many will depend on the post office to forward their mail.  Bad move.  In the student loan prom note, you agree to keep your borrower  informed of your current address. Some older prom notes required this notification within 10 days.  

The student loan collector gets your account from the guarantee agency with the last address and phone number on file.  A first notice as required by law is automatically sent out upon placement. The collector will call the phone number on the file.  If it is wrong, the phone number is removed and some form of directory assistance attempt will be made.  Often the same last name at the address on file or nearby is obtained.  Attempts will be made.  Next step is calling the references that the borrower listed on the prom note.  Usually these are family members and attempts are made to these numbers.  Following the FDCPA, the collector can only leave their name and phone and name of agency only if asked.  The CANNOT disclose the fact that they are collecting on a debt...not to mom, dad, fiance, priest or best friend.  They may disclose the debt to a spouse, except when collecting in the state of MA.

 Many times when I was collecting, I would hit a brick wall with parents and siblings being nosy or suspicious.  More often than not, these messages were not passed on.  Once the reference's were exhausted, the collector will continue skip tracing.  I would leave a message with a neighbor. If the borrower lived in a small town, I would call the local library, a coffee shop or the bowling alley.  I once called a coffee shop and talked with a waitress who ended up being the ex wife of a borrower.  Without disclosing the debt, I got a ton of information including current employment and the borrowers bank account number.  Ex spouses with a grudge are great!!!

Also, if the debt collector is notified that the borrower is represented by an attorney, he MUST deal with the attorney and cease all communications with the borrower. 

§ 805.  Communication in connection with debt collection   [15 USC 1692c]

Ok...collectors may call you 7 days a week between the hours of 8am-9pm your time.  It is not illegal to call on a Sunday or a holiday.  Student loan collectors at most agencies will work hours that include both early mornings and late nights to cover all time zones.  (This is a requirement of a lot of contracts) We usually had Friday afternoons off but worked either Saturday morning or Sunday evening.  (This is pretty common with most agencies)  Legally they can call you 365 days a year.

Debt collectors MAY call you at work...there is nothing illegal about it.  HOWEVER you can stop them from calling you and  I will quote the FDCPA here
(3) at the consumer's place of employment if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication. 
So if you tell the debt collector  you are not permitted calls at work and then hang up on them, they MAY NOT call you again at work.  If someone else like a coworker or receptionist tells them you are not permitted to have calls at work, they MAY NOT  call again.   Pretty simple. No letter is required.

If you do not wish any communication from a student loan collector at your home, you must do the request IN WRITING.  I recommend that this request be done via certified mail, return receipt requested.    No fancy letter is required.  In plain english you simply state
"Please cease all communications with me in regards to account number a________. " You do not need to quote the laws...they know them.   Please note...they are permitted by the FDCPA to make one final call to you, to tell you that their efforts are being terminated or  to notify the borrower that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor.  With federal student loans, sending a cease and desist will probably result in your account being forwarded immediately to the Administrative Wage Garnishment program department, for your wages to be garnished.

§ 806.  Harassment or abuse  [15 USC 1692d]

A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:
(1) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.
(2) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.
(3) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 603(f) or 604(3)1 of this Act.
(4) The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.
(5) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

The agency I worked would not tolerate ANYONE violating this section.  More than one collector was shown the door for semi abusive comments.   Student loan contracts can lost or the placements downgraded for too many valid complaints.

What is not a valid complaint or harassment...
1.Calling you asking you that you pay your debt in full.  You agreed to this when you signed your prom note.
2. Calling you if your payment is late is not harassment or abusive.
3. Telling you your wages could be garnished...student loan collection agencies actively garnish     without a court order under the Administrative Wage Garnishment program.
4. Calling multiple times during the course of a day with no contact.  If you are screening your calls and the collection agency continues to call, that is YOUR fault.  Answer on the first attempt and they will not call you back on the same day.

What is valid harassment or abuse.
1.  Foul language.  Swearing.  Degrading or racial comments.
2.  Threats of violence or physical harm.
3.  Continuing to call you back after you terminate the call.
4.  Hanging up on you.  A collector should not hang up with phone without notice....ie...slamming the phone down in your ear.
 On more than one occasion I had abusive, hostile borrowers on the phone and the call was getting nasty.  I would attempt to break in ....if the borrower continued the tirade, I would simply announce "I am terminating this call...have a good day!" and quietly hang up.

Keep in mind when working with a collection, you are NOT the customer.  (The customer is the one who placed the account...the DOE, the school or guarantee agency)  A collector should be polite but for the most part, do not expect customer service.  Some collectors may come off as rude or aggressive....this is NOT illegal. 

 

Department of Education Collection Agencies

These are the current collection agencies who hold contracts with the Department of Education.
Yearly these agencies have to re-bid for collection rights. Part of the process involves the agencies being graded on the their work for the previous year. They are ranked on total collections, total number of rehabilitated accounts, total number of federally consolidated accounts and complaints.

Complaints concerning collection activities is a huge factor in determining whether or not an agency will be awarded a new contract. Now, keep in mind that the Department of Ed receives a lot of complaints, most of which are not valid. They receive a lot of complaints that the collection agency is garnishing their wages, calling a third party to locate them, work calls, weekend calls, collection fees, taxes being offset and payments being too high. These are not valid complaints UNLESS they are in violation of the FDCPA or the Higher Education Act.

Progressive Financial Services P. O. Box 24098 Tempe, AZ 85285 (800) 745-2345	Collecto, Inc. dba Collection Company of America P. O. Box 5369 Norwell, MA 02061-5369 (800) 896-4539
Allied Interstate, Inc. P. O. Box 26190 Minneapolis, MN 55426 (800) 715-0395	Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc. P. O. Box 228 Arcade, NY 14009 (888) 287-0317
NCO P.O. Box 4929 Trenton, NJ 08650-4929 (888) 475-6741	The CBE Group, Inc. P.O. Box 930 Waterloo IA 50704-0930 (800) 410-8089
Diversified Collection Services, Inc. P.O. Box 9049 Pleasanton, CA 94566-9049 (888) 335-6267	Premiere Credit of North America, LLC P.O. Box 19289 Indianapolis, IN 46219 (888) 744-2602
CollectCorp P. O. Box: 960 Phoenix, Arizona 85001 (877) 719-7015	GC Services P. O. Box 27346 Knoxville, TN 37927 (877) 244-7901
Account Control Technology, Inc. P. O. Box 11750 Bakersfield, CA 93389-1750 (866) 887-2800	West Asset Management, Inc. P. O. Box 105668 Atlanta, GA 30348-5668 (888) 327-2305
FMS Investment Corp. P.O. Box 1423 Elk GroveVillage, IL. 60009-1423 (877) 291-8405	ConServe P.O. Box 457 Fairport, NY 14450-0190 (866) 633-7945
Financial Asset Management Systems, INC. (FAMS) P.O. Box 451437 Atlanta, GA 31145-1437 (888) 680-4326	Collection Technology, Inc. P.O. Box 2036 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (800) 620-4284
Van Ru Credit Corporation P. O. Box 1027 Skokie, IL 60076-8027 (888) 337-8331	Delta Management Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 9192 Chelsea, MA 02150-9192 (866) 441-1957
Immediate Credit Recovery Inc. P.O. Box 965363 Marietta, GA 30066 (866) 401-7190	Coast Professional, Inc. P.O. Box 2899 West Monroe, LA 71294 (800) 964-0881
National Recoveries P.O. Box 48367 Minneapolis, MN 55448 (877) 221-9729	Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc. P.O. Box 5288 Oak Brook, IL 60522 (888) 377-5000
Windham Professionals, Inc. P.O. Box 400 East Aurora, NY 14052 (877) 719-4440

Changes Coming to Federal Aid in 2012

Pricier Student Loans

Starting July 1, 2012, interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans will jump from 3.4% to 6.8%, reports the Department of Education. Unsubsidized Stafford loan and graduate Stafford loan rates will stay locked at 6.8%.

The government will also eliminate subsidized Stafford loans for graduate students and, for the next two years, will suspend paying the interest on subsidized Stafford loans for undergrads during the six-month grace period between graduation and when students must start paying back their federal loans. Interest that's not paid during that time period will accrue and be capitalized back into the loan, reports the financial aid website, Finaid.org.

The silver lining is students will receive some help paying back loans. Through June 30 of this year, students with both Federal Family Education Loan, or FFEL, and Direct federal loans -- that means at least one federal loan administered by the government and at least one federal loan administered by a bank or other financial institution -- may be eligible to receive up to a 0.5% interest rate reduction on some of their loans if they consolidate.

The government will also relax regulations on federal loan forgiveness for some students enrolled in income-based repayment. Once finalized, the "Pay-As-You-Earn" plan will reduce loan repayment caps from 15% of a student's discretionary income to 10% and forgive all federal loan debt after 20 years of consecutive payments. Who will qualify for the new initiatives and the exact date on when these changes will go into effect have not yet been announced.

My name is Lynn and I am an ex student loan collector. I spent over 10 years collecting for the DOE and several FFELP agencies. For several years, I was one of the top collectors at my agency...I loved what I did and I did it well! I know the term"bill collector" brings nightmares to most people....however I was not your "typical"collector. I assisted thousands of defaulted borrowers get their loans out of default by offering them respect and a solution to their defaulted student loans. In my 10 years of collecting, I never violated the FDCPA and quite frankly I had no patience for anyone who did.

After working in collections for a decade, I decide to jump to the other side of the table. I became a Financial Aid Officer for a major midwest University where I worked for several years. I also currently contribute and moderate on several online forums.

So why I am setting up this blog?? I am tired of seeing so called student loan relief organizations or individuals who "claim" they have the inside scoop rip off consumers. There is no need to enroll in a service or by a book for $72 to get out of default. If you really need help, I am here to help you! My advise is free, although I am more than happy to accept donations if your case is very complicated.