Student loan

[AliMaxwell]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA

In 1996 i got a $3000 student loan in Alaska. A few years ago a collection agency caught up with me, and i set up payment arrangments for almost $10,000. I agree'd to pay $200 a month. I have been paying this amount for 2 years now. I just got a statement and was shocked to realize ive only paid a little over a thousand dollars.
I have recently had a surgery and owe alot of medical bills, so i called the collection agency (premier credit of north america) and asked them to lower my monthly payment and they said no, that they were just getting ready to sue me and garnish MY HUSBANDS wages since he makes more then me. This debt was taken out WAY before i even MET my husband, Can they do that? They are threatening to garnish 1/3 of our income.
Also, about $7,000 is interest, and they are charging me over 8% interest on top of it!
Im beginning to feel like im drowning in this debt! I also have 4 kids to support and i cant take the threats and stress!

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by AliMaxwell

I also have 4 kids to support and i cant take the threats and stress!

You didn't think twice about taking my money to go to college on and not pay it back.

DC

[The Driver]

They will make a lot of threats that they can't follow through with. Once they find out they can upset you with threats they will drive that to the end. Don't let these people upset you. Insist upon lowering the payments. If they refuse to lower the payments then let them sue you. You only need to talk to these clowns once a month. Any more calls than that and I would just let the phone ring. You can only do so much. If they are actually threating you, then you need to start recording the phone calls. Check out the fair debt collection web site and it will give you a lot of advice on what to do. More importantaly it will tell you what the collection agency can and cannot get away with doing. Also I would ask for some type of report on where all your money is going.

Good luck.

Use your computer. There is alot of good information on the web about dealing with collection agencys.

[ecmst12]

Student loans are special. They can do a lot of things that normal debt collectors can't do (like take your tax refund without a judgement) and the debt will NEVER go away, not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Yes, it's going to take a long time to pay them off, but you're going to have to keep paying that $200/month. If you keep paying on time, the amount of principal you pay every month goes up a little more and you pay it off a little faster. If you miss payments, you end up paying interest only and the principal doesn't go down.

[CameronNewport]

Before jumping the gun, maybe somebody should ask whether the student loan was private or federally backed.

[AliMaxwell]

You didn't think twice about taking my money to go to college on and not pay it back

No i didnt actually. You didnt read the rest of my post did you? I AM paying it back, $200 a month, which would mean that ive paid $1,800 MORE then ive borrowed from YOUR money.

My student loan was the alaska post secondary education or something like that. So i think that is a state loan right? I live in Washington state now.
My only worry is that they are threatening to garnish my husbands wages. Its fine if they garnish mine, i dont really care.
But i cant afford for them to take my husbands wages, its our main source of income.

Thanks for the reply's! I appreciate it (well, most of it. haha)

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by AliMaxwell

No i didnt actually. You didnt read the rest of my post did you? I AM paying it back, $200 a month, which would mean that ive paid $1,800 MORE then ive borrowed from YOUR money.

My student loan was the alaska post secondary education or something like that. So i think that is a state loan right? I live in Washington state now.
My only worry is that they are threatening to garnish my husbands wages. Its fine if they garnish mine, i dont really care.
But i cant afford for them to take my husbands wages, its our main source of income.

Thanks for the reply's! I appreciate it (well, most of it. haha)

Welcome to the world of compounding interest. Washington State is a community property state. Not only can they garnish the wages but since it is not a private loan, they can also take the tax refund.

[ecmst12]

Was the debt incurred before or after you got married?

[williams_95136]

A Better question that needs to be asked is.
Can the collection company charge 10K for a 3K loan. this seems to be extortion.

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by williams_95136

A Better question that needs to be asked is.
Can the collection company charge 10K for a 3K loan. this seems to be extortion.

Williams, this loan was acquired in 1996 ~ where I come from you pay interest on a loan.

Had the OP paid the loan as agreed, the loan would have been paid off years ago. As long as the OP is going to allow this loan to go unpaid, the balance is going to get higher.

Welcome to the world of compouding interest ~ no Tony Soprano-like stuff going on here.

[AliMaxwell]

Was the debt incurred before or after you got married?

This was way before i met my husband.
Ive done some reading here and there, and as far as i can tell "community property" would be any item, money, or debt incurred DURING the marriage right?
Im not here to argue with anybody.
I am repaying this debt, and i will continue to pay the monthly payments until its paid off.
I would just like to know my rights while i do it I dont think its fair for this company tho throw threats around to intimidate me while im making the biggest payments i possibly can at this point. Thanks

[Dougthegreat]

Originally Posted by AliMaxwell

I would just like to know my rights while i do it

You have the right to pay back your loan in full. In fact, you can satisfy the loan by paying it all off right now, and avoid any kind of litigation!

Originally Posted by AliMaxwell

I dont think its fair for this company tho throw threats around to intimidate me while im making the biggest payments i possibly can at this point.

I don't think it's "fair" that people like you can simply stop paying on a loan and not have your assets immediately seized, but I guess that's the way the world works, huh?

Obviously, you CAN afford to make bigger payments, otherwise, they wouldn't be trying to garnish your husband's wages.