Student loans never used.

[jimmybeef12]

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

I enrolled at a college in 2003 and I now have collections agencies after me because of student loans that have defaulted. The total amount of the loans was $7,625.00. I did not even attend the school for longer than 3 trimester before I left. I can honestly say that I did not even attend $7,625.00 worth of school and paid my tuition with my G.I. Bill every month on time until I left. The loan companies are now suing me for the total amounts of the loans that I did not use. What can I do since I am completely lost and can not financial afford to pay back these loans? The loans were Perkins x1 and Stafford x2. The school was DeVry in NJ.

Thanks for your time!

[ecmst12]

You must have used the money for something. You owe and have to pay. Government student loans NEVER EVER go away. They can't be discharged in bankruptcy and they can do some things like take your tax refund even without a judgement in place.

[Wirelessany1]

Originally Posted by jimmybeef12

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

I enrolled at a college in 2003 and I now have collections agencies after me because of student loans that have defaulted. The total amount of the loans was $7,625.00. I did not even attend the school for longer than 3 trimester before I left. I can honestly say that I did not even attend $7,625.00 worth of school and paid my tuition with my G.I. Bill every month on time until I left. The loan companies are now suing me for the total amounts of the loans that I did not use. What can I do since I am completely lost and can not financial afford to pay back these loans? The loans were Perkins x1 and Stafford x2. The school was DeVry in NJ.

Thanks for your time!

The funds must have been dispursed on your behalf to your school. How and when did you withdraw from school.

Ecmst is correct, these types of loans never go away. You are on the hook until you are six feet under.

[LSCAP]

Check with the school.
They ahould have a financial officer to help the student with loans. Like getting and using the loans to cover school costs.

[Wirelessany1]

Originally Posted by LSCAP

Check with the school.
They ahould have a financial officer to help the student with loans. Like getting and using the loans to cover school costs.

LSCAP, did you happen to notice that this debt is from 2003? The only thing left for the OP to do is pay his debt.

[ecmst12]

Most likely the loan money was used for room and board, living expenses, books, etc. Loans aren't JUST for tuition.

[cosine]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

You must have used the money for something. You owe and have to pay.

I'm curious where you are getting this information that is inconsistent with what the OP stated. Are you the creditor in this case?

[cosine]

Originally Posted by Wirelessany1

LSCAP, did you happen to notice that this debt is from 2003? The only thing left for the OP to do is pay his debt.

I definitely would NOT pay any debt that is not mine. If I never received the money, then it's not my debt.

The question in this case is whether the OP did ... even if in the form of payments directly to the school for his benefit.

One problem with this kind of arrangement (paying directly to the school) is that it is very subject to errors. This actually happened to a friend of mine. The company making the loan kept paying the school even after my friend left ... for a year and a half. He had to sue both the school and the loan company to get it cleared up.

[ecmst12]

If the school was paid for classes that were never registered for, then obviously there was an error. But money doesn't get dispersed unless the student signs the papers each semester. And the money wasn't necessarily paid directly to the school. While your scenario is obviously possible, it's not very likely. OP should contact AES and find out what money was paid out to whom and when. But just because tuition was paid by another source does NOT mean that the loan wasn't granted or the money wasn't received and spent by OP.

[itdepends]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Government student loans NEVER EVER go away. They can't be discharged in bankruptcy

That's not entirely accurate. Student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy if the debtor shows an undue hardship.

[Wirelessany1]

Originally Posted by cosine

I definitely would NOT pay any debt that is not mine. If I never received the money, then it's not my debt.

The question in this case is whether the OP did ... even if in the form of payments directly to the school for his benefit.

One problem with this kind of arrangement (paying directly to the school) is that it is very subject to errors. This actually happened to a friend of mine. The company making the loan kept paying the school even after my friend left ... for a year and a half. He had to sue both the school and the loan company to get it cleared up.

Once again cosine your idiot is showing. Did YOU read the OP's post? Let me refresh your memory "I enrolled in a college in 2003..."

Again, the OP said he enrolled. He failed to tell us that he withdrew. Therein lies the answer.

[cosine]

Originally Posted by Wirelessany1

Once again cosine your idiot is showing. Did YOU read the OP's post? Let me refresh your memory "I enrolled in a college in 2003..."

Again, the OP said he enrolled. He failed to tell us that he withdrew. Therein lies the answer.

Once again Wirelessany1, your idiot is showing. Did YOU read the OP's post? Did you even understand it? Let me refresh your memory while also explaining the meaning.

"I enrolled in a college in 2003..." -> does NOT mean "... and authorized anyone to obligate me to a debt in exchange for paying the school for me".

Then there is the part you missed: "... and paid my tuition with my G.I. Bill every month on time until I left."

There is no part about "and stayed in the school dorms without paying for that". Could the OP have actually done that? Sure. Did he SAY he did? NO! If you think he did, challenge HIM on that point. MY statements are based on what I see that he said. If I think he said something incorrect, incomplete, misleading, or inconsistent, I'll challenge him on it.

More people attend college without living in the dorms, than attend while living in the dorms. The bulk of this is called "community college". Those colleges are everywhere. Most small towns either have one or a branch of one. So there is no specific cause to believe the OP lived in the dorms. Want to know for sure? Ask him. DeVry does have a limited amount of student housing assistance, and even their own student housing at one campus in Fremont.

I suggest the course of this thread should be on finding out what the loan company thinks they were paying for, and exactly where the money was sent to. Then find out what the recipient of the money did with it. If the loan was never authorized, then we don't even have to consider the issue of hardship (unlikely the OP qualifies under that unless he's completely disabled).

[LSCAP]

I don't know about all that stuff but,

My kid was helped by the school to get a school loan. He dropped out in time to cancel the fee, and eventually convinced the school to give the money back.

[ecmst12]

I lived in apartments 3 out of my 4 years in college. My tuition was paid by my parents, but I still took out stafford loans each semester to pay for my rent, food, books, and other living expenses.

[cosine]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

I lived in apartments 3 out of my 4 years in college. My tuition was paid by my parents, but I still took out stafford loans each semester to pay for my rent, food, books, and other living expenses.

And no doubt you paid them back in a timely manner as agreed. You, of course, were able to get a job soon enough after school to do that. And if you hadn't, you would have managed to find the money somewhere without robbing a bank to get it, such as from rich relatives.

This relates to the original question how?