Being sued for tuition costs that were paid by student loans

[maihamric]

Boston University is claiming I owe them for a course I took in their online program in 2010, but I paid my tuition through student loans. My student loan documents still show that I owe them the amount for the course. They said the funds were distributed to BU, but when I sent that information to BU's lawyers all they would tell me is that they stood by the debt. Unfortunately throughout the process of trying to gather that information from my student loan company I missed a court date and a default judgement was passed. I think the time limit for me to file a motion to vacate the judgement has passed, and I have a court date on Tuesday to which I am supposed to bring tax documents, check stubs, etc. Is it too late to dispute the debt at that court hearing?

 

[Ohiogal]

Boston University is claiming I owe them for a course I took in their online program in 2010, but I paid my tuition through student loans. My student loan documents still show that I owe them the amount for the course. They said the funds were distributed to BU, but when I sent that information to BU's lawyers all they would tell me is that they stood by the debt. Unfortunately throughout the process of trying to gather that information from my student loan company I missed a court date and a default judgement was passed. I think the time limit for me to file a motion to vacate the judgement has passed, and I have a court date on Tuesday to which I am supposed to bring tax documents, check stubs, etc. Is it too late to dispute the debt at that court hearing?

You cannot dispute it at this court date. When was the default judgment granted? When did you receive notice that the default judgment was granted?

 

[Zigner]

As you have learned, it is unwise to ignore court matters.

 

[maihamric]

default judgement

I learned that the default judgement was granted maybe 5 or 6 months ago? I was sent a subpoena like the one I have now - requesting all of my tax returns, check stubs, etc. But once again I was unable to attend court for the date that was requested, and since I had not heard back from student loan company yet I went ahead and set up a payment plan just to avoid the court date until I had more information on what happened with the loans. But once I heard back from loan company I contacted BU's lawyer with the new information and stopped payments since that showed the debt was invalid. The document actually says BU should be sending that money back to the student loan company if it wasn't applied toward my course. I expected that to solve the whole matter but instead the law office ignored me and had me served again.

I did not ignore the matter. I was attending court once a month for the better part of last year while waiting to hear back from my loan company. My loans were in the process of being transferred to a new company which is why their response took so long. At some point I missed one of the rescheduled dates and by the time I realized it it was too late. I also was not aware until these past few weeks that filing a motion to vacate the judgement was even an option so I had no idea it was time sensitive.

I have proof the debt is not valid. So I really just never expected it to be this difficult to get it resolved. I thought it was close and shut. Wrong, obviously.

 

[maihamric]

I should also mention that the "proof" of debt I was sent was just a statement saying I took the course, it cost this much, so I owe it. But no matter what documentation or proof I send them about my student loan info, they refuse to explain what happened to my student loan money. I have asked my student loan company to contact BU directly since I can not get any sort of explanation, but I don't know if they will be able to do so by Tuesday.

If there has been some kind of misunderstanding (though I can't imagine what) and that student loan money went somewhere else and there was still a balance that I owed, I would just like that spelled out for me and I will gladly pay. I think its just ridiculous I can't get a clear explanation of this.

 

[Zigner]

The problem you have is that the student loan/tuition/whatever is no longer what is being collected. The judgment is what is being collected.

 

[maihamric]

I see. And outside of the 30-180 day limit for filing a motion to vacate the judgement there is absolutely no way to dispute the debt itself at that point? I'm just supposed to pay for the same thing twice? - to both BU and the student loan company

 

[PaulMass]

What court is this in?

How much is the judgment for?

If this is a Mass court, an attorney may be able to vacate the default and dispute the debt.

You could also sue the lender, since they obviously did not pay the college.

 

[Ohiogal]

I learned that the default judgement was granted maybe 5 or 6 months ago? I was sent a subpoena like the one I have now - requesting all of my tax returns, check stubs, etc. But once again I was unable to attend court for the date that was requested, and since I had not heard back from student loan company yet I went ahead and set up a payment plan just to avoid the court date until I had more information on what happened with the loans. But once I heard back from loan company I contacted BU's lawyer with the new information and stopped payments since that showed the debt was invalid. The document actually says BU should be sending that money back to the student loan company if it wasn't applied toward my course. I expected that to solve the whole matter but instead the law office ignored me and had me served again.

I did not ignore the matter. I was attending court once a month for the better part of last year while waiting to hear back from my loan company. My loans were in the process of being transferred to a new company which is why their response took so long. At some point I missed one of the rescheduled dates and by the time I realized it it was too late. I also was not aware until these past few weeks that filing a motion to vacate the judgement was even an option so I had no idea it was time sensitive.

I have proof the debt is not valid. So I really just never expected it to be this difficult to get it resolved. I thought it was close and shut. Wrong, obviously.

The debt is valid. You didn't argue against it. You did not move quick enough to have the default judgment vacated. You lose. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. End of story.

 

[PaulMass]

I see. And outside of the 30-180 day limit for filing a motion to vacate the judgement there is absolutely no way to dispute the debt itself at that point? I'm just supposed to pay for the same thing twice? - to both BU and the student loan company

See Rule 60.

 

[quincy]

See Rule 60.

You are referring to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure's Rule 60, I presume?

It helps to be specific for the poster's sake (you can do a "Rule 60" search to see why).

Here is a link: http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/rules-of-court/civil-procedure/mrcp60.html

It is important to read "Reporter's Notes" for 60(b).

 

[maihamric]

I live in tn. They're obviously in mass. Court is here.
So even if I hired a lawyer there's nothing that can be done?

 

[quincy]

I live in tn. They're obviously in mass. Court is here.
So even if I hired a lawyer there's nothing that can be done?

So you were sued in Tennessee?

The Rules of Civil Procedure for both Massachusetts and Tennessee are patterned after the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Here is a link to Tennessee's applicable Rule: http://www.tncourts.gov/rules/rules-civil-procedure/6002

If the amount of the judgment against you is substantial, it probably wouldn't hurt for you to sit down with an attorney in your area for a review of the facts - but your missed court hearing and your delay in taking care of this does not bode well for your chances of gaining relief from the judgment.