Navient Student Loan Collection and Interest Charges – Losing Income
My spouse had a loan taking out through Sallie Mae for school purposes back in 2006. Not sure what the original amount was on that loan, but right now she was issued a garnishment order by the state of Colorado in order to pay of the loan, which according to the documentation received is over 10,000 dollars. My wife works nights at Wal-Mart and I am in the military about to move to Germany for relocation.
My wife will obviously loose her job, and be unable to pay off the loan, not even making a dent because of the interest accumulating. This will happen within the next 6 months.
Can interest still build even after loosing her job? It will never be paid of unless I will the lotto or come up with cash for a settlement. I'm just worried that the interest will accumulate making it impossible to pay the student loan off.
Can interest still build up on a collections loan even after loosing an income source? How much will Sallie Mae or Navient accept as a settlement?
—Horacio
Short answer
Private student loans, like those obtained through Sallie Mae and serviced by Navient, come with few options. Settling one is possible, but the savings are smaller than on credit card debt, and a wage garnishment makes a settlement much less likely for as long as it is running.
Key points on this page
- A private student loan affords you little in the way of payment options, and when payments are not being made the balance grows from interest, often at a significant rate.
- If the loan has not been consolidated through a government program, look into whether it can be. It may need to be brought current first.
- Government backed loans open up alternatives a private loan does not have, including income based repayment.
- While a garnishment is in place, settlement is less likely, because the servicer keeps getting paid for as long as you hold that job.
- Once the garnishment is removed, or stops through a job loss or a job change, settling becomes possible with planning and available cash.
- Savings on private student loans are generally not as good as on delinquent credit cards. Expect somewhere between 20 and 50 percent off the balance, and do not treat less than half as a realistic target.
Unfortunately, at least for the time being, there are not many options for private student loans like those obtained through Sallie Mae.
Navient Student Loan Collections
If the loan has not been consolidated using some of the government loan programs available, consider looking into this option. The loan with Navient may need to be brought current before it is eligible for a government loan consolidation.
Why would you consider this? You are stuck with a loan that affords you little payment options. When payments are not being made, the loan grows from the interest being charged, often at a significant rate.
Having government backed student loans means more payment alternatives, like income based repayment plans (IBR).
Settling a Private Student Loan Debt for Less than the Balance Owed
There are options to settle a Sallie Mae loan. While there is a garnishment, settlement is less likely. This is because Navient will continue to get paid as long as you’re at the job. With some planning and availability of cash resources, and once the garnishment is removed, or no longer applied due to job loss or job transition, settling a Sallie Mae student loan is possible.
The settlements on private student loan debts are generally not as good of savings as credit card bills that go delinquent. Depending on the circumstance you may only save 20 to 50% off of the balance owed on student loans being serviced by Navient. I am seeing some signs of better settlement offers on private student loans, just not enough of them to call it a trend, or to recommend negotiating for less than half of the balance as a realistic target.
I realize that may not be helpful right now, unless you were able to identify a source of cash that would allow you to settle the student loan shortly after the job loss. But I am pointing this out to show that even saving up money over time to settle the student loan is better than no options.
I wish I had better feedback to share. But there are just no great options for dealing with unmanageable private student loan debts through Navient, NCSLT, Great Lakes, and other private student loan collectors right now. That may change in the future. The student loan debt crisis is still growing. Recent reports show that over 10% of government backed student loans are in some form of delinquency. Private loan default numbers are terrible too. With the spreading awareness of the student loan bubble popping I do expect more options on private loans in coming years.
Update: I recently interviewed Andrew Weber for Debtbytes. If you are dealing with Navient, or any private student loan servicer (or debt collector), take the time to play the video. You can get feedback from Andrew in the comments below.
Anyone struggling with a Navient private loan, or any other servicer or debt collector, is welcome to post comments and questions below for feedback and resources in response. If you would like to discuss your options for settling student loans with a professional you can call 800-939-8357, and choose option 4.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
Hello Micheal, My mother has a student loan in her name from a class I attended back in 2001-2002 Not sure of the exact year!. I withdrew from the class within two weeks. Chubb Institution which went on to change their name to Anthem Education Group which is now Florida Career College. I believe they falsified records, and continued to collect from the department of education. I checked with the national student loan data base and apparently I had three loans in my name listed under this school. also. And my mother is still being billed for over 10 grand. I start the Borrowers Defense application and came to Section 4? I am stuck as to what to cite for NY sate law.. I think I found the code in the Higher Education Act SEC. 437. 20 U.S.C. 1087 c (1). Any help is appreciated
Talk to some of the experienced student loan consumer law attorneys I sent you an email about. Let me know how things progress for you. Borrower defense is still a fluid process to submit for.
I had a loan with my college in Florida back in 2008 from Sallie Mae, i have never been able to pay on it and I recently got a job a few weeks ago in DC and somehow Navient got my work number after calling my phone for years which I dont answer 800 #’s. Anyways, Navient is using a third party to contact me and I talked to them, They offered me a payment settlement which is less then the original amount, I have a Loan grant from AmeriCorps and the government I’d like to use. Should I pay the full amount to Navient or should I pay the settlement balance through the third party collecters they have chosen to find me? Does it make a difference on my credit report once I’ve chosen either option?
Who is the third party collector? What is the settlement offer?
Once you settle, if Navient is showing on your credit reports still, they will update it to show a zero balance owed, and a resolved collection account. It can’t be far from falling off your credit as it is.
How can I learn more about the Statute of Limitations? I had a private loan through Sallie Mae that went into default in 2007. I haven’t heard from the company in years and now I have received a letter from Navient trying to collect the debt. I just want to find out if they can legally sue me or report this old debt to the credit bureaus (it had previously fallen off). Thanks so much for your time!
What state do you live in?
VA
5 years for SOL to sue on a written agreement in Virginia. You are passed that, and Navient should not put this back on your credit reports. If that happens post an update and we can go from there.
Thanks for your information.
Would I be wasting my time to write a letter to Navient (orginally a Sallie Mae Loan) asking to discuss a settlement of my daughter’s loans which came due in 2004. She has mental health issues, has never held a job and I can prove she has no income and participates in an outpatient intensive group program. She has no assets and I want my letter to emphasize that I would like to finalize a negotiated, lump sum payment on her behalf before I die. at which time Navient would have no possibility to collect even a penny on the loan. Who would I even address the letter to – as Navient wont even give me the account number for my daughter’s loan. Thank you very much.
Are the loans with Navient private or federal?
Private loans that old can simply be ignored in a situation like your daughters, or settled for optimal savings.
Federal loans can sometimes be discharged in a bankruptcy, given the situation you outlined your daughter is in.
How much do the loans total?
Thank you so much Michael for your response.
I really do not know for sure, but I feel this is a federal loan because it was with “Sallie Mae”.. The amount quoted on the phone was $21,870. The calls from Navient started
out of the blue day and night in July. 2016 and none of the callers would give me straight up answers. I finally told someone I would pay their suggestion of $99.53 per month on my daughter’s behalf which I have BUT, Navient would NOT give me a beginning balance, interest rate, payment booklet etc not even her account number from which I could verify that my monthly payments were being properly credited. . Supposedly they will not give me any info, but they will take my money. (The way they sounded on the phone I thought it was a scam at first. ) I am sure my daughter will not declare bankruptcy as she has nothing else to declare except these loans. Oh the other loan it is with nelnet for 6,233. Both are in my daughters name and I have paid off and on for the Nelnet. Do you feel if I sent verification of what I said to you formerly, that I could negoiate a settlement and if so can you offer any pointers to me. I would reimburse you for your advice. or recommendations. i would like to clear her name and I do not think that anything is detrimental on her credit rating (if she would even ever need a credit rating) Sincerely, Janet Patterson
Get with your daughter and look up her loans at https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/
All federal loans should appear there. If the Navient loans are not showing, they are likely private. My feedback is going to be very different depending on what you find.
OK I am going to TRY to get with my daughter to determine the origins and status of these loans. Please earmark my question and concerns as I know you have a lot of them – it may take me some time but I am focused on getting this behind me or should I say her. Sincerely, Janet Patterson
Hi Janet, Michael is spot on here. Sallie Mae and now Navient service federal loans and also originate private student loans. The NSLDS is the fastest way to tell whether they are federal or private.
If the loans are federal, a significant settlement is probably not possible regardless of whether the loans were current or in default. If they turn out to be private, you may be able to settle them but they would only accept a settlement if the loans were in default. They are relatively difficult to negotiate with as well. Please let us know what you find out on the NSLDS and we can advise you from there.
I got a letter in the mail from northstar location services That used to be with sallie mae .saying that they will settle for 500 dollars out of 8000 .the letter seems Real. do you think this could be true
It’s possible, but settlements that low are not all that common. How old is the debt? Do you still see it on your credit reports?
This sometimes happens on debts that are past the statute of limitations and are close to (or already past) the timeline for falling off of your credit report. Sallie Mae/Navient most likely still owns the loan and is just hiring Northstar to collect on an old account for them. If it’s been more than 5-6 years since you’ve made a payment, it may be worth waiting it out instead of paying the settlement.
On larger accounts, private student loan lenders usually put much more effort into collecting (including legal collections) before the statutes of limitation and credit reporting timelines have passed.
I think the answers to the questions Michael asked would be key to making your determination on whether to pay the settlement or not. Also, even though $500 is pretty low, they would probably take even less if you negotiate with them; if that was the first offer they sent you. My guess is that this account is close to falling off of your credit report, if it hasn’t already. In that case, even a 6.25% settlement like they offered you is better for them than getting nothing.
Her loans are private with Navient.
Hi, my wife is 62 and carries $90,000 in student loan debt. We no longer live in the U.S. She has no assets whatsoever but makes a decent living. Her student loans are not manageable though given her age, lack of pension and assets. What are our options? If she gies into default will they settle even if she makes a decent living? Thank you.
Hi Frank, we recommend that clients don’t disclose their income when trying to settle. There’s no way that Navient could find that out unless they were told, so it wouldn’t be a factor.
Navient has a system of collections set up where they will accept certain settlements at certain points of delinquency, so personal factors don’t play a huge role to be honest. They can be extremely difficult to negotiate with, and they can see lines of credit etc on credit reports; which can influence their desire to settle, but they can’t see income or tax returns.
Also, Navient is both a servicer of federal loans and the largest private loan originator; so if there is any uncertainty at all you’d want to check the National Student Loan Database to make sure these are not federal.
With extensive negotiations, settlements can be as low as 40-45% on a recently defaulted loan. Being out of the country, you have the option to wait longer to try to get a lower settlement; but interest and late fee accrual may outweigh any additional savings by allowing the account to age further.
Navient is also very difficult when negotiating directly with borrowers, so although 40-45% is possible, many times borrowers are unable to hit that type of percentage on their own. Navient employs some very aggressive and knowledgeable debt collectors who can be very convincing; but after doing so many settlements with them, I have a good knowledge of their collection cycle. I usually only negotiate directly with one of the managers there as well, and the fact that I’ve done several settlements with that person also helps when I negotiate for clients.
Once a settlement is reached, it’s just as important to make sure that it’s executed correctly – this is where a lot of people get tripped up, even if they are able to negotiate a decent settlement on their own. I did a recent case study that showed how hiring a professional negotiator can actually cost less (including the negotiation charge) than a borrower trying it on their own. And that’s without taking into account the time, effort, and stress involved.
I’ve negotiated settlements for borrowers in different countries, such as my client who moved to Australia, and in my credit card negotiation days, a soldier who was serving in Afghanistan. Since it sounds like she’s current, there are some other factors to consider if she decides to strategically default to settle this account. If you’d like to discuss settlement strategy with me further, feel free to call into the hotline (800-939-8357) and press “option 4” to be transferred to me.
Hi Michael,
I cosigned a loan with Sallie Mae(now Navient) around 2006. My husband was getting a BS and his CA teaching credentials. He has gone on to receive 2 MA’s in education since than and we are stuck paying an additional $3000 in interest on this loan from 2006. My husband has applied and was excepted for loan forgiveness on his other loans since he is an educator in underprivileged schools but Navient.won’t budge. I would like to try and negotiate paying the original balance only if possible. Please let me know if you have any strategies on how to address this issue. Thank you so much.
Call in for a student loan consult at 800-939-8357, ext 4.
Hi Erika, settlement should be possible if this account is defaulted. If not, you may want to consider a strategic default to settle which is a valid strategy for private loans (but not federal loans).
If you’re unsure if this loan is private or federal, you can check at the NSLDS student loan database which only lists federal loans – so if this particular loan wasn’t showing on the database then it’s most likely private. Feel free to give us a call if you’d like to chat further.
A letter from Central Credit Services LLC was sent to our home in TN addressed to our daughter who lives in the UK. She asked us to open it for her. The letter was an offer to “resolve your outstanding accounts total balance due for less than you owe. ” The offer was about 25% of the student loan total. The letter requested that she call 866-947-6802 or send in the offer payment with the enclosed coupon. She has been unable to make the payments for sometime, and we thought maybe they figured something was better than nothing. But it sounds to good to be true, and so we are trying to find out if this could be a real offer. Any suggestions would be helpful.
I should also note the creditor is Navient,
Those kind of offers do happen. Who was the originator of the loan? When did she last make a payment? Can the family work together to come up with the 25% to settle the student loan by the date on the offer letter?
I agree with Michael. Usually, getting an out of the blue offer for 1/4 of the balance indicates that it has been years since a payment has been made, and that the account may be about to fall off of the borrower’s credit report (or already has). That would be something to keep in mind.
Generally, even on a very low offer like this, there’s room to negotiate. If their opening offer is 25%, it may be possible to settle it for 15-20%. I’ve done several of these settlements in my career, and in every case the accounts were 4-5 years past due or more.
Hello Andrew,
With settlements, is there a way to settle the amount for less, with payments? If I am not able to save enough for the lump sum? Is that what structured settlements are? I know some lenders will balk at settling, because if I am able to make payments, why should they settle for less. Is the number listed on the post your consultation number? I would like to consult with you, to see what my possible options are. I am currently defaulted on both my Navient (90 days) and Wells Fargo loans (90 days).
Hi Lily, we’ve already talked and have a consultation appointment set; but I wanted to respond here in case anyone’s facing a similar situation.
It is true that lenders will balk… up to a certain point. At 90 days behind, your loans are delinquent but not actually in default yet. That usually happens at 180 days, but some lenders like Discover can charge off loans sooner at 120 days. Very limited settlements will be available with the nasty pre-default collectors (who are literally some of the rudest people I’ve talked to in my 7 years as a negotiator)
And yes, structured settlements are paying a settlement for less over time, with a significant down payment. I recently negotiated a 24 month settlement with Navient on a 39% settlement, but it was one heck of a battle and took 6 months of negotiating. Along the way, collectors tried to harass my client, and just generally be a pain in the butt,
However, I’ve negotiated a settlement on every Navient account I’ve ever attempted and I realize a lot of what they say is hot air. The BS legal threats mean nothing to me because I always settle far before that is a possibility, but if that were to happen, I know an attorney who is the owner of a nationwide attorney service, and many other attorneys in different states. They would squash any attempt at a default judgment and work out a good settlement during the legal process.
But a lawsuit is really the last resort for a lender. It costs them more, with no guarantee that they can garnish wages or offset bank accounts. There are many, many opportunities to settle prior to that. I usually just work with managers and supervisors at Internal Collection department for lenders, and at third party collection agencies.. the front line knuckle-heads aren’t always too helpful and I tend to run right through them when they try the same scare tactics that they use with borrowers.. just because I know better.
It’s tough to negotiate on your own with a private lender if you haven’t done it before, and I’ve developed unique strategies and knowledge of lenders’ collection cycles that give me an upper hand in negotiations. That’s why I’m able to negotiate 40-45% settlements on a regular basis.
In a lot of cases, I can negotiate a lower settlement than borrowers can for themselves. This is not conjecture, I actually have a case study with a real life example of this dynamic playing out. It’s on my blog here: https://www.mycreditcounselor.net/the-costs-and-risks-of-settling-private-student-loans-by-yourself-a-case-study/
It’s a long read, but interesting and worth it. In addition to negotiating the settlement, I make sure it is executed properly – something my fellow borrowers tend to struggle with even if they negotiate a decent settlement amount.
I have contacted my daughter for more specific information though I am certain it has been 4-5 years. What disturbs me is that although the offer claims to come from Central Credit Services LLC in St. Charles MO according to online sources the site there is closed. I searched the address in the letter head, and there is no Central Credit Services listed for that address but an Integrity Solution Services is. I called the number listed for that company and got instead Central Credit Services. The offer did not contain a specific date to discharge it by, and the included coupon has very little information either. Also the coupon address is a PO Box. Maybe I’m paranoid, but I would hate to send out over $5,00,00 and later discover this was a scam. Neither company seems to have a good reputatiion. Thanks very much for your info.
No debt collector has a clean reputation. It comes with the territory, or they earned it. In my professional experienced with Central Credit Services (formerly Veldos), they are easy to work with.
You or your daughter can call Navient and verify that they placed the account with Central Credit for collection. I would not bother with the details of the settlement offer, just that you would be dealing with the correct party.
As Andrew pointed out, there may be room to negotiate further.
Thanks very much for your quick reply. Information has been very helpful.
I agree with Michael.. the easiest way to contact Navient to verify that the account is with the right collection agency, would be to call Navient’s Customer Advocate department at 888 545-4199. They are generally more helpful than the normal customer service agents at Navient.
Hi –
I recently received a letter from Northstar Location Services offering a settlement on a charged-off private loan I have with Navient. Have you heard of this company acting on their behalf? It’s a really good settlement, but I want to make sure it’s legit. Also, the original Navient account is set to come off my credit report soon. If I make this settlement, does that reset that seven timing? Or will it still come off?
Thanks!
Hi James, yes, that is a collection agency that regularly collects on private student loans. Keep in mind that any initial offer you receive from a collection agency is their opening offer and they are probably able to accept lower if you negotiate.
One reason that private lenders offer very low settlements is because accounts are past the statutes of limitation or may even be close to the time period that they would fall off of a credit report (7.5 years after the charge off occurred) as you mentioned.
It can still be a good idea to settle even when accounts are past SOL.
If they are about to fall off of your credit report, you’d probably want to consider that and weigh the pros and cons versus settling. Negotiating and paying the settlement will not cause this to stay on your credit reports for any longer.
Hello,
I hope you are still receiving comments for this article. I have 2 federal and 2 private student loans with navient. My federal loans are currently on Ibr and lower balances. I have ignored my private loans for several years but filed bankruptcy in 2011. I did not attempt to have the loans discharged. As far as I can tell my last payment for the private loans was sent in 2009. They are currently in bankruptcy status with navient.
So they have not been contacting me even though the bankruptcy has already been finalized. How can I know for sure if the Sol has expired and should I make them aware ? I currently live in Arizona and lived in Oregon when the loans were taken out.
It would be a huge relief to put these loans behind me if possible.
Thanks
K
Does Navient still show on your credit reports?
What are you basing your assumption of the last payments being made in 2009 on?
Yes. They are still on my report with the last payments showing as 2009. Transunion and Equifax both say it should be removed sometime in October…
That would put your private student loans with Navient passed the 6 year SOL to sue in court in order to collect in both Oregon and Arizona. The SOL clock may have been paused by your chapter 7 for a little while, but that is often measured in months.
I am not sure what you would want to make Navient aware of? What is your goal with contacting them?
Hello,
I have some Stafford subsidized loans that were disbursed in the mid-1980s that are still hanging over my head. The original amounts were small, a total of under $7,000. When I graduated, I did try at first to keep up with the payments, but quickly fell behind. I’m not sure when the loans officially went into default, but we’re talking decades ago, not years.
In the meantime, I discovered that the university from which I graduated is withholding my official transcripts because my loans are in default. Since I was a stay-at-home-mom for years, access to my transcripts for employment or advanced education was not an issue, and the loans had been in default for so long that I no longer had bill collectors hounding me. Several times, I tried to resolve the situation, only to run into account managers who were unreasonable — demanding either full payment of the entire amount at once or monthly payments that were laughably high. So, I let it go for a long time.
I am finally at a place in my life when it would be beneficial for me to get out from under the debt, and I have a small amount of wiggle room in my budget to work on that goal.
In January, I logged onto the myeddebt site and checked my balances. I called the assigned debt collection agency and hammered out a rehabilitation plan. I made the first payment of the agreed-upon amount over the phone and authorized monthly debits from my checking account. However, almost immediately, I began getting multiple phone calls a day from the agency leaving vaguely threatening messages. They also called my family members — including my then-17-year-old son — demanding information about me. Finally, I sent a letter insisting that they stop attempting to contact me by phone and that they stop harassing my family and friends. I made sure they had my mailing address and e-mail address and instructed them to contact me by one of those methods if they actually needed to communicate with me.
I heard nothing from them for several months, and the automated payments were withdrawn from my checking account right on time each month.
Then, three months before what should have been the last payment before the rehabilitation was done, I got notices saying that they were missing paperwork, that my required monthly payment had increased and that I was no longer qualified for the rehabilitaiton program.
They have, however, continued to debit my checking account each month.
A few weeks ago, I logged onto myeddebt again and realized that the numbers shown there don’t actually add up. For one thing, I did make some payments on these loans before they went into default. In addition, my tax refunds have been offset at least a few times over the intervening years, in theory because they were being applied to my defaulted student loans. And yet the myeddebt site shows the outstanding principal for all three loans to be the same today as they were as of the date of disbursement. In other words, it looks as though there is no record that I have ever paid a single penny on any of these loans, even though that is not true.
I contacted my university and asked for copies of the original promissory notes and any related records they have, but was told that they maintain those records for only as long as is required by law (something like three years).
I wrote to the Department of Education requesting a full statement of the history of these loans and copies of promissory notes and records and received no reply at all.
At the same time, I notified the debt collection agency that I am disputing the balances due and requested copies of any records they have. Silence there, too..
Almost two weeks ago, I sent follow-up letters, this time by certified mail, to both the Department of Education and the debt collection agency reiterating my request. I made it clear to the collection agency that, if I didn’t get records from someone within 30 days, I was revoking my authorization for them to debit payments from my checking account.
I got the return receipts indicating that both agencies recieved my letters, but I still haven’t heard a peep from anyone with any actual information.
At this point, I don’t trust the collection agency at all. I feel like they have pulled a bait and switch scam, luring me in with payments I thought I could afford, then changing the rules/moving the goalpost to make it impossible for me to complete the rehabilitation.
I truly want to resolve this, but I want to know what I actually owe. It seems absurd to me that no one will so much as respond to my request to see an accurate accounting, let alone provide me with records, but I’m supposed to trust that everything will be okay if I just keep making payments.
Can you suggest any strategies to make progress on this? What happens if it turns out there actually are no records to be found?
Hi Jenny, this sounds like a complex federal loan situation that would take either an experienced federal loan specialist or an attorney specializing in loans to figure out. It’s hard to give advice in a comment without reviewing all the paperwork involved.
For a federal loan that’s been in default for decades, the balance will usually increase significantly even despite tax offset or previous payments, because a large part of the payments they take via tax offset are first applied to late fees and principal.
You may also want to file a complaint with the Federal Loan Ombudsman’s office. It sounds like you completed the Rehab and should be current, so something’s not adding up. If you’d like I can refer you to a federal loan specialist who may be able to help.
You could also try logging onto http://www.nslds.ed.gov and seeing what federal loan balances are showing there. And yet another option would be bringing the loans current once and for all with Direct Consolidation, a free process. I discuss how to apply for Direct Consolidation here: https://blog.credit.com/2016/07/how-to-get-your-student-loans-out-of-default-without-getting-scammed-151236/
I personally no longer work one on one with federal loan borrowers, but if you call the debt relief hotline at 800 939 8357 and press option 4, you’ll be connected to my office and we can refer you to a reputable federal student loan counselor. However, they do charge a reasonable fee for their services, so you may want to try the DIY method first by filing some complaints and considering Direct Consolidation to get the problem solved.
A word of caution though, the actual loan balance of today may be 2-3x the amount what you borrowed if it was in default for decades, even despite the tax offsets.
Someone is taking your payments – most likely the collection agency. They should not still be doing that when Rehab is finished, it should be transferred to a loan servicer as a current loan at that point. There have been many problems with collection agencies implementing Rehab though, and some of them have even lost their contracts with the Dept. of Ed due to their mistakes.
I have a Navient loan (was Sallie Mae) original from 1997. I got it down to 11k a few years ago, but my income just too low, and had been on forbearance here and there, and then on IBR which the last year and half my income was so low that my payment plan was ZERO. I did pay several hundred a year ago, so now my balance is at 15k due to interest capitalized.
I just sent them a letter asking what steps to do in order to do a settlement and I am waiting for a response.
What should I offer? Or what should I expect? My thought, is even though I am not in default, my IBR is zero, which means they are still not going to get money from me unless I choose to pay. So them settling would be beneficial for them because I do not expect my income to change considerably anytime soon.
Thanks for any advice!!! I’m so done with paying this and I’ve already paid 10k more than my original balance. I tried to get it discharged on my bankruptcy this year, but my atty did not do an adversary proceeding and didn’t tell me it wouldn’t be discharged.
Hi Crissy, if you’re on IBR then you have federal loans that are current, so settlement will not be possible. While “strategic default” can be a good option sometimes with private loans, I never recommend doing that for federal loans since collection fees are massive and settlement savings are minimal or nonexistent with federal loans.
They usually will just remove the fees they added at the time of the default for “settlement” – which is the same as paying 100% of the balance you have prior to default. The only federal loan settlements I’ve seen that had any kind of significant reduction were for borrowers who had been in default for years, even decades; and the savings were still relatively limited compared to what’s possible with private student loans.
The federal government has no incentive to settle a loan when it’s current and even when it’s in default, they still have all kinds of ways to collect that private creditors don’t. Have you considered just staying on IBR and if your income increases, making affordable payments, until you reach 25 years on it and the remaining balance is forgiven? I think that is your best bet. Settlement will not be possible in your situation since you’re current, and defaulting to settle on federal loans usually just causes needless credit damage with no significant savings.
Interest does accrue on the income-related payment plans if your payments are very low relative to your loan balance, despite the limitations on interest accrual that are baked into these plans; so that is a downside of staying on them. The fastest and least expensive way to pay off a federal loan is usually getting on the Standard payment plan and prepaying as much as possible on top of that.
I hear from a lot of people who understandably want to settle their current federal loans, and it literally never happens. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think staying on IBR is your best option!
ugh. okay, thank you so much for letting me know. In the meantime I had talked to Navient and they basically said the same thing.
I wish I had paid it off with my credit cards years ago and then it would have been discharged through the BK. But I never planned to file ch 7, and my student loans were tax deductible. oh well. It’s just awful that I am going to never get this paid off and I’m paying interest on interest.
One thing I found out is if you are on IBR for 25 years, then the government will forgive the loan. That might have actually worked had I done that from the beginning, but it has to be consecutive years and I fluctuated from forbearance/IBR may times.
thanks again for your help!!
Crissy
You’re welcome – and yes the IBR forgiveness does require 25 consecutive years. You may want to take a look at the new RePAYE plan which is lower than IBR payments and offers forgiveness on the remaining amount after 20 years. As of now both types of forgiveness are taxable, but there have been some legislative efforts to change that lately.
Hi I have a Sallie Mae loan that I took out 3/2016 33,333.00 Normally repayment starts 6 months after graduation. I graduated 12/2008. Sallie Mae hounded me until I paid a forbearance that only deferred them from contacting me for a month, however this payment was made March 2010. I know that I was delinquent prior to that. Isn’t that when delinquency should’ve been reported to the credit bureau? 6 months after nonpayment?
Anyway, my credit report says the account was closed and charged off 10/2010. Sallie Mae sold my loan to central credit services and I answered their call November 2013. They threatened to garnish my wages if I didn’t pay something. So I paid them 50.00 a month. They made it clear to .me that this payment didn’t count towards the interest or principal. I informed them I didn’t have anything to pay them more than that. These payments went on until 7/2015 when they called to settle a debt for around 15,000 ( the balance is now 78,000.00) I told them I would try to pay but I couldn’t commit to anything. I finally called them to not run a payment on my account and that I don’t have money.to settle for any type of debt. I then didn’t hear from.them again until 4/2016 when they started to call me again and send me letters for settlement offers now from a different company called national enterprise services. I have not responded to any calls or letters. I checked my credit report and it stated the debt will fall off 2/2017 but the date of last.payment/activity was 7/2015.
Did I restart the clock on my SOL? I live in PA and SOL is 4 years. Is it still from date the account was closed? 10/2010 or date of last payment 7/2015. Again I paid because they threatened to garnish my wages and the 50.00 didn’t even touch what I owe, meaning it didn’t count for anything. Please help me!! The dates are all over the place on my.credit report. I know I went delinquent before 2010 but I can’t find out because sallie mae no longer has the loan. I’m kinda stuck in this matter. Also, can the date to fall.off my credit report be sooner than the SOL expiration? How can they sue if it’s no longer on my credit? It erases 7 years or 7.5 years. If it’s 7.5 years then the date it’s due to expire is 2/2017 then it became delinquent 8/2009 correct? If it’s just 7 years then it went delinquent 2/2010 WHICH goes against the one month deferment payment I made 3/2010. I still have my bank statement for that
I thought about disputing the 50.00 charges from my account because I didn’t realize they were being deducted from my bank for so long. I was manipulated and lied to, tricked and now I don’t know what to do!
I also read some case law where is states you had to have knowingly revived your SOL for it to restart in PA. It also stated that a full or partial payment had to have gone towards the principal or interest, which wasn’t the case as it was only the.50.00. It’s not really clear anywhere else aside from in case law. But is this something you can clarify for me? I didn’t know that paying them 50.00 would revive MY SOL and restart the clock if that’s even what happened. How would I know for sure? Do I have to call someone about this.
Sorry for the long comment but any help or answers you can give each would be a great help!
If you make a payment toward an unpaid debt it will generally revive or reset the SOL to sue for collection legitimately in the court. You have some curious issues though, and I would run those by an experienced debt collection defense attorney in Pennsylvania. If you like, I can email you a list who have the experience you need. Let me know.
The credit reporting does not reage or reset with payments. When you failed to make timely payments is when this will have started. Count forward 7 and one half years and that should be the drop date. If I was going to try to dispute a couple of month discrepancy for this student loan on my credit report I would normally wait until the time I thought it should age off.
Ok thank you yes please send me resources! Thanks if this debt was sold to a different company, w0uld the new company have any record of phone calls made or just that payments were made. And would these attorneys be able to give me specific information of whether or not I have restarted my SOL? If it falls off 7.5 years and the date for it to erase from my credit stated 2/2017 then that means they collected payment AFTER the 4 years SOL for PA which would’ve been up 8/2013 (7,5 years from 2/2017). If they attempted to collect payment after my SOL that doesnt restart it too does it? Or am i able to file a complaint against them? Im.just desperate for clarification and am not sure who can give me specific answers.
The 4 year SOL means nothing other than a legitimate lawsuit cannot be filed. The debt does not expire. It is still collectable. There is nothing wrong with collectors collecting after that time expires. They could contact someone 10 years later and still get you to pay. This is normal.
I will send you the email with attorneys listed. They can help you understand the SOL better, and can determine, based on the details you share, whether there are law violations that they would pursue on your behalf.
Just wanted to chime in here – private loans are rarely bought and sold to debt buyers after charge off. Other than acquisition of loan portfolios like Navient did with their sister company Sallie Mae, or the types of acquisitions the National Collegiate Trust makes; private student loans are generally just contracted to collection agencies by the lenders to collect after charge off, not sold. The collection agencies are usually just collecting on behalf of the original lender. Debt buying and selling is much more common with old credit cards or other unsecured debts.
I think you also may be conflating SOL with credit reporting requirements — they are two separate timelines that are not related to each other. Making a payment could restart SOL. I agree with Michael that talking to an attorney about state-specific SOL or legal issues is the way to go.
Hi,
I graduated in 2010 and have over $80,000 in private student loan debt through Nacient. The original loan balance was $52,000. When you keep saying the 50-45% reduction through negotiation, do you mean from the current balance? I would love to negotiate a settlement but will find it hard to find that large of a sum of money to make them even consider it. What should I prepare to save while letting my account go into default? My husband and I just filed chapter 7 BK and our credit is already suffering, so we figure now is the time to settle all of our outstanding debt and would love any insight you have to offer. Thanks
Hi Erika, yes, all of the private loan settlements go off of the current balance. It’s pretty common for private loan balances to increase over time, even when making payments.. that’s probably the biggest factor that influences most people’s decision to settle.
For more info to consider when making the decision to strategically default, you can read my blog article on that topic here: https://www.mycreditcounselor.net/should-i-strategically-default-to-settle-private-student-loans/
Also, the 45-50% figure is the settlement amount, not the reduction on Navient private loans. It’s often possible to negotiate settlements even down to 40% on recent charge-offs, although they make it pretty difficult and it usually requires months of strategic negotiations.
For Navient settlements, if a good amount of the settlement is available for a down payment, we can usually negotiate structured settlement terms out to 12-18 months, and sometimes longer. For instance, on an $80k account settled at 45% of the balance, that would be a settlement of $36,000. An example structured settlement would potentially look like $20k down, and $888 per month for 18 months. It may also be possible to use a lower down payment on the settlement, but it would result in the structured settlement payments being higher.
I think working to settle the Navient private loans after doing the CH7 is a good idea. If there is going to be credit damage, it’s better to have it happen all at once and then rebuild. If you’d like to set up a time to talk about your situation further, feel free to call the Debt Relief Hotline at 800-939-8357 and choose option 4 for student loan help to be transferred to my office.
I get into default then I get put on a 5 dollar a month plan then they sell me back to Sallie Mae now I’m with navient there payment plan for me is insane. So I will end up back into default and they will take my income tax return again.
Hi Tana, this sounds like a federal student loan based on what you mentioned about the $5 a month to get out of default (which sounds like federal loan Rehabilitation) and taking your tax return (which is only possible for federal loans in default).
You do have other payment plans available on federal loans and it’s unfortunate that Navient is not telling you about that.
The payment plans are probably very low and affordable, if your Rehab payment was $5 a month. The payment plans related to income are based on a similar scale as what they used to calculate your $5 a month payment.
You can call Navient and tell them that you’d like to enroll in a payment plan related to your income, or you can apply on your own at studentloans.gov.
Hi,
Seeing all the comments and questions this is one time it doesn’t feel good not to be alone. It’s crazy how so many people have the same issues with this company Sallie Mae/ Navient, and nothing can be done about it.
Well I have two loans with them, original combined balance of $60k now over $80k. I too was grossly misinformed with regards to the co-signer release and after trying to release my guarantor based on one rep’s advise I was told I didn’t qualify by another rep,
Before Sallie Mae became Navient I was paying about $600 a month for both loans, since Navient took over one of my loans increased to over $500 a month giving me a combined total owing each month of over $900.
This has led to delinquency where I am constantly bombarded with calls and threatening letters. Note I still continue to make monthly payments on the other loan and a small amount in this loan that is currently in delinquency.
The most recent thing that happened was that I was contacted by someone who stated that Sallie Mae called them stating I had them down in my records. This was a total shocker to me because I know I did not list this individual. Anyways I called my so-called account manager who was very rude and stated that they “bought my information”, including people who I previously lived with for over 6months. Is this legal, is it considered the same as when creditors sell my information to debt collectors?
Obviously it would appear unless there is a miracle that I would never be rid of these people, what do you think are my options. So far I did the assessment of budget to have the amount lowered and they stated that they did not see a hardship….. I asked how come if every month there is something owing?
Please offer whatever guidance you can. My credit being 512 is already dead, I want to be at a position where my friends and family are not affected by attempt to further my education and build myself. That dream has turned into a nightmare!
Hi Camille, this is a very common situation for Navient private student loans that are past due. Navient is extremely aggressive, rude, and unethical in their collection attempts. Despite their threatening language and letters, there is probably a very good chance at settling this private loan for 50% or less after it defaults. From what you mentioned in your comment, I would guess that you are either past default or very close to it.
Although settlement negotiation is possible, it can be very difficult when you are dealing with someone as rude and aggressive as your account manager. Many times, my clients have told me that their attempts to negotiate a settlement went nowhere, with the account manager declining their offers.
There is also a certain way that these accounts must be negotiated for a 50% or less settlement to be available. I hear from a lot of people who make the common mistake of offering the amount they want to settle for as the first offer. Successful private student loan settlement negotiations often involve 5-6 rounds of negotiating or more – so you or your negotiator would need to start off with a much lower offer than you intend to settle for. However, you still want to make the initial offer large enough to get their attention.
Navient as an original creditor (since the loans were transferred to them from Sallie Mae when Sallie Mae spun off Navient as a new company) can try to call friends and family, or anyone who was listed on the account as a reference when the loans were originated. There are some states that prohibit these types of calls, but in many other states these types of calls can only be stopped if a third party collection agency is involved.
If you’re intending to settle, the best way is to use a lump sum; but structured settlements can be available with Navient as well, which extend the settlement out to 12-24 months with a down payment.
If you’d like to chat further about your situation, you can reach me by calling the CRN Debt Relief Hotline and selecting “Option 4” for student loan help.
Hi there,
I stopped payment on my private Navient loan ($68k) in Aug 2015 and they have not offered any type of settlement options. My school (The Art Institute of California – Los Angeles) is now closed and I don’t feel that I should pay $145,000 for a degree from a closed school that has had numerous lawsuits against it, predatory recruiting and lies of their transferability/cost. My problem is that I have cosigners so I am a bit worried to not work out a payment plan with them instead of waiting out the statute of limitations of 3 years. Do you know of any situations where one has been sued by Navient and the debtor has won due to a school closure?
There are closed school options to pursue, but they are specific to certain circumstances that need to be met.
There are also borrower defense claims that can be made if you can establish unfair or deceptive state law claims (though borrower defense is a federal program). Were there regulatory reasons the school was closed as it is already?
I read your comment to quickly… skipping the private loan aspect.
Hi Marie, is the $145k made up of federal loans and the $68k private loan? There are some routes to try for cancellation or discharge of federal loans, as Michael mentioned, but it will be an uphill battle.
For the Navient private loan, it’s a larger balance, so they may try to send it to a collection attorney in your state prior to S.O.L expiring. You can try to wait it out, but if you see a CA collection attorney assigned to the account, you’ll probably want to prepare to settle, work out a payment plan, or hire a consumer defense attorney. They usually don’t offer settlements outright, but they will respond to settlement offers from borrowers. As I like to say, settlements are taken and not given.
It sounds like the account has been charged off for about two months based on your comment. Most likely, a settlement below 50% is available, but they won’t make it easy to negotiate. I’m not aware of that defense being used in private loan litigation, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a valid defense. You may want to contact some CA attorneys who have experience with private student loan lawsuits to see if they think that is a valid defense. If the attorneys are just going to negotiate a settlement in litigation, it might make more sense to do that now instead of going through a lengthy and expensive litigation process.
Hey there, hope you are still active for a reply in regards to my situation.
I’ve played “ignore the truth” for several years now regarding my 2 Sallie Mae loans. One loan is subsidized, original principal $2,625.00, current amount to be repaid $4,931.63 . The second loan is unsubsidized, original principal $4,000.00, current amount to be repaid $$8,329.95 . The Repayment Start Date was 06/09/2008, however shortly after this time I had relocated to Canada. I attempted to make payments but Sallie Mae was very difficult with this process, so I made the young and dumb decision to ignore.
The phone calls were relentless, at one point reaching 20 calls a day. January of 2013 they got a single payment from me and nothing since. With my ever growing balances, nothing to show for the debt, and desire to go back to school I know I need to resolve this. Do I have any hope in negotiating a payment plan/reduction in what I owe?
Also may I also say that I actually did have legitimate financial hardship during most of the time preventing me from making payments, on top of there being no sensible way to pay over the phone from another country
Hi Chantel, from your description it sounds like these are federal loans. You can find out for sure by logging into the NSLDS federal loan database at: http://www.nslds.ed.gov. Only federal loans show up on that database.
Federal loans sometimes settle for a reduced amount of accrued interest, and rarely they will take a little off the original principal too. However, most federal loan settlements I’ve seen were only for a reduction in the default fees. The settlements usually have to be paid in 30-90 days also.
You do have a lot of options for repayment plans. Federal student loans have several payment plans that are related to your income. These also have limitations on interest accrual built into them, and forgiveness periods of between 20-25 years. However, the forgiven amount is taxable if you are financially solvent at the time of forgiveness. Some of the criticism of these plans is that interest can accrue on them over time, even with the built in interest limitations, if your payment amount is very low compared to your overall balance.
You would need to get the accounts out of default to be able to apply to these plans. To get out of default, you can use Direct Consolidation or Rehabilitation.
To learn more about your federal loan options, you can check out my free Ebook and federal loan resources page at https://www.mycreditcounselor.net/federal-loans/
The website to apply for these programs is http://www.studentloans.gov. I also have some of the paper applications posted on my website; you can apply by paper or through the studentloans.gov link. The electronic application process is a little easier in my opinion (I have federal loans too).
I am completely confused now! Is there a way to contact you directly?
Anyone can reach Andrew by calling 800-939-8357, then press ext 4.
Hi Chantel, I received your voicemail yesterday, but I was in negotiations all afternoon so I will try to call you back today. Normally I am only able to do phone consultations with priate student loam borrowers since I am focused exclusively on private loans with my credit counseling practice, but I should be able to chat for a few minutes.
If you need a more in depth consultation regarding your federal loan repayment strategy, we can refer you to a federal loan specialist who can take some time to evaluate your case and go over your options.
I do think that reading my ebook and going through the steps on my federal loan resource page would help clear up any confusion in the meantime. Federal loans are complex, but the steps I have laid out make it easier to get a readout of your loans, and then pick the best repayment plans and/or methods out of default.
I am writing in hope to get your expert advice on my college loan situation. I was an international student who went to a private college in the US that loaned me 24,125$ for 4 years of college from 2006. The principal plus accrued interest is now around 29, 000$. After graduating in 2011, I tried so hard to stay in the US to find a job that can enable me to pay back my loan. However, I could not find any job so I had no choice but returned to Vietnam. My first job in 2012 paid only $350, and gradually my salary has increased, but not enough for me to pay back such a big debt. Moreover, I have to take care of my father financially who has stopped working for 20 years now due to his mental health. Therefore, I cannot save much.
The school has contacted me many times but I have ignored them since they cancelled my loan deferment due to economic hardship and instead activated forbearance on my loan in 2013. I have not paid a dime to my school since I graduted in 2011. 1 month ago, a Vietnamese lawyer contacted me on behalf of my school to ask for my repayment plan.
3 questions I want to ask for your expert advice are:
1. Due to my financial limitation, I want to settle my school debt of both principal and interest for around 4000$-5000$ with my school, which is the maximum I can afford. How can I negotiate with them for that?
2. If they want higher settlment amount, what other settlement options do I have to negotiate with them?
2. If my school does not allow me to settle my debt for that amount but keep forcing me to pay full amount, I will have no choice but default on it. If so, what are the consequences of my decision considering that I have no plan to go back for graduate school or live in the US? I know that they can always have the option of suing me, but how complicated or easy would it be for them if they decide to sue me while I am in Vietnam and they are in the US?
I look forward to hearing your advice. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mit
Hi Mit, it sounds like these are institutional loans, or possibly federal loans. In either case, I don’t think they will go for such a low settlement offer. Institutional loans either don’t settle at all, or if they do settle it would be for 50-60% of the balance or more. Federal loans have very limited settlement options, if these happen to be federal.
I’ve never heard of someone overseas being sued for a US student loan through the legal system in their country, but it is somewhat concerning that the school is having an attorney in your country contact you.
It’s unlikely that the school could take many forced collection actions if they are unable to file a lawsuit through the Vietnamese legal system, which seems like it would be an extraordinary step to try to collect.
If these loans are federal, the balance will probably continue to accrue interest and late fees over time, and if you return to the US your wages or tax return could be garnished. Aside from that, I don’t see them being able to forcibly collect on this unless they take the unprecedented step of suing you through the legal system in your country. This sounds like an issue that you would want to discuss with a Vietnamese attorney who has experience with US companies or the US government pursuing debts in your country.
Determining for sure whether these are Dept. of Ed loans, or institutional loans through the school, would also give me more insight. But it definitely sounds like an issue to discuss with an attorney in Vietnam due to the complex nature of the problem and the fact that they have already taken the step of hiring an attorney in your country to try to collect.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks so much for your reply. I don’t think it is federal loan because I am not US citizen, but you are right mine could be institutional loan. On the website of my school, it says that Student Financial Services department of my college grants Loans to students as part of the financial aid .The loans are administered by my college through ECSI. The applicable interest rate for my college loan is 8% fixed which is set by my college. This interest rate is higher than the usual federal loans. So, it is really institutional loan as it is granted by my college, isn’t it. On paper, It does say that the creditor of my loan is my college.
As you say, instutional loan only settle for as low as 50-60% of the balance, which is around 15,000$. The maximum I can pay now as a lump sum is 5000$ as I would have to borrow from Vietnamese bank to obtain such an amount. With my salary at 1000$/month now, I need up to 5 years to repay the bank if my salary slowly increases over that period. Repaying the bank is of course more important because I live in Vietnam now. Can I negotiate with my school that I will pay them the remaining 10,000$ after 5 years without accruing interest for me? I can only borrow another 10,000$ from the bank after I repay the 5,000$ loan in the first place. If they do not agree for me to settle like that, there is nothing else I can do due to my limited economic conditions. They would not go to great lengths to sue me in my country just to garnish my small salary considering I own no assets at all, wouldn’t they?
Or do I have any other options for negotiation?
Thanks so much for your great support Andrew. You are the only one so far who give me such a detailed answer.
Mit
Hi Mit, you’re very welcome. ECSI does service federal loans, although from your description this does sound like an institutional, non-federal loan. To be sure, it’s a good idea to check the NSLDS database at http://www.nslds.ed.gov. That will only show federal loans, so if these loans don’t show then they are most likely institutional or private.
From my experience, no institutional loans will settle with that type of payment plan, although you could always try. Each school handles these loans differently, but in general that type of structured settlement is not usually available on these types of loans.
It doesn’t seem like you are a very good target for litigation since you have a small salary and no assets, but you’re dealing with an international contract law issue so it really would be best to speak to a lawyer in Vietnam who has experience with similar situations.
As far as other negotiating options, you could always call them and explain your situation, and see what is available. Each school uses different policies, and if you negotiate you may be able to work something out with them, and they may be more flexible since you are overseas. The only way to find out for sure is to give them a call, or talk to the lawyer that contacted you about the accounts.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your reply. I have checked on the NSLDS database, but my loan do not show.. So it is definitely a non-federal loan.
My school has refused to talk to me although I have contacted them for settlement negotiation. They have appointed me to talk to the Vietnam law agency directly instead. I have actually been talking to the lawyer for negotiation for several times. I have explained my current economic hardship, small salary, no assets, and need take care of my father financially as well. Therefore I told them I would like to settle my loan for less than the balance by borrowing from Vietnam bank, which is 5000$, which will take me up to 5 years to repay the bank. However, the lawyer said my school has refused to accept my offer. He said the school would like me to repay the balance within 15 days starting from today, otherwise they would take legal action.
Of course I cannot come up with that amount. Even if they sue me now, I would not be able to come up with that amount. But I also think I am not a good target for litigation. From your experience, how do I go about to negotiate with them for me to settle for less than the balance owed. What amount of the offer would they start listening to me? I mean what options for settlement do I have considering my tight financial situation?
I am still looking for a Vietnamese lawyer who have experience in this, but it seems my case is not familiart to them, but I will keep looking for one.
Thanks so much for your support.
Mit
Hi Mit, in negotiations you usually offer a lower amount than what you want to settle for. In your case you offered the full amount you had to offer in the first offer, so you don’t really have anything to counter with.
However, I think that the overall offer is much lower than what they are looking for. The “full payment in 15 days” is a bluff, as almost no defaulted borrowers are able to pay an entire balance on short notice.
It sounds like they are hardballing you and trying to threaten you. Again I am not sure whether or not they would take legal action as this is an international contract law issue and not a situation I have heard about before. Since they did go to the effort of finding an attorney in Vietnam to contact you, they may also go through with the effort of trying to take you to court. I think that you would be able to negotiate more effectively with an attorney on your side too, because right now they think they have the upper hand because you don’t have legal representation.
There has to be someone in the legal field there with some type of related experience, I’m sure you’re not the only one to go through this kind of thing. I would keep searching for an attorney.
Since you have well below 50% of the balance available for settlement, you may want to think about getting on a payment plan with them. Even if you have 50%, there’s no guarantee they will settle. Some institutional loans don’t settle.
All you can do at this point in negotiations is to keep presenting your offer, or see if they will accept $5,000 and payments to equal a higher settlement amount. It sounds like they are not open to settlement since they did not respond with a counter offer, but instead asked you to pay the full balance.
I think your best bet is to hire an attorney, so you can level the playing field with the negotiations and defend against any possible legal action. If you keep searching for an attorney to take your case, I’m hopeful that you will find someone that can help.
Hi Andrew,
Thanks so much for your reply. I will stay strong and keep negotiating with them. I have contacted several attorneys also. I will update you if I can reach a settlement with my school.
Mit